The prophet Ezekiel paints a graphic picture of the flock of God scattered among the hills, a prey to lurking beasts, and filled with fear and distress. He attributes their condition to two sources. First, the shepherds who were to feed the flock, fleeced them and fed themselves. Instead of searching for those who were driven away and seeking for those who were lost, they ruled them with force and cruelty.
As a result, God declares that He is against those shepherds and will hold them responsible, even requiring his flock at their hand. It is interesting to note that those who are called shepherds by Ezekiel (34) are called pastors by Jeremiah (23:1, 2). The word is identical in the original Hebrew. Jeremiah writes, "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord . . . 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 saith the Lord." It is apparent that God's sheep have been scattered by the very leaders to whom they looked for guidance and instruction.
Another factor in the production of the condition is the arrogant, proud and boastful attitude of the fattened members of the flock. They are depicted as pushing and thrusting with side and shoulder, and horning the humble and meek aside, until they are scattered abroad. They are charged, not only with eating the best pasture and drinking the pure water, but also with trampling the remainder into muck and mire, and fouling it and defiling it for the rest. "And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?" This is an apt portrayal of religion in many places today, where the sheep are exploited by an official board, forced to meet a budget they did not arrange, and subscribe to a program they did not originate. They must knuckle under or get out.
"My sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill, yea my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did seek or search after them." That is a picture of the flock today. They are wandering through the mountains and hills of sectarianism. They are separated and scattered because of neglect, abuse and cruelty, to which they have been subjected. This is not the will of God. It is his desire that they be together, that there be but one flock and one shepherd. He does not want them divided by partisanship or factionalism but united in love and peace. They were scattered in "a cloudy and dark day" but a brighter day is coming.
God has designed that his sheep shall be brought out from the people, gathered from the countries, and restored to their own estate, where they shall be fed in a good pasture, upon the high mountains of faith and truth. There will the flock be safe under the supervision of one shepherd, the prince of David. They shall have a covenant of peace, and will dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. None shall make them afraid. They shall know that the Lord is with them and they are His people.
We live in an age of cacophonous sounds of a strident nature. One says, "Lo, here is the Christ," while another says, "There he is." The command of the true shepherd is "Do not believe it." He said, "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, the very elect." The burning question of this day is not where you stand upon some secondary matter, but "What think ye of Christ." There are scores of things which may be right but they are subservient to the greatest question of the ages. Our eyes must be upon the shepherd, not upon his rod or staff, important though they may be.
Our appeal goes forth to all of the scattered flock wandering over the hills which have been created by men. We would do our humble best to search and seek after every good and honest heart "scattered upon the face of the whole earth." Every person in the whole wide world who possesses such a heart is my brother--either in prospect or reality. They do not all bring forth the same degree of fruit. Some produce thirty fold. Some produce sixty. A few may produce a hundredfold. But all are God's children and all are my brothers and sisters, for the kingdom of heaven is likened unto them.
Those who have heard and learned, and come unto Christ, believing in Him, and demonstrating their faith by immersion into His death, are the sons of God. Never mind where they are. Do not be concerned about what mountain or hill they wander over. They are His children, and my brothers, wherever they may be wandering as the result of the cloudy and dark days. Those who have not yet been immersed into our dear Lord, because of lack of knowledge, environment or teaching, need only to have the truth brought to bear upon their good and honest hearts, and they will accept it.
The promise of God still obtains. "As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness." Clouds obscure the vision. They make it impossible to keep the trail. They conceal the form of the shepherd. Some feel they are following him when they are really going off on a tangent. And thick darkness hides the trail from sight. It is not a matter of arrogant accusation for those who have lost sight of the way under such circumstances. Ours is a rescue mission. We must find them and guide them home again.
We plead with all who believe in Jesus, and yet are divided from one another, to be no longer content with the meager pasturage upon the hills. The hand of God beckons on to the high mountain where is the good fold. Salvation is not in the hills. It is not the wish of heaven that we should be divided in heart and spirit. If we are content to be, without doing anything tangible to remedy the state, it is proof that we have been betrayed by Satan. Everyone of us should be actively engaged in trying to get people, not to come to us, but to come to Him.
Let us heal the breaches in Zion. Let us repair the walls and set up the gates. Let us restore the good way and walk in it. Our dear Lord does not want those who believe in Him to be split into divers sects. Even small communities are often fractured into Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Roman Catholic fraternities. Some of these represent the adherence to a certain order; others to a certain ordinance. One signifies the man who gave them being, the other make a point of being both Roman and universal. How it must grieve the heart of God to see such division among these who profess faith in Jesus as the hope of the world.
Those who compose these bodies all affirm emphatically that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. They do not deny a single fact connected with his personal ministry. They are divided over the interpretation they place upon these facts, or their opinions about them. They each demand that every person have the same opinion as do they about the things they have deduced from what Jesus has said. They bind upon the consciences of men things they cannot possibly accept.
