THE SHEPHERD

The word “Shepherd” is used numerous times in the Bible. Sometimes it is used on its own and at other times with an adjective such as Chief (1Peter 5:4), Good (John 10:11) or Great (Hebrews 13:20).

A shepherd is a keeper of sheep and Abel is an example (Genesis 4:2). The role of the shepherd is to tend the sheep, which involves guiding, protecting and providing for the sheep. The nature of sheep requires that they have a shepherd.  Sheep are not clever animals and must be constantly supervised otherwise they wander off and either get lost, hurt or eaten by wild animals. In order to avoid this, the shepherd uses his tools, his rod and staff, to keep them in line, to guide them and protect them. It is also the role of the shepherd to lead the sheep to green pasture where they can be well fed.

In Biblical times, the term shepherd was not limited to a keeper of sheep as it was also used to refer to kings and rulers (1 Chronicles 17:6) as well as religious leaders (Jeremiah 10:21). Today, pastors are the shepherd of God’s people and just as He held the religious leaders in the time of old accountable, He holds pastors accountable for the well-being of His people. God says “Therefore you shepherd’s hear the Word of the Lord. As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord: This is what the Word of the Lord say: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherd can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.” (Ezekiel 34:7-10 NIV)     

Our focus however is to look at God as the Shepherd of the sheep, the shepherd of His people. Throughout the ages, God has been a shepherd to His people and He fulfils the same role the shepherd has vis-à-vis the sheep. God is first referred to as “shepherd” by Jacob in Genesis 48:15 (NIV) where he says “God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day.” Later in the 23^rd Psalm David says “The Lord is my shepherd.” In that Psalm, David paints a vivid picture of God as a shepherd and who better to describe this than David who himself was a shepherd boy tending his father’s sheep.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1) - God is the provider of His people. The Word says that the ‘The lion may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10).

“He leads me beside quiet water” (Ps. 23:2) – Just as sheep who are prone to stray and wander away from the sheepfold, we too tend to stray from the ways of God. God is ever guiding us and leading us in the way that we should go.

“He guides me in paths of righteousness” (Ps. 23:3) - This implies that God, the Holy Spirit, gives us moral guidance so that we are able to distinguish right from wrong.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me” (Ps. 23:4) – As we go through life, there are many dangers and battles that we face, many dark valleys, but our God is always there to protect us from the dangers that lie ahead of us.

“Your rod and your staff they comfort me” – The rod and the staff of the shepherd are his tools which he uses to protect and guide the sheep. These tools are used for the benefit of the sheep so that they are not afraid but are comforted. God is with us when we go through trials, tribulation, persecution, adversity, and even in such times we have a peace that the world cannot give nor take away from us. He is our peace giver.

But in this Psalm, we see God going over and beyond what the ordinary shepherd does. Not only does He protect us from our enemies, He also blesses us by laying a table before us in their presence and anointing our head with oil till our cup runs over. (Psalm 23:5).

However, the greatest thing of all is that God paid the ultimate price and died for us so that “we can dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” He took upon Himself the iniquity of us all that we may have everlasting life. (Isaiah 53:6 NIV) 

There are other qualities that the shepherd shares with God which are important to highlight:

Shepherds are always watching over their sheep be it day or night. In Luke 2:8, the Bible says that the shepherds were watching over their flocks at night when the angel appeared to announce the birth of the Saviour. That is just like our God who is always watching over us because He neither sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:3).

During shearing time the wool of the sheep is cut off. This is usually an uncomfortable time for the sheep because not only is it made to stay in one spot while the wool is cut off but without the wool the sheep is not as warm. But shearing is for the benefit of the sheep because it is lighter and has greater mobility. We too go though periods of discomfort, times of trials and tribulations in our lives.  This is God’s way of maturing us and that is why He says we should “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2 NIV). 

The shepherd never forces the sheep to follow he simply leads the sheep. God, the Holy Ghost is a gentleman and will never force us to obey. He simply guides us and it is left to us to follow His leading, or go our own way. The Word of God tells us that “The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” (Hosea 14:9).

Every sheep knows the voice of its shepherd. A sheep will never answer to the voice of a strange shepherd. Jesus says His sheep also hear His voice and obey it and will not follow the voice of a stranger (John 10:3). When we know the voice of God we can distinguish it from other voices.

We all need the Chief Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd to help us because on our own we are hopeless. Why not rededicate your life to Him today. Let Him guide, protect and provide for you. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain.

Like the songwriter may we too declare: