Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Remember way back in 1st Samuel 8 when God had appointed Samuel as a prophet to lead Israel

and they were like, but all the other nations have a king we want a king!

God said okay but be careful what you wish for because

it's not going to go well for you. And as we've seen in the 500 years since then, it hasn't.

Their kings have mostly been terrible. Today God calls those wicked kings to account.

He compares them to shepherds who have not looked over their flock. They've been selfish

shepherds, using the wool and the meat of the sheep and

surely the cheese too because who doesn't love a good pecarino Romano but they

haven't taken care of the sheep at all. In his explanation of what the

shepherds have done wrong it becomes clear what God expects Shepherds to do well.

Strengthen the weak sheep, heal the sick ones, bind up the injured ones, bring back the strays, seek the lost ones, make sure they're all fed, protect them from attack,

and rule over them with gentleness and grace. God says these shepherds not only ruled

selfishly, but verse four says,

with force and harshness you have ruled them.

They made life unnecessarily hard for the sheep,

when God had actually provided Israel

with more than enough for its kings to care for their people well.

Since their leaders acted harshly and abdicated their responsibilities, the sheep scattered,

and some of them were devoured by wild animals.

God says he will hold the shepherds responsible for how they've treated the sheep,

for how they've failed in fulfilling their assignment.

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