You led Your people like a flock. (Verse 20)
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 who are with young. Isaiah 40
Why is it that sheep need a shepherd? Cats, dogs, rats, gorillas, horses, penguins and most of the other animals I can name don't need a shepherd. So what's with sheep? Is it that they're dumb? I don't think so. It seems to be that they follow the crowd. Their herding instincts are for their protection since they don't have natural built-in defenses. If a wolf attacks one of them, they all run. Don't even know why. Just that Flo is running so let's run. Long after Flo is dinner for the wolf, the others are still high-tailing it to...to...?
It's been discovered that sheep have great recall for faces, however. Each others and humans. When taken to the fair, for instance, the sheep knows its shepherd. Ewes have a preference for handsome rams over the less square-jawed ones. They can actually be taught to navigate pretty serious mazes. So let's give sheep some credit.
The Bible can't help but call us sheep. Maybe it's because our natural defenses aren't that great, either. We don't roar, run fast, use our enormous teeth or climb trees. And we roll in packs. We tend to jump over the same cliffs our friends do regardless of the fact that our moms have warned us not to. It seems to me, however, that what makes us need shepherding is our hearts. They can be taken captive by the wolves that prey on us and sometimes we never get them back. I know God leads our physical path. Like a shepherd. Day by day through all kinds of terrain. But if we don't trust Him, we don't go anywhere He goes. We wander into the brambles or get stuck in ravines because our desire is to be our own shepherd. Only we are sheep. That's a big problem. Since sheep need a shepherd for all the obvious reasons.
If God is our Shepherd, we need to recognize His face. Come to Him when we are hungry. Let Him find the quiet stream (because sheep are afraid of running water) where we can get a drink when we're thirsty. Trust Him to keep us from the wolves. Lie down when He says lie down. Move when He says move. And try to walk as an orderly flock without constantly bumping into each other. That's a whole lot of trust. And the alternative is the brambles...or worse. That is why looking at Him is important. Sheep don't forget a face. And God's face is Jesus. The Good Shepherd Who gave His life for the sheep.
Let's look at Him. Born in a manger as a Lamb. He must understand what it means to be a sheep then. The frustration of our natural state -- He learned obedience by the things He suffered (Hebrew 5). Our Shepherd fought off our enemy. Gathered us to Himself and healed our wounds with His own. Loved even the most unlovely and unlikely of us. Forgave us when we went astray, every one to our own way (Isaiah 53). Took our place in the brambles and bled His way out. Held us when our hearts were breaking, cried with us, because He knew our sorrows -- was acquainted with grief. His face didn't turn away from prostitutes or lepers, adulteresses or cheats, the blind or the deaf. Willing to shepherd all the sheep, so that none need go astray again. Then taken as the sacrificial scapegoat outside the city to die as a Lamb so the sheep could live forever.
I may be a sheep but I'm not so dumb as to follow another shepherd. If this One loves His little ewe that much, I'm smart enough to climb into His arms and let Him take me anywhere. Nestle my head up under His chin and feel His heartbeat against mine. My Shepherd has stolen my heart. He has a face I can never forget.
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 who are with young. Isaiah 40
Why is it that sheep need a shepherd? Cats, dogs, rats, gorillas, horses, penguins and most of the other animals I can name don't need a shepherd. So what's with sheep? Is it that they're dumb? I don't think so. It seems to be that they follow the crowd. Their herding instincts are for their protection since they don't have natural built-in defenses. If a wolf attacks one of them, they all run. Don't even know why. Just that Flo is running so let's run. Long after Flo is dinner for the wolf, the others are still high-tailing it to...to...?
It's been discovered that sheep have great recall for faces, however. Each others and humans. When taken to the fair, for instance, the sheep knows its shepherd. Ewes have a preference for handsome rams over the less square-jawed ones. They can actually be taught to navigate pretty serious mazes. So let's give sheep some credit.
The Bible can't help but call us sheep. Maybe it's because our natural defenses aren't that great, either. We don't roar, run fast, use our enormous teeth or climb trees. And we roll in packs. We tend to jump over the same cliffs our friends do regardless of the fact that our moms have warned us not to. It seems to me, however, that what makes us need shepherding is our hearts. They can be taken captive by the wolves that prey on us and sometimes we never get them back. I know God leads our physical path. Like a shepherd. Day by day through all kinds of terrain. But if we don't trust Him, we don't go anywhere He goes. We wander into the brambles or get stuck in ravines because our desire is to be our own shepherd. Only we are sheep. That's a big problem. Since sheep need a shepherd for all the obvious reasons.
If God is our Shepherd, we need to recognize His face. Come to Him when we are hungry. Let Him find the quiet stream (because sheep are afraid of running water) where we can get a drink when we're thirsty. Trust Him to keep us from the wolves. Lie down when He says lie down. Move when He says move. And try to walk as an orderly flock without constantly bumping into each other. That's a whole lot of trust. And the alternative is the brambles...or worse. That is why looking at Him is important. Sheep don't forget a face. And God's face is Jesus. The Good Shepherd Who gave His life for the sheep.
Let's look at Him. Born in a manger as a Lamb. He must understand what it means to be a sheep then. The frustration of our natural state -- He learned obedience by the things He suffered (Hebrew 5). Our Shepherd fought off our enemy. Gathered us to Himself and healed our wounds with His own. Loved even the most unlovely and unlikely of us. Forgave us when we went astray, every one to our own way (Isaiah 53). Took our place in the brambles and bled His way out. Held us when our hearts were breaking, cried with us, because He knew our sorrows -- was acquainted with grief. His face didn't turn away from prostitutes or lepers, adulteresses or cheats, the blind or the deaf. Willing to shepherd all the sheep, so that none need go astray again. Then taken as the sacrificial scapegoat outside the city to die as a Lamb so the sheep could live forever.
I may be a sheep but I'm not so dumb as to follow another shepherd. If this One loves His little ewe that much, I'm smart enough to climb into His arms and let Him take me anywhere. Nestle my head up under His chin and feel His heartbeat against mine. My Shepherd has stolen my heart. He has a face I can never forget.
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