I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 34-36.

    Today’s passage begins with a condemnation of the leaders of Israel. In my initial reading of it I took it to be referring to the spiritual leaders, and in doing so thought of some of the items in the news today. Ezekiel condemns the leaders of Israel for drinking the milk, wearing the wool, and eating the meat of the flock, but allowing the flock to starve and not tending the sick. The leaders used the flock to satisfy their own desires and pleasures with no concern for the well-being of those placed in their care. This made me think of some of the things that have been in the news lately. The allegations that officials of the Catholic Church at the highest levels covered up the abuse of power by bishops and cardinals. It is clear that even if the specific allegations are not true that the general thrust of them must be, individuals high in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church are complicit in protecting members of the clergy who have abused their position. There is another incident in the news which shows this is not restricted to the Catholic Church. At Aretha Franklin’s funeral, the pastor moderating the event was caught on video groping Ariana Grande. I am using these two news items to illustrate the point, but they are merely a representation of a widespread problem. I want to mention that once I thought about this passage and these examples, I realized that Ezekiel was not condemning just spiritual leaders. He was prophesying about leaders from all walks of society.

    Before we start to feel complacent because we are not in a leadership position we need to say what Ezekiel says next. He condemns those who are not leaders who not only take all of the best things for themselves, but destroy that which is left over. Ezekiel condemned the leaders for not seeking out those who were lost, but here he condemns those who were not leaders for running them off in the first place. This goes back to what I wrote yesterday. Yes, God has called us to warn sinners about the consequences of their sin, but we are still to love them with God’s love. Our job is not to run them off because they are sick/injured/broken. Our job is to bring them to the Shepherd so that He can care for them and heal them. Just because our leaders are abusing their position does not let us off the hook for doing God’s will.