We had sheep, once, and for a very short time. No prior experience, and they are not easy to even like, much less to take care of — except the lambs. We had no lambs but I recently had the experience of holding one. Soft, gentle, cuddly, compliant, more like a puppy or a kitten and less like a feisty goat or other animal babies.
Still, I am no SHEPHERD. The human version is a person whose occupation is tending, feeding, and guarding sheep in a pasture. Since God’s Word calls His people sheep, He Himself is our Shepherd, occupying Himself with tending, feeding, and guarding those who know and follow Him.
Jacob knew His care. When blessing Joseph, he referred to “the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day.” Our Shepherd is committed to us for all our lives.
He also appoints others to shepherd us. Moses was near the end of his leadership term and said, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” The Lord appointed Joshua to that task.
Later it was David, the shepherd king who wrote Psalm 23:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
He knew, as did other psalmists and the prophets, that their Shepherd was God:
Psalm 28:9. “Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.”
Psalm 80:1. “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.”
Isaiah 40:11. “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”
Even so, God appointed shepherds to tend His people, leaders who often did not exercise care and concern for God’s flock as they should. They sometimes took advantage of the sheep, using them for their own purposes, scattering them, and destroying them in the process. For that reason, the Lord pronounced judgment against them and promised His people a better shepherd, even that He would take this role Himself:
Ezekiel 34:15. “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down,” declares the Lord God.
He explained saying His shepherd would be David, yet the NT makes it plain that those explanations are messianic prophecies. Jesus acted like a shepherd and plainly declared Himself to be the good Shepherd . . .
Mark 6:34. “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.”
John 10:11-16. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep . . . . I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me . . . . And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. I’ve little experience with human shepherds, only with sheep. When I think of Jesus in this context, I think of that lamb I held in my arms, easily making the connection that Jesus is also the Lamb of God who died to take away my sin. Yet Revelation 7:17 says, “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” This verse and other Scriptures move me from the image of that gentle lamb to the God who rose from the dead to take care of me, a helpless little sheep who needs comfort, nourishment, and care. Yet He does it gently and with compassion, deepening my love and desire to follow Him all the days of my life, and to look forward with great joy to eternity when I will dwell with Him forever.
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