9.26.25 ~ The City of the Blind

 Good morning!


There is an expression, "in the city of the blind, the one eyed man is king." It was no different in Yeshua's day. The people were blind, they were desperate for leadership; longing to be led out of their captivity. In this week's Torah portion, Vayelech/he went, we find God's upright people in a dilemma: "Jeshurun/upright people have become fat and have rejected the covenant of their God (Deut. 32:15-18). Consequently, they have been forsaken (Deut. 32:20-43).

Yeshua taught the parable of the two shepherds in John 10:1-21. What a contrast and a reality check for the people of His day and ours! His parable revealed the condition of the lost sheep of the house of Israel and how they got into the condition as sheep without a shepherd (1 Kings 22:17; Eze. 34:5; Jer. 13:20; Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34). And if that wasn’t bad enough, none of those shepherds went searching for the sheep they scattered. Consequently, those sheep became easy prey to the predators and without proper love and care, their own judgment (Eze. 34:1-12; Jer. 23:1-2; 50:6,17; Zech 10:2-3; 11:17; Isa. 56:9; Acts 20:29-31; James 3:1-2)!

Prior to Yeshua’s arrival the Israelites only knew ‘hirelings’ as their shepherds. Self-centered, power-grabbing individuals who utilized the sheep for their own gain while feeding them a poor spiritual diet that caused them to become weak and easy victims for the adversary; ultimately being scattered through the nations. It’s no wonder that Yeshua placed such heavy emphasis in the life of Peter to feed His sheep good spiritual food in each of the stages of their development (John 21:16-17)!
What caused this? How could Yeshua say that all the shepherds that came before Him were hirelings? People who would flee when wolves came around? Individuals who would not go through the door, but would climb over the walls to get into the sheepfold? If sheep was used as a metaphor for the people of Israel, then who are the wolves in sheep's clothing?
Scripture always uses the physical to teach us the spiritual (1 Cor. 15:46). The people of God, Israel, as with all the nations, are metaphorically described throughout Scripture in multiple ways (Olive Tree, Jeshurun/upright ones (this week's Torah portion), Fig Tree, the stars, the sand, mountains, wind, flood, bread, Branches of the vine, Jerusalem, New Jerusalem, Mighty Oak, Sheep, Lion, Eagle, Bear, harlot, etc.). Specifically, the leaders who didn’t teach the Torah-based lifestyle from Genesis-Deuteronomy, are likened to wolves. These wolves are leaders in the assembly (Eze. 22:27), their lawless judges (Zeph. 3:3), their false prophets (Deut. 13:1-8; Matt. 7:15; 2 Pet. 2:1), and the church leaders appointed by the sheep (Acts 20:29).

Yeshua clearly states that His purpose was to gather the ‘lost sheep’ that had been scattered because of the poor shepherding provided to His people (John 10:12-16).

In our day, when our leaders are spineless jellyfish, using manipulative power grabs to control the people, it begs us to ask a realistic question: ‘who are these hireling-shepherds’? How can we spot them? How do we keep from getting devoured?

The Prophets from Moses-Zechariah all speak of the same issue: Leaders (Pastors, Prophets, Priests, Kings, Judges, and Teachers) who teach about the One True God and even the One True Messiah, but they are deceiving the people because they are not feeding them the only source of food that can properly nourish, provide instruction, protection, and be the ultimate source of healing and blessing…the Torah; the foundation of the five-fold ministry (Eph. 4).

Unfortunately, it's the reason for the condition of the church as a whole today. Hearts that have become cold towards one another because Torah-less teaching abounds (Matt. 24:12). Hence, Yeshua's warning not to be deceived in these last days (Matt. 24:4-13).

Let me encourage you to take inventory on who's leading you in every arena of life! There's a lot of thieves out there that seek to kill, steal and destroy...sheep are their target! And at the same time there are those who truly seek the Holy One of Israel.

Many are desperate for the truth. Many are not (2 Thess. 2:7-12). He, the Truth, is coming soon (Jn. 14:6) to a theater near you. Until He comes again, may our hearts turn fully to Him in spirit and truth! The 10 days of awe is a good place to start :-)

Happy preparation day, Shabbat shalom and chag sameach!

Shalom!
Alan

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