Ezekiel 34:4-31

Have you ever wondered where Jesus got his stories about sheep and shepherds? It wasn’t that he grew up on a farm, yet his family probably still had livestock. Sheep and shepherd language permeates the scriptures because it was so relatable to the Hebrew people. The very term “Hebrew” means wanderer and what were the wanderers generally doing? Tending sheep. That was their life, their history. Where does God find Moses? Tending sheep. Where is David when Samuel comes to anoint him the next king of Israel? Tending sheep. What imagery does the Psalmist use most often? Sheep, shepherds, and flocks.

So it’s no surprise that Jesus becomes our Good Shepherd, the one foretold in prophets like Ezekiel.

“The Lord God proclaims: I myself will search for my flock and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out the flock when some in the flock have been scattered, so will I seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered during the time of clouds and thick darkness. I will gather and lead them out from the countries and peoples, and I will bring them to their own fertile land. I will feed them on Israel’s highlands, along the riverbeds, and in all the inhabited places. I will feed them in good pasture, and their sheepfold will be there, on Israel’s lofty highlands. On Israel’s highlands, they will lie down in a secure fold and feed on green pastures. I myself will feed my flock and make them lie down. This is what the Lord God says. I will seek out the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the wounded, and strengthen the weak. But the fat and the strong I will destroy, because I will tend my sheep with justice.” (Ezekiel 34:11-16, CEB)

I went to the County Fair for only one reason…to see a girl. (it was before Peggy and she knows this story.) This girl lived on a farm between our town and our rival town where she went to the rival school and she was showing sheep. I, on the other hand, was a “towny”, had never worked on a farm or tended livestock, or cared for a pet. (We did have a dog or two for short periods of time.) So I wasn’t much help with the sheep. I did discover that there is a good reason Jesus uses the sheep metaphor, they are not the smartest of creatures!

That’s why I love Jesus as my shepherd. He’s always watching out for us, seeking us when we’re lost, providing a place to get water and food, comfort, healing, and care. (You should never read Psalm 23 in any other way than to think of yourself as a sheep!)

Lost, alone, injured, thirsty, hungry, afraid, He leads us to still waters and green pastures.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11, CEB.

God does that…for you.