Negative example of pastoring. Part 1

Ezekiel 34:1-6. NASB95
1 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?
3 “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.
4 “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.
5 “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.
6 “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.” ’ ”

Sometimes we learn by positive example and sometimes we learn by negative example.

The Lord (and the pastors) has recently called me into a (very) low level pastoring position in our church (boy, is that badly phrased). This has caused me to think about what pastoring is and what a pastor does

I think what struck me here is this :

“Woe shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?”

I have never officially taught or pastored in my church. However, I have a reputation for Bible knowledge. One analogy might be to a large store of wood, brush, and tinder; but unlit.

I do not take this passage that I have missed the mark in sharing what the Lord has given me. It is an encouragement that it is now time to share that which I have accumulated.