Responsibility
Responsibility
The most serious aspect of the priest’s responsibility is that God will require from him the blood of sinners whom he neglected in his care, for God has appointed him as a watchman over them.
In the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, the Lord says — in a phrase so important that it is repeated twice (Ezekiel 3 and 33) — about the sinner whom the shepherd fails to warn:
“That wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” (Ezekiel 3:18; 33:8)
Truly, how fearful are these words! Perhaps for this reason we pray in the Psalm, “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation” (Psalm 51:14).
What blood is this, when we have not shed any? It is the blood that God demands from our hands because of our neglect in shepherding His flock.
Therefore, in the Book of Ezekiel, God warns the shepherds:
“Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.” (Ezekiel 34:10)
Why, O Lord, all this judgment?
He answers: “Because My flock became prey and food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock.” (Ezekiel 34:8–9)
The priest’s work, then, is not mere leadership, but responsibility.
God will hold him accountable for every individual among His flock — for providing spiritual nourishment to each one, as the Lord said:
“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?” (Luke 12:42).
God will also ask him about visiting and restoring His sheep, as in the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15). And as the Lord said:
“Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out… I will deliver them from all the places where they were scattered… and bring them to their own land.” (Ezekiel 34:11–12).
The Lord will question the shepherds about how they cared for the flock, as He declared so beautifully:
“I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick.” (Ezekiel 34:15–16).
My advice to all priests: Read Ezekiel chapter 34 deeply and prayerfully.
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