But it is true that God loves every one of them. It is true that Jesus died for every one of them. It is true that God wills they should all be one. It is true that Jesus prayed they might be one. Is it true, then, that they can never answer that prayer? Is there no solution for the problem? Are we doomed to go on until we die in our divided state. Our appeal will never fall with favor upon the ears of those who love the party spirit, regardless of the party to which they are attached. Our appeal is addressed to the good and honest hearts in all parties. Let us arise and return in spirit and in fact to Him who died for us all. Then shall we be a blessing as he has promised, "And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing: and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing."
I want to see the showers of blessing. I want to see the parched earth revived again. I want to see the flowers bloom and the fruits borne. I want to wet my searing lips in the rain from on high. I want to be a partaker of his promise. "And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I brake the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hands of those who enslaved them." That is what I crave. It is what I long for. I want to dwell securely where none shall make me afraid.
God has given us a revelation from heaven. It is like the rain and snow which comes down from heaven. It does not return to heaven but waters the earth. It causes it to spring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Thus it is with the word which goes forth from His mouth. It will not return unto Him empty, but it will accomplish His purpose. It will prosper in the thing to which He sent it. We have tried to catch that rain in our own cisterns. We have sought to keep others from drinking of it unless they use our dipper.
But it is a divine love letter to the world. It is not to be caught and treasured in a sectarian cistern. If we love its author as we claim to do, let us labor to help fulfill His eternal purpose. Let us seek to unite in Him, and upon the basis He has given. It is later than you think! The world hovers on the brink of despair and destruction. We have but two alternatives. We must convert the world to Jesus, or the world will commit universal suicide. All that is essential to leading the world to believe in Jesus, is for those in the world who believe in Jesus to become one. This is His own blessed assurance. "Neither pray I for these alone, but for all them also who believe on me through their word; that they may all be one . . . that the world may believe that thou has sent me."
The cost of a divided people is a lost world. Can we afford to pay that tribute to our fractured state. Does any person of reason doubt that if we all became one tonight that the world would be a better place tomorrow? Have we not exported our divisions to places in the world which are not ready to receive them? Each sect sends its own missionaries to reproduce abroad the same kind of institution which sent them forth. Thus, we have not only fractured ourselves into warring clans over here but have set humble native peoples at each other's throats in their home-land and done so in the name of Jesus.
What would be the glorious result of the unity of which we speak? Wars would cease and the rumble of cannons die away. The power of nuclear fission could be directed toward the relief of mankind. The shrieks and groans of dying men upon the battlefields of the earth would be heard no more. The mighty energies of the universe could be expended in the betterment of all mankind. We could safely travel any place upon earth. Prejudice and hate would fade away. The desert would blossom like a rose. We would experience a true brotherhood of man under the benign fatherhood of God. Fellowship based upon mutual sonship would exalt the peoples of the earth.
In the face of such a benign prospect, how pale and insignificant are the doctrines and dogmas of men, the opinions and interpretations which rend the hearts, and set us back into the jungle of passion under the reign of fang and claw. Sectarianism, division, party strife and schism must be dethroned. They cannot be tolerated in a heart in which the Lord is sanctified. Let us seek the one Lord, the one faith, the one body. Let us come unto Him through the one baptism He has appointed.
What can we do? Those of us who love the Lord more than men, who exalt His revelation above human rationalization, who seek to restore the one body to its primitive perfection, must seek to study together, to investigate, to question that we may know "the Way." Regardless of what party we may now be in, we must seek the ultimate destruction of all parties by merging through mutual acceptance of the truth, into the grand concourse of all saints which will compose the one body.
We must further our aim in love. Nothing that is not of eternal value is great enough to divide the church over here. "Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name" (Mal. 3:16). To help in my very feeble way, I offer personally to go to any synagogue, cathedral, or church building which I can reach, at home or abroad, and express my views on these issues, and submit to questioning at any length. I will respect those who differ and love their souls. I will patiently listen to their views.
Brighter days are coming. A mighty army of earnest seekers after truth is being raised up all over the earth. Men are beginning to discard the shackles of slavery devised by human agency. The sheep on the hills are lifting their gaze to the high mountain peaks of safety. Their ears are tuned to the sound of the voice of the shepherd. Men are examining their positions by the Book, rather than by the light of tradition. The campfires of the pilgrims can be seen flickering all along the road to Jerusalem.
Let us here issue a word of warning. Let not those who are fortunate enough to have discovered the green pastures first, devour and tramp the residue with their feet. Let not those who have been drinking of the deep waters foul the pure stream by jealousy and bigotry. It is no time for those who have found certain great and abiding principles "to thrust with side and shoulder, and push the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad." Brethren, make room for them. Let them in.
God's sheep are coming home from the hills. There is room on the mountain for every good and honest heart. His house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth in singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Will that not be a glad day when there will be singing on the hills of Zion?
God has reserved thousands who have not bowed the knee to Baal! Longing eyes are looking upward. Hungry hearts are turned heavenward. The sheep are starting to move toward the shepherd, slowly at first, but with gathering momentum. They have heard the voice of the shepherd again as it echoes among the hills. He has promised to them "within his house and within his walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters, an everlasting name that will not be cut off." Don't stone them or beat them back with force and with cruelty. Let them come home to the prince of David. They are his sheep, and not ours. We also are His sheep. We are a part of the gathering throng.