Slices
Prepare
Think of a good leader and a bad leader. What makes the good leader good and the bad leader bad?
Bible passage
The righteous branch
23 ‘Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!’ declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: ‘Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,’ declares the Lord. 3 ‘I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the Lord.
5 ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Saviour.
7 ‘So then, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when people will no longer say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,” 8 but they will say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.” Then they will live in their own land.’
Explore
For the most part in Jeremiah, God speaks to the people communally, but here we see another theme from Scripture as a whole. Authority and responsibility go hand in hand; the leaders (vs 1,2) are particularly responsible because they have authority.
You’ll see this in any workplace. You might have responsibility for a part of the work, but you cannot significantly affect the direction of the whole organisation. It’s true for our churches as well; the leaders have the authority to direct the church and they therefore have responsibility for where it ends up.
In stating this in Jeremiah, God promises to judge the leaders appropriately (v 2) but then also to gather a remnant of his people back and put good leaders in charge (vs 3,4).
There are often two horizons in Old Testament prophecies: the near and the far. The near horizon here speaks of the return from exile (v 8); this of course happened some decades later. The far horizon speaks of the King who will come from David’s line, save Judah and rule justly. He will be called the Lord our righteous Saviour.
Respond
Pray for your current church leaders that they will lead wisely and for you that you will help them to bear the authority and responsibility well.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 2 Samuel 15,16; 1 Corinthians 7
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray for the Digital Solutions team as they manage the changes required with the imminent retirement of Ian Gooding (who has been at the heart of our technology provision for over 20 years), and look at the knowledge, skills and structure required for facing future challenges.
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