Senseless Shepherds and Scattered Sheep

June 2025

In 627 B.C., a young priest in Israel heard God’s call to be a prophet. Born in Anatoth, three miles northeast of Jerusalem, Jeremiah’s ministry spanned 40 turbulent years. He witnessed firsthand the death of his nation. His king, Josiah, had come to the throne 15 years earlier at the tender age of 8. When Josiah was only 16 years old, he began to seek the Lord (2 Chron 34:3). He began a series of spiritual reforms that temporarily turned some of the nation from idolatry back to the Lord. But the revival under Josiah was to be short lived. He died in 609 B.C., killed by the Egyptian army in the valley of Megiddo. From that day till now Jews view the valley of Megiddo as a decisive turning point of a lost battle and lost righteousness. Four short years later (605 B.C.), it was bag packing time for those in Jerusalem as the first deportation to Babylon occurred under the cruel Nebuchadnezzar. The Southern kingdom of Israel was coming to an end.

Throughout this time of national upheaval, Jeremiah preached the Word of God. For the most part, the leaders and people rejected his preaching. Jeremiah suffered because the leaders of his nation and his temple were incompetent and ungodly. They had led the nation into idolatry. Listen to his indictment in Jeremiah 10:21:  “For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the Lord; therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.”

This single verse has haunted me for years. What does it mean to “seek the Lord.” To seek the Lord involves three things: prayer, studying the Word, preaching the Word. Here is the picture of a praying preacher, a studying preacher, and a preaching preacher! Spiritual shepherds are to govern the flock gently, protect them constantly, provide for them carefully, feed them faithfully, and seek them diligently. Because the false shepherds in Jeremiah’s day failed in their duty, God said: “And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jer 3:15).

May God raise up his shepherds, pastors who seek the Lord through the faithful study and exposition of Scripture, and who will lead many to the Great Shepherd, Jesus. “And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully” (Jeremiah 23:28).

David L. Allen