Shepherds
We come off of such a great chapter of watchtowers into a chapter
of shepherds. Because of the modern use
of the symbol of the shepherd, we always anticipate the use of the word
shepherd to mean “religious leaders.”
Certainly it could. But in this
context, shepherd would simply mean any kind of leader. We’re talking largely about the political
leaders (kings and their court, primarily).
Of course, in ancient Israel we would also be talking about the
religious advisors to the kings. So I’m
not giving a pass to the religious leaders.
I’m merely broadening the net from what we typically think of as
shepherds.
The main problem with the shepherds is that they haven’t done the
job that was asked of them. They were
supposed to protect the people. They
were supposed to keep the flock from scattering. For the record, these are largely the
function of government. It was the poor
governmental decision and the weaker military that literally allowed the Hebrew
people to be dominated and taken into several waves of exile.
We also hear that the shepherds did not bind the injured, seek out
the lost, or feed the sheep. This would
be largely the more religious dynamic of leadership. The Hebrew people were allowed to graze and
be fed wherever they wanted. They
orphans and the widows were not cared for.
People were not being encouraged to find spiritual food from God where
it would be satisfying.
Religious or spiritual, the shepherds weren’t doing their
job. The people weren’t safe. The people weren’t being cared for. They weren’t being spiritually fed. Wave after wave of Hebrew people were being dragged
into exile. The shepherds would find
judgment at the hand of God because they would not do their job.
Here again we hear the warning of the watchman that we heard in
the past chapter. If the shepherds
refuse to do the job for which they were appointed, God will exact
recompense. What good is a shepherd who
doesn’t do what a shepherd is supposed to do?
God’s Action
Something really neat happens in the middle section of the
chapter. God takes over. God assumes control. God’s chosen human element could not do the
role of the shepherd all that well. So
God Himself will take over.
God says that He will seek them out. He will among the nations and call out His
people. God is going to judge one sheep
from the next. God will find His sheep from
all over the entire world in all kinds of different geographies. God will rescue His flock so that they will
no longer be prey.
Two really neat thoughts
come to me as I think about this passage.
First, I don’t often think of myself as prey. But I really am. So are you!
Those who truly desire to follow God are prey in the hands of the
world. The world would rise up against
us. The world would seek our
destruction. The world would consume us
if it could. Like it or not, I really am
prey in the jaws of the world.
The second really neat idea is just how much this passage points
us to Christ. In Christ – and the
subsequent coming of the Holy Spirit – we do have people being called by God
from all walks and all nations. God is
rescuing His flock wherever they happen to be.
It is God who is doing the work, not any of us!
So That They Shall Know
As we bring this chapter to a close, we absolutely see the point
of all of this. Why will God bring His
true people back? Why will God take an
active part in calling His people home?
All of this will happen so that they will know that God is sovereign.
This is precisely what didn’t happen under the old shepherds. The rulers of the people after David simply
didn’t cut it. They didn’t rule in such
a way that demonstrated the sovereignty of God.
They didn’t rule at all in a way that pointed people to God. So God will come in and take charge.
Again, I think this point is extremely profound. It speaks volumes to the focus of the New
Testament. What is the biggest effect of
Jesus’ life and death? We shall know
God. The whole point of being called by
Jesus and receiving the Hoy Spirit is so that we will know God and be able to
be used by God to bring Himself to others.
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