Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith Jehovah.
God turns from Judah's failed kings to her leaders as a whole, and calls them shepherds over sheep that belong to Him. The woe falls on the men who ruined the flock, and the rest of the chapter shows what God will do next.
The Hebrew word behind "shepherds" simply means to feed. That makes the charge sharper: their title named the duty they dropped. The New Testament uses the same picture for Christ and for those who care for His people.
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.
These shepherds were the nation's rulers. Their failure did not stop God's purpose for the people they wrecked.
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).
The verse calls them the sheep of God's own pasture. Anyone who cares for God's people can quietly forget that.
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 woe names two actions: destroying and scattering. Commentators set both against what grace does.
The work of the enemy is to scatter and destroy. The work of grace is to save and gather.
The woe also sorts workers into two groups. The verses that follow show which side God stands on.
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.
The chapters before this one have been dark reading. Chapter 23 does not stop at the verdict on these men.
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!
This charge is not only history. Writers ask whether the same failure marks the care of God's people since.
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."
- Ownership. They are the sheep of His pasture; treating God's people as your own flock denies His rights over them.
- Duty. The very word for shepherd means "to feed" — these men held the title while doing the opposite.
- Verdict. Scattering earns God's frown. Gathering puts a worker on His side, because scattering is the enemy's work and gathering is the work of grace.
- Cause. Harshness and neglect leave sheep sick, wounded and wandering. So does caring only for the strong — in Judah and since.
- Mercy. The woe opens a chapter that ends in promise. God gathers the remnant Himself and raises up the Son of David — the Shepherd these men never were.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel concerning the shepherds that feed my people Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith Jehovah.
Jeremiah 23 turns from Judah's failing kings to the God whose people they had ruined. They scattered His flock and never attended to it, so now He will attend to them.
Commentators tie the title to the men who held the throne.
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 same charge appears later through Ezekiel, and one writer notes how wide the circle of guilt runs.
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.
Twice in this verse the Lord says my — my people, my flock. That small word is the heart of the offence. The same danger faces anyone who cares for God's people today.
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.
The word behind "shepherd" is a job description. The New Testament gives the same title to Christ.
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.
The verse names two failures: what they did, and what they never did. One writer asks whether the pattern stopped with Judah.
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?
Scattering costs the scatterer, and the cost often shows in this life.
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.
The same writer turns it into questions we can ask ourselves.
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.
The woe of verses 1-2 is not where the chapter stops.
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).
- Ownership. The sheep were never the kings' property. God calls them "my flock," and treating His people as your own denies His rights.
- Neglect. The charge is double: active harm in scattering and driving away, and passive harm in never visiting. The word behind "pastor" means "to feed" — the one thing they would not do.
- Reversal. Because they did not attend to the sheep, God says He will attend to them; the punishment is cut from the shape of the sin.
- Mirror. Commentators apply this beyond Judah. Harshness still scatters. The test is simple: do we seek the lost, bring back the driven away, and strengthen the sick?
- Replacement. Failed shepherds are not the end of the story. God stays faithful to His people and raises up a Ruler and Shepherd-King for His sheep.
And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their pastures; and they shall be fruitful and shall multiply.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And I will raise up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, saith Jehovah.
God's answer to the leaders who ruined His flock is not only judgment; He promises shepherds of His own. Two questions follow: who are they, and when does a scattered people ever live in such safety?
Older translations say "pastors" here. One commentator starts with what the word means.
The word "pastors" means "shepherds." Ezekiel received a larger message about these false shepherds, the hired men who did not feed the flock. God will yet gather the scattered remnant of the Lord's flock (not the Church, but the remnant of Israel) out of all countries. They will be fruitful and increase, no longer fearful, dismayed or in want. This prophecy is about the time when the Shepherd of Israel, who is also their King, appears.
Kings were meant to care for the flock. One writer sums up how they did, and names the two opposite works.
Kingship failed completely in the hands of the first man, and so did priesthood. The best of the kings of Israel — David, Solomon and all the rest — broke down. The wicked kings, as we see here, only helped to destroy and scatter the flock of God. The work of the enemy is to scatter and destroy. The work of grace is to save and gather.
Judgment falls on the false shepherds here. But one commentator finds more than judgment in this chapter.
In Jeremiah 23 we have their general and solemn judgment. But it comes with the vision of sovereign mercy, when the Son of David shall arise. How refreshing to read such words among the moral horrors we have had before us!
So when is this promise kept? One commentator answers plainly, and gives a reason for the long delay.
This prophecy has never been fulfilled. When He came, who is to fulfil its every letter as well as its spirit to the full, He did not reign nor prosper, but was cast out from the earth, and exalted in heaven... For the very rejection of the Messiah by the Jews gave occasion to the mighty work of redemption by the blood of the cross... But those times will end. In the meantime God calls the Church of the heavenly places and completes it in glory. Then the Lord will turn the heart of His ancient people, at least of a remnant, to Himself, and will return and reign in glory.
