“Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.” Ezekial 34: 2(b)-4 NIV

Ezekiel 34:2–4 functions as a moral lens on leadership. Moral leaders care for the vulnerable, heal the sick, feed the hungry and seek justice for the aggrieved. They do so with truth and humility. Moral leaders do not use authority as a means to enrich or feed themselves.

It seems absurd for even his most deluded adulators to confuse Donald Trump with a moral leader. They simply cannot deny his blatant neglect – or, more accurately, his disdain – for the impoverished, the sojourner, the forsaken, and anyone that doesn’t pay him homage, cannot benefit him, or doesn’t look like him. Nor can they deny his unrepentant use of the presidency to enrich himself, his family and those who bend the knee.

And as incredulous as it is, those adulators seem not to care. They see not a corrupt, narcissistic POTUS who rules with “harshness and brutality” directed towards the most exposed – but a demigod who blinds them by stoking their fears with deceit and slander.

God spoke to the prophet Zechariah, informing him that Israel would suffer leaders (“shepherds”) who would ultimately preside over the nation’s demise. Such leaders would prefigure those of modern day.

“For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.” Zechariah 11:16

To the moral among us, that sounds an apt description of POTUS. The Lord continued in verse 17:

“Woe to the worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
his right eye totally blinded!”

In these passages, God condemns shepherds who prioritize personal gain over those they lead, who fail to strengthen the weak or heal the sick, who do not seek the lost or care for the vulnerable – but instead rule with spite and mercilessness rather than grace and compassion.

Such is the reign of Donald Trump, the worthless shepherd.

Zechariah 11 is both symbolic and prophetic. Verses 4-14 speak of the people’s rejection of the “good shepherd” representing God’s appointed leader. Many commentators see the rejected shepherd as prophesy regarding Jesus Christ. The “worthless shepherd” described in the subsequent verses is then a foil – a false messiah, antichrist figure, or corrupt leader that the people turn to in place of the true Christ.

I do not believe it is a reach to suggest that Zechariah 11 has prefigured the volatile circumstances we find ourselves in today. There is no more compelling evidence than the fact that Donald Trump has become the most powerful person on the planet. Such a scenario could only unfold if the nation turned from the teaching and the example of Jesus Christ.

Those who enable, empower and encourage Trump have rejected the Good Shepherd. They have renounced love, compassion, humility and truth, embracing instead a morally bankrupt potentate who exalts himself, is vindictive and unrepentant, and presents himself as uniquely capable of “saving” the country. Such renunciation contrasts sharply with biblical ideals of godly leadership and is a bold rejection of the Lord’s instruction.