Isaiah 56:9-12 – Sleeping Dogs And Abusive Shepherds
God is looking at His people as a flock of sheep, and He is calling for predators to come into the flock in verse 9. Why would He do this? Well, it is to discipline the true Israel of God, but also to expose and judge the hypocrites within, particularly those who are the leaders, who are compared here to useless watchdogs and ones who actually themselves abuse the flock.
Guard dogs are there to guard the sheep and watch for predators. What good are they if they are sleeping? But that’s exactly what was going on. Who are these dogs? Why, they are the leaders of the people, the civil leaders and the religious leaders, and they’re called on to warn of the approach of the predator. They are charged by God to be guarding the people, but they will have none of it. They sleep, and they allow spiritual enemies within the fold, and they themselves will be the ones to be devoured. King Jesus called in these foreign nations from the fields and forests to destroy the dogs. He brought them in to destroy the abusers. He brought them in to expose and destroy the false sheep.
While the dogs are lazy and useless in warning the people and guarding and protecting the people, they are diligent in another way and wide awake in another way. What is that? In verse 11 you’ll see that they’re very diligent in protecting their own stuff. They are greedy. They are constantly wanting more and more and more. Sadly, there are leaders of the people in a civil role and in the church role, who are always looking out for “number one.” They want to keep their place, their popularity, their power, and their money.
God moves Isaiah to switch from looking at these wicked leaders as being watchdogs to being the shepherds themselves. The basic problem here that God lines out is that they cannot understand. They have no new hearts. They are ungodly themselves. So of course, they cannot understand spiritual things, let alone their spiritual responsibilities. They have no concept of the need to guide and care for the sheep. Their only concern is, what can I get out of this? They saw authority as that which gave them power to raise and keep themselves on top, with no care for those that were supposed to be cared for, except how they could be fleeced and butchered for their own pleasure.
Question
- How were the leaders bad watchdogs?
Prayer Points
- Pray that God would keep among us good shepherds and faithful watchdogs.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.