So the safety this verse promises — never afraid, never dismayed — waits for that reign.
Earlier in the same book, God had already promised the shepherds He would give.
It is refreshing and cheering to hear Jeremiah speak of the time when the Lord will give pastors according to His own heart, "who will feed you with knowledge and understanding" (Jer. 3:15)... he foretells the day when the Lord Himself shall recover His scattered people, and "gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock" (Jer. 31:10)... the believer knows this Shepherd now, and receives eternal life from Him before He returns to gather Israel.
One commentator marks the difference between how Christ will shepherd His earthly people and how He shepherds His own now.
To the Jews — had they received Him, He would have been a Shepherd on earth; and even in the millennium He will be the Shepherd of His earthly people... But He is our Shepherd as the One who has died, risen again, and is seated at the right hand of God... So He now shepherds His people from His place on high. That is why He is called the Chief Shepherd. He is away from the sheep, yet He cares for them tenderly, and He provides others to "feed the flock" under His guidance and direction.
- Scattered. Leaders who should have fed the flock destroyed it. Scattering is the enemy's work; gathering is the work of grace.
- Gathered. God promises to gather the scattered remnant of His flock out of every country, to be fruitful and increase again.
- Fed. The shepherds God sets up are pastors according to His own heart. They feed the flock with knowledge and understanding.
- Fearless. The flock is never afraid, never dismayed, and never one sheep missing. Commentators tie that safety to the reign of the Son of David, still future.
- Followed. The Chief Shepherd cares for His people now from heaven. He gives others to feed the flock until the day this verse describes.
Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, when I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, who shall reign as king, and act wisely, and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
Jeremiah 23 opens with God's anger at the shepherds who scattered His flock. In the same breath He promises a King He will raise up Himself — the answer to the question left by a long line of failed rulers: with David's house in ruins, who will ever rule Israel well?
Chapters 21–22 pass sentence on one king after another. The last of them is Coniah. The prophet even changes the kings' names, and one writer sees the point of it in the very promise of verse 5.
Jehoiachin means "The Lord will establish." Jeremiah called him Jeconiah, which means "The Lord establishes." This is surely meant to show that it will be done, not in Jehoiachin, but in our Lord Jesus Christ, as he explains in Jeremiah 23:5-6. The reason: just before, Jeremiah had called him Coniah in scorn — "a despised broken idol; a vessel in which there is no pleasure." Only in Christ, raised from among the dead, of the seed of David, can the Kingdom stand for ever.
"Branch" is a picture word. It means fresh growth from a tree cut down to the ground — the very state of David's house in these chapters.
The stem has been cut down. It is better described as Jesse's than David's, because royalty no longer belongs to it. So the Son of David comes into no outward state or glory, but the opposite. And yet Jesse's name also bears witness that "Jehovah exists"; and He is the God of resurrection. The Sprout, though lowly, still has the energy of life in it. In Him the cut-down tree is to revive, and to outshine all its former glories. He is the "righteous branch" of Jeremiah.
The same title runs through several prophets, and it always names one Person.
A title of the Lord Jesus, which He will bear in connection with Israel in the future. Isaiah 4:2; Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; Zechariah 6:12-13. In two of the passages the words "unto David" are added, which fits the Lord Jesus being the "offspring" (a word similar to "branch") as well as the "root" of David. He will be a righteous Branch and a King. He will build the temple of the LORD, bear the glory, sit and rule on His throne, and be a priest on His throne.
The shepherds of verse 1 are not preachers. Seeing who they are explains why God's remedy is a king.
Jeremiah 23 pronounces a woe on the shepherds in general. By the shepherds, 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 verse promises a King whose rule succeeds. Older versions read "a King shall reign and prosper," where the ESV has "reign as king and deal wisely."
This prophecy has never been fulfilled. He is the One who will fulfil every letter of it, and its full spirit too. Yet when He came He did not reign or prosper. Instead He was cast out from the earth and exalted in heaven. So greater things came about than a Davidic kingdom or a restoration of the scattered tribes of Israel. For the very rejection of the Messiah by the Jews gave occasion for the mighty work of redemption by the blood of the cross… But when those times end… the Lord will turn the heart of His ancient people, at least of a remnant, to Himself. He will return and reign in glory, executing judgment and justice in the earth.
The closing words describe how this King will govern — "judgment and justice in the earth," as older versions put it. That is not God's method now.
Grace is now reigning through righteousness. Righteousness itself will then reign over the earth, as it never has. That reign comes before the eternal state. Then, once judgment has removed all evil, righteousness will dwell in holiness, peace and love — unbreakable in the heavens and on the earth throughout the day that has no end.
Writers here warn against reading the verse as a description of the church's role in the world. The Christian's share in it is different, and larger.
