Jeremiah 23:1–2

In the Old Testament the word is raah, "to feed," and it refers to those who should have cared for God's people. They, like everyone else, had failed. They had destroyed and scattered the sheep. In the New Testament the word is poimen, which is used of Christ Himself as the good Shepherd. The pastor is one of the gifts in the church (Ephesians 4:11). He is gifted to help the saints one by one, to enter into their trials and difficulties, and to bring the word to instruct and comfort them, or to correct and counsel them if needed.

Our chapter opens with a woe on those guilty kings of Judah. They should have been faithful shepherds to the Lord's flock, watching over them and caring for them as the sheep of His pasture. Instead their wickedness helped to destroy and scatter them (Jer. 23:1-2). But if man is unfaithful, God is faithful. Here He makes known His love and care and purpose for His beloved though guilty people (Jer. 23:3-4).

It was and still is of the greatest importance to regard "the flock" as God's. This matters all the more because even excellent souls fall into the habit of forgetting this truth. They assume that the sheep they feed and tend are their own flocks. Such a thought is an unwitting denial of God's rights. It misstates how His sheep stand related to Him. And it produces wrong readings of His word, which harm His servants themselves as well as the saints.

The work of the enemy is to scatter and destroy. The work of grace is to save and gather.

The scatterers have His frown and not His favour… The gatherers of the true sheep are with Him in their work, for He adds, "I will gather the remnant of My flock." There is one Shepherd and one flock now, as we read in John 10. His sheep follow Him. They know Him; and they know His voice… True servants encourage the sheep to follow our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and not to follow themselves.

So in Jeremiah 23 we have their general and solemn judgment, but not without the vision of sovereign mercy when the Son of David shall arise. How refreshing to read such words after the moral horrors we have had before us!

Ezekiel, the prophet of the exile, brought the same message to the shepherds of Israel. They did not strengthen the weak sheep. They did not heal the sick. They did not bind up what was broken. They did not bring back those who had been driven away. They ruled with harshness, and the sheep were scattered. Times and places differ, but has the same thing not happened again and again all through the Church's history, even at times within the assemblies? Harshness and severity have caused scattering. Sheep end up sick, wounded, and wandering when shepherds fail to give proper care and think only of "the fat and the strong."

Jeremiah 23 pronounces a woe upon the pastors in general. By the pastors, the prophet means the kings who ought to have provided protection and food for the people. But they scattered and destroyed the sheep of Jehovah's flock. However, He would raise up a competent Ruler and Shepherd-King for His sheep.

The shepherds of Israel were the kings and princes and all who had authority over them. These shepherds of Israel were responsible for the terrible condition of the flock. They were utterly selfish. They did not care for the sheep of His pasture. They did not fear God, and they had no heart for God's people. The flock was scattered and ruined.

It was and is of the greatest importance to regard "the flock" as God's. This matters all the more, because even excellent souls usually forget this truth. They assume that the sheep they feed and tend are their own flocks. Such a thought reveals an unintended denial of God's rights. It falsifies the relation of His sheep. And it produces wrong interpretation of His word, which hurts His servants themselves as well as the saints.

In the Old Testament the word is raah, "to feed," and refers to those who should have helped God's people. They, as all others, had failed; they had destroyed and scattered the sheep. In the New Testament the word is poimēn, which is applied to Christ Himself as the good Shepherd. The pastor is one of the gifts in the church (Eph. 4:11). He is gifted to help the saints one by one, share in their trials and difficulties, and bring the word to instruct and comfort them.

Jeremiah next rebukes the shepherds (23:1). They destroyed and scattered the flock instead of visiting them and caring for them. Ezekiel, the prophet of the captivity, had the same message for the shepherds of Israel (Ezek. 34). They did not strengthen the weak sheep. They did not heal the sick... They ruled over them with harshness and with rigour (Ezek. 34:4), and the sheep were "scattered." Times and places differ. Even so, has not the Church's history seen the same things repeated?

And what a judgment will fall on the false shepherds, who feed themselves and not the flock of God. The Lord will feed them WITH JUDGMENT. How true this is today. Division comes. The power of gathering is gone. The Spirit is grieved. It is no rare sight to see those who have been prominent in scattering reap what they have sown. They are left almost, if not quite, alone in their closing days.

Do we seek after the lost sheep today? Do we bring back those who have been driven away? Do we bind up the broken and strengthen the sick? How much scattering there has been, and how little gathering. The flesh scatters. It is the Spirit who gathers. Anyone can scatter, but it takes divine power to do the gathering.

Our chapter opens with a pronouncement of woe on those guilty kings of Judah. They should have been faithful pastors to Jehovah's flock, heeding and caring for them as the sheep of His pasture. Instead their wickedness helped to destroy and scatter them (Jer. 23:1-2). But if man is unfaithful, God is faithful. Here He makes known His love and care and purpose for His beloved though guilty people (Jer. 23:3-4).