The Old Covenants
Woe – Woah! Written By: Laurie Klimple
(Jeremiah 23:1-6, NIV)
23: 1”Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. 3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall no longer fear or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.5 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”
As we see in the preceding scriptures that Jeremiah, the prophet, issues a warning – a “woe to” the unrighteous shepherds, the leadership. These so-called shepherds are leading the Lord’s sheep astray from His fold. They are misleading, not caring for, and not teaching the truth of God’s word. The shepherds in these verses of scripture refer to the kings of Judah. In this we can see a parallel to what ‘s going on in our culture today: people being misled, uncared for, divided, scattered, and not being taught the Truth. Who is leading who? Is anyone truly shepherding God’s people? The relief lies in the fact that Jesus came and accomplished His plan to return His sheep safely into His fold. We have a true Shepherd that leads us in the one and only real Truth.
As we continue with the scripture references, the Lord has certainly had enough and plans to take matters into His own hands. God will deal with those who have failed at their task. His judgment does not come from an arbitrary place, He steps in to right wrong, and to bring justice. In lieu of the failed kings of Judah, God will send a King who would be absolutely righteous. God’s divine punishment of those failed kings fit their sins exactly. They have not been just, but God is! The sin of those kings was that they did not rule justly. They were more concerned and committed to maintaining their own power and prosperity rather than to care for the common people. As a side note, we all shepherd someone too in various roles: parents, grandparents, teachers, employees, employers, colleagues, friends, neighbors, church family members, in all types of leadership. Ponder on this scripture from Proverbs 28:23 “..know the condition of your flock..” Whoa, that is an attention getter. Yes, we are all shepherds in some capacity.
We can see hints of the exile during Jeremiah’s writings. After all the failed kings in the line of David, God would rise up in that line, “a righteous Branch”, a “new shoot” from a stump that looked dead. It may have looked like the end had come, and it had, but it was the end of the Line of David. The new King would be wise and save His people. Jesus, our good Shepherd, is a different kind of King, as He demonstrated most vividly as He died on the cross. He showed His royalty when He forgave those who hung Him on that rugged cross. Christ’s kingdom is one of mercy and grace, not power and glory.
The promised King, sent by God, embodied all the righteousness that God always wanted in His appointed kings. No man could ever measure up, so God sent His Own Son. Jesus made it very clear that He was the fulfillment of Jeremiah 23, and that He has a flock much larger than Israel and Judah. “I know My own and My own know Me…” and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this pen, I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. “ (John 10:14-16)
So many people today do not want the truth, they want their ears tickled telling them what they want to hear. There is plenty of “ear-tickling” going on today. Be aware of what and who you are listening to. Jesus, our true Shepherd and King died for you, follow and listen to Him! May woe not come upon you for failure to do so. No greater love will you ever experience, than the true sacrificial love of our Savior.
Father, we humbly bow before You in gratefulness for Jesus, our Shepherd, our Savior, our righteous King. May we honor You in all that we think, say, and do, Father. May we reflect Jesus to others. In His precious Name. Amen
