WHEN SHEPHERDS BECOME HERDSMEN

The Lord was speaking expressly to me the other day; there was a field, and I was a shepherd with some sheep flock, and not faraway was someone on the same field, this person was a “herdsman” with some cattle (cows). And the Lord said to me, “Remain a shepherd and stay with the sheep. Do not be tempted to look at the others on the same field who have turned their sheep into cattle and they have become herdsmen. They made them (the sheep) become cattle and milk them (instead of feeding them with milk and meat).” Then He concluded, “Neither the cattle nor the herdsmen will inherit the Kingdom of God”.

When I came back to my human senses, I quickly reached out for my Bible standing before me and the Spirit began to lighten more on those words. Let me share a little.

The field represents the church. The purpose of God for the Church is to raise shepherds who will feed the flock among them. No wonder Jesus Himself is the True Shepherd and we must follow in his footsteps if we desire not to miss it.

The cattle represent Christians (sheep) who have been turned into “big and prosperity-centred Christians” (cattle) through the words and lives of their leaders who themselves have become herdsmen and no longer shepherds. They are more concerned about the present welfare of their followers with little or no concern for their eternity. They milk them financially and grow fat on these.

The Spirit opened my eyes to see the antecedents of such herdsmen in the Bible and their characteristics. The herdsmen may have heard strong Christian roots and were not so in the beginning, but at some points they changed.

“And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren” (Genesis 13:7, 8).

Can you see what the herdsmen stand for? They are not interested in the gospel of peace but strife and competition. They engage in conflicts over church interests. They cannot dwell together in unity, always wanting to show superiority. They used to be shepherds with sheep, but now they had become herdsmen with cattle. But amazingly, this was not what their fathers (Abraham) handed over to them. Friends, we need to seriously contend for the faith that was once handed over to the saints.

Find below and see that wherever the ministry of the herdsmen abide, there is strife and contention:

“And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him” (Genesis 26:20).

Now, look at this:

“Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul” (1 Samuel 21:7).

Doeg was a herdsman. He used to have connection with the Lord and still try to maintain that connection hence he was detained before the Lord. But it he had lost it. He exposed a secret of David, and then look at what he did: “And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod” (1 Samuel 22:18). The herdsman killed the priests of the Lord!!! Is this not what is happening now? There is dearth and death of the ministries of emerging firebrand ministers orchestrated by those who do not want the truth to abide. These herdsmen are indeed antichrists in disguise.

Anyone like Doeg who is against the true teaching of holiness is an antichrist. Who is Doeg? He is a minister, perhaps once called of God as a shepherd over a flock...but along the  way, he missed it and the gospel track changed for the itching ears. He became a herdsman and replace eternity with earthly influence and connection with king Saul. Is this not what many so-called “big ministers” do today? Because of the kings (presidents, politicians, etc) bread and delicacies, they have compromised and put the kingdom of Heaven last in their ministry.

And the Spirit showed me something about a man you and I know very well in the Bible; Prophet Amos. Amos was an herdsman until God traced him and found him out and he became a mouthpiece for the kingdom  again. “The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah...” (Amos 1:1).

The same way, we pray that God will in His mercies reach out to erring ministers who have departed from the initial call like Demas who forsook the gospel...and much more we pray that God will help us remain bold and courageous as we sound the alarm of Jesus’ coming and the judgement ahead.

Those who saw the vision of Jesus’ birth were not herdsmen watching their cattle, but they shepherds watching their flocks by night. The same way, those who will make it when He shall come like a thief in the night shall not be herdsmen watching over their cattle, but shepherds watching over their sheep at night. No wonder He said, “neither the herdsmen nor the cattle will enter the Kingdom of God”