It is right that God asked Adam, "Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" (Gen. 3:11)  Adam must be answerable for his wife.  It had been his duty to teach her, to ground her in God's holy Word, and thus to shield her from the tempter in the garden.

The priority of Adam's creation had set in place God's creative order for mankind. "For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." (1 Timothy 2:13)  The man was to lead and rule.  He was the head and stronger vessel.  Eve was dependent upon Adam.  She had been given by God to her husband and was to be under his headship.  Because she was of Adam's own flesh she could not be inferior to him, but she was to be subordinate to Adam who was given her charge.

He was to love her, comfort her, and honor and keep her.  But the perfect love, union, and stability they were given was shattered by the devil's deception. Eve fell into the trap set by the enemy.  Satan targeted delicate Eve.  She sinned, and Adam is answerable which is neither an exemption for Eve nor an injustice to Adam.

He is still her head although he did not behave as such.  He received the forbidden fruit the now insubordinate Eve offered him.  He yielded to her requests and inclinations rather than fulfill his duty under the Word of God.  The fact that Eve erred first does not make Adam's fall less egregious.  It shows just how corrupting and powerful sin is, for it spread and mastered Adam himself. 

The man who was responsible became reckless himself.  The man who knew better abandoned his high privilege and obligation.  He became the tail end, an appendage of no use to his bride.  In his own sin, Adam did not lead, love, or provide for Eve.

Such a damnable failure was repeated by the shepherds of Israel, men against whom God spoke through His prophet Ezekiel.  For whom had they been given this great privilege to lead and shepherd?  For the weak, the injured, and the victims of vicious attack just like Eve. 

And yet they stood by.  They abandoned their calling.  They did not strengthen the weaker vessels or call back those who strayed.  Rather, they clothed themselves with the very wool of the sheep they were to protect.  They perverted their rule from compassion to harshness and force.  They must be answerable for they are responsible. 

Their sins of commission and sins of omission are detailed in a stinging rebuke.  Feeding themselves on the fat yet ignoring the sick, indifferent to the victimization going on of the flock, these "shepherds" gave up what was most precious, much as Adam witnessed the disintegration of Eve's beauty, purity, and security.

This devotion is not easy for me to write because a pastor who sins, as I have sinned, has no further to look than his own ministry for deplorable imperfections and omissions.  We have members of our congregation who have strayed far and wide.  We have members who are spiritually sick and injured.  Others even now are being stalked by Satan, who, like a roaring lion, is seeking more destruction.

The answer does not begin with new resolves, with promises to improve, or re-drafted accountability standards.  There is no answer but to repent.  As Aaron must first make sacrifice for his own sin (Lev. 9:8), so we, in our callings, must bow in contrition before our Lord and plead His mercy.

Adam was stripped of excuses.  Aaron had no blood in his own veins to atone for his sin.  The shepherds of Israel had no arguments against the Lord's righteous condemnation.  And I have nothing to make allowances for my great errors either.  Who of us has?

What we do have is a God who asks for and receives no excuses, no arguments, and no allowances from us.  We have a God who does not ask for our blood but has given His own.  We have a Shepherd in Jesus Christ who feeds His flock, binds up the injured, has pursued the lost until He found them.  He would not eat until His whole flock was safely home.  He would not rest until He had exhausted every effort, including the loss of his own life to permanently protect His lambs and sheep from perils of the world, the devil, and our own foolish, unruly waywardness.

Even when disciplining the substandard blameworthy shepherds, the Lord continues to call his people "my sheep."  Take comfort in the fact that you are not people who belong to an association or to a tyrant.  You are the people of the Good Shepherd who has laid down His life for you and taken it again.

Give thanks also when, for you, God supplies faithful shepherds who are only faithful if they declare God's Word in its truth and purity and administer the Sacraments according to His institution.  In order to do so, they must not yield to shifting preferences and proclivities as Adam gave in to Eve, but who will lead first by confessing, "Lord, I did eat of the tree you commanded of me not to eat.  I have no excuse, evasion, or alibi.  I have only the blood of Jesus Christ to plead."

Then together, the undershepherds with the whole flock may joyfully confess, "Christ is our Head.  Jesus is our faithful Shepherd, our husband and strong defender.  The Good Shepherd, the risen Christ is our Lord and our God.