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YOUR SHEPHERDS SLUMBER (NAHUM 3:14-19)

REFLECTION

“Your shepherds slumber” is the theme for our reflection. A shepherd is a person who tends and rears sheep. In the context of our reflection, a shepherd provides leadership, guidance and direction to a group of people under their care. We shall reflect on the fact that arrogant and self-sufficient human leaders slumber and fail but those who rely on God are guided or directed by Him since He is the Chief shepherd who does not slumber.

Beloved in the Lord, arrogant and self-sufficient leaders slumber, fail and cause their people to scatter in anxiety and despair, but leaders who rely on God as the Chief Shepherd gain wisdom, divine protection and strength to lead. Their success and accomplishments come from the strength and direction of the Lord. The calamity that befell the Assyrian Kingdom that oppressed Israel is that its shepherds slumbered or fell asleep. Nahum declared “King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your nobles lie down to rest. (Nahum 3:18) What then was the effect on Nineveh or Assyria when their shepherds slumbered? Nahum said “Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them. (Nahum 3:18) In other words, a nation lacks direction and purpose when its leaders are unproductive. Leaders who slumber are unproductive, irresponsible, self-seeking and insensitive to the existential challenges of their people, hence, the people are left to their fate.

Leadership or shepherding is a serious business that must not be taken lightly in any organization or nation. Leadership plays a pivotal role in the success or failure of a nation or organization. More importantly, godly leadership emanates from the divine will and purpose of God, so every leader or human shepherd who is determined to succeed must totally depend on God and pray with Psalmist, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalms 121:1-4). Let us humble ourselves as leaders and allow God to shepherd us. Once we are being guided, sustained and directed by God we shall not slumber. We shall stay resourceful and relevant to the people we lead and they will in return, respond to our leadership. No wonder, Solomon, said, “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.” (Proverbs 29:2), and when the people continuously groan and suffer, they will scatter to seek refuge elsewhere.

When there is chaos in the nation or in an organization and people scatter, leadership ultimately suffers, Nahum described the fate of the Assyrian leaders when he said, “Nothing can heal you; your wound is fatal. All who hear the news about you clap their hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?” (Nahum 3:19). These historical accounts or events in the Bible are not meant for our reading pleasure as leaders and Christians, they are meant to teach us to rely on God when we have the opportunity or privilege to shepherd or give guidance and direction to those placed under our care. Like David, we are greatly admonished to always say, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalms 23:1-4). David has taught us that as mere mortals who have been given the mandate to shepherd others, we must be submissive to God and allow Him to order our steps so that we do not carelessly fall asleep at post thereby incurring His wrath and the displeasure of the people by causing them to scatter.

In summary, we have learnt and demonstrated through our reflection that ungodly, arrogant, self-sufficient or reliant human leaders slumber and fail but those who rely on God are guided or directed by Him since He is the authentic shepherd who does not slumber. If anyone wants to be a successful leader, He must turn to God our Chief Shepherd. Shalom.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, we are limited in our wisdom and abilities as human leaders, we humbly pray for Your empowerment to fulfil the will of God so that we shall not slumber but stay resourceful and relevant to the people we will lead and most importantly, faithful and obedient the Word of God. Amen.