Israel's Irresponsible Leaders

Isaiah 56

⁹ _j All you beasts of the field, come to devour -
all you beasts in the forest.
¹⁰ _k His watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent _l dogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
¹¹ _m The dogs have a mighty appetite;
they never have enough.
But _n they are shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way,
_o each to his own gain, one and all.
¹² _p "Come," they say, "let me get wine;
let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
_q and tomorrow will be like this day,
great beyond measure."

1. Cross References
   Jeremiah 12:9
   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair? Are the birds of prey against her all around? Go, assemble all the wild beasts; bring them to devour.
   Ezekiel 34:8
   As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep.
   
2. Cross References
   Isaiah 62:6
   On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest.
   Jeremiah 6:17
   I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not pay attention.
   
3. Cross References
   Philippians 3:2
   Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
   
4. Cross References
   Ezekiel 34:2 - 3
   Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God : Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
   
5. Cross References
   Jeremiah 23:1
   Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" declares the Lord.
   
6. Cross References
   Jeremiah 6:13
   For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
   
7. Cross References
   Isaiah 28:7
   These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment.
   
8. Cross References
   Isaiah 22:13
   And behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.
   Proverbs 23:35
   "They struck me," you will say, "but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink."
   Luke 12:19
   And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.
   1 Corinthians 15:32
   What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.