This post on shepherd leadership is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here.

The Failure of Israel’s Shepherds

Have you ever faced a situation where someone did such a poor job on a project that you declared, “I’ll just do it myself”?

That’s not too different from what God did in response to the self-centered shepherd leaders of the nation of Judah in the Old Testament.

“I will demand my flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock,” the God of Israel declared. “I will tend my flock” (Ezekiel 34:10, 15). Faced with shepherds who had abused and exploited his flock, God declared that he was handing a heavenly pink slip to the leaders of Judah and taking over as the shepherd of his sheep (see also Zechariah 10:3; 11:4-17; 13:7).

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