In Jeremiah, chapter twenty-three, verse one, “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.” In this chapter, Jeremiah prophesies woe and judgment against Judah’s spiritual leaders (the priests and the false prophets), who selfishly enriched themselves while being uncaring about the people’s condition, as in Ezekiel thirty-four. They would be destroyed, and the people sent into exile. What would God do then? He Himself would “gather the remnant…and…bring them again to their folds, as in verse three, and give them shepherds who would rightly care for them; the ultimate Shepherd would be the “righteous Branch,” as in verse five, which is the Messiah.
Woe be to those who are set to feed God’s people, but take no concern to do them good! Pastors are mentioned in eight verses in the Bible, with seven all in the book of Jeremiah. The priests were so insensitive to the presence and power of God in those days that they did not notice He had left them, and never wondered why the Lord’s blessing and presence were missing. Pastors are supposed to live according to God’s Word and impart life through their understanding of it by the Holy Spirit. Because they know God’s heart, they would know how to shepherd God’s people.
However, on the other hand, “pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord” as in Jeremiah ten, verse twenty-one. “Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard,” as in Jeremiah twelve, verse ten. The Lord continues in Jeremiah twenty-three, verse two, “pastors 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.” What happened in the Old Testament is still happening now.