Our distinctive Christian hope is that Christ will not only reign over us; we shall reign along with Him. So if you take such prophetic words as these… and apply them to the church, you lower the status of the church from heaven to earth.
- Cut down. Jeremiah writes off David's royal line as a broken vessel. The Branch sprouts from the cut-down stump.
- Raised up. God gives this King; the failed dynasty does not produce Him. The Kingdom stands only in Christ, raised from the dead.
- Shepherd. The kings scattered the flock; the remedy God names is one competent Ruler and Shepherd-King.
- Not yet. At His first coming He neither reigned nor prospered. His rejection opened the way to redemption by the cross.
- Then. At His return He executes justice and righteousness in the land. Grace reigns now; righteousness will reign then, and believers reign with Him.
In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell in safety; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness.
Jeremiah 23 opens with a woe on Israel's failed leaders, then turns to promise a King from David's line. This verse gives His name — and with it the question of whose righteousness that name announces.
The shepherds in this chapter are Israel's kings. This verse answers their failure.
Jeremiah 23 pronounces a woe upon the shepherds in general. By the shepherds, the prophet means the kings who should have protected and fed the people. But they scattered and destroyed the sheep of the Lord's flock. However, He would raise up a competent Ruler and Shepherd-King for His sheep.
The failure was not just a few bad kings. It reached the best of them, and priesthood as well:
Kingship, no less than priesthood, failed completely in human hands. The best of the kings of Israel — David, Solomon and all the rest — broke down. And the wicked kings, as we see here, only helped to destroy and scatter the flock of God. The work of the enemy is to scatter and destroy. The work of grace is to save and gather.
The name here is Jehovah-Tsidkenu, printed in older translations as one title, "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." It belongs to a family of names that tie God to what His people lack.
"Jehovah-jireh" (the Lord will provide). "Jehovah-nissi" (the Lord my banner). "Jehovah-shalom" (the Lord send peace). "Jehovah-tsidkenu" (the Lord our righteousness). God unfolds all these gracious titles of His to meet the needs of His people. When He calls Himself "I AM," it includes them all. In taking this title, the Lord was giving His people a blank cheque, to be filled in for any amount... If we want righteousness, He is THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The Branch of David carries the name of God Himself — and the reign described here has not yet begun.
A great Messianic prophecy follows. "The Righteous Branch," the Son of David, is the Lord Jesus Christ. His name is "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jehovah Tsidkenu). He is the King who will reign and prosper, executing judgment and justice in the earth. The prophecy is unfulfilled. He came as the Son of David, the promised King. He offered that kingdom to Israel; they rejected Him. But He is coming again, and in that day of glory this great prediction will be accomplished.
One writer warns against applying such promises to the church:
Our distinctive Christian hope is this: Christ will not only reign over us, we will reign along with Him. Therefore to take up such prophetic words as these... and to apply them to the church is to lower the status of the church from heaven to earth.
The verse promises rescue for Judah and safety for Israel. Both come with the nation's conversion, at the point where Israel has always stumbled:
Clearly, then, the restoration foretold here is bound up with the conversion of the nation. Israel will yet acknowledge what they have so far always refused to own — that in the Lord they have righteousness and strength. Up to now they have always stumbled at this. "Being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness." But they will do so in days to come.
Later in the same book, Jeremiah 33:16 gives this same name to the city of Jerusalem.
Compare Jeremiah 23:6 and 33:16. In the first passage the Lord is called "our righteousness"... In the second passage, "this is the name by which she [Jerusalem] will be called, The Lord our Righteousness." So Jerusalem receives by grace a standing in association with Him. He is the source of her justification.
The name is not a quantity of righteousness handed over, but a Person.
When God demands righteousness, I point to the Lord Jesus. He is the "Lord my righteousness." To say His righteousness is given to me belittles grace. Jesus is the "Lord my righteousness."... Not some of His righteousness — He Himself is my righteousness — His whole self. As a believer, I am complete in Him. Jesus the Lord my righteousness. Oh, why not receive Him as your righteousness, poor sinner? God asks you for nothing more; He will have nothing less.
- Failure — the kings who should have fed and guarded the flock scattered it instead. God's answer is a Shepherd-King He raises up Himself.
- Name — Jehovah-Tsidkenu ties God's own name to a need, as Jehovah-jireh and Jehovah-shalom do. Here the need is righteousness.
- Gift — the righteousness in this name is not produced by the nation. It is found in the Lord. Israel's long stumble was trying to set up its own.
- Shared — His name in chapter 23 becomes Jerusalem's name in chapter 33. The city gets that standing by grace, from the One who justifies her.
- Future — Jesus came as Son of David, and Israel rejected Him. Commentators hold that the reign promised here is still to come. It belongs to Israel and the earth, not to the church's heavenly hope.