They are afflicted for lack of a shepherd
the cost of following false gods
Zechariah 10:2
For the household gods utter nonsense,and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation.Therefore the people wander like sheep;they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. - (ESV)
I understand that the picture you are seeing is very graphic. I understand it is probably offensive to some. I hope as you view this picture you come to this result, sin is horrible. I wonder how we can not be affected by such a tragedy as this. The sobering reality is, every dead person in this picture is spending eternity in hell right now. They were chasing after a false god, just one among the millions they have, and as a result, God caused them to stampede each other and kill each other.
Why did their god not save them? Why would their god not answer when they cried out to him over this horrible incident? Maybe he was sleeping and they weren’t screaming loud enough, or maybe he was on vacation and would come back to find his followers dead. Or maybe, their god doesn’t exist, and they don’t know that because they have never heard the gospel. The scripture from Zechariah is a good one in explaining what happens when people don’t have a shepherd. They are afflicted, struck down, killed. Why is there no one who would go and tell these people that their gods are false gods and they need the one true living God, Jehovah?!
Are we scared of persecution? Are we scared of forsaking all to go and die for someone else that they might hear the good news? Are we convinced there is a better way, a safer way, for them to get the gospel? A friend and I were talking about people coming from America and giving their lives overseas for the gospel. He said the reason most of us don’t hear the call to go and suffer and die overseas is because we aren’t living a life to where we are able to hear the call. It’s true, we are foolishly chasing after laptops, iphones, cars, marriages, family, education, etc., and we aren’t following the command to suffer. “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
How many more people must God judge in front of our eyes before we awake to the reality that we are just as able to go and share the gospel, to the point of death if need be, to a lost and dying world? God have mercy on us who do not live a life to where we are able to hear the call, respond in obedience, and bring glory to Your name.
- R. Garcia
