The most known real life shepherd was
David.
Jesus Christ presented Himself to man
as a shepherd. But He had no real sheep. He called us His sheep.
What He really meant when he presented
Himself as a shepherd?
For the answer we have to learn from
the life of a shepherd.
The best shepherd for this purpose is
David.
The job of a shepherd was not an easy
job. See what Jacob says about it:
Genesis 31:38 - 40
38 “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats
have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks.
39 I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss
myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or
night.
40 This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the
cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. (NIV)
The temperature changes often in
twenty-four hours from the greatest extremes of heat and cold, most trying to
the shepherd who has to keep watch by his flocks.
Much allowance must be made for Jacob.
This more particularly marks the
covetous and rigorous disposition of Laban.
The law of God required that what had
been torn by beasts the shepherd should not be obliged to make good.
The shepherds are strictly responsible
for losses in the flock, unless they can prove these were occasioned by wild
beasts.
Exodus 22:10-13
10 “If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to
their neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while
no one is looking,
11 the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath
before the Lord
that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner
is to accept this, and no restitution is required.
12 But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, restitution must be
made to the owner.
13 If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the neighbor shall bring
in the remains as evidence and shall not be required to pay for the torn
animal. (NIV)
And it is very likely that this law was
in force from the earliest times.
The wages of
a shepherd
The wages or reward was decided upon
mutually between the master and the shepherd.
It was paid in kind of sheep or wool.
That is why Jacob demanded the reward in
kind of sheep with speckle.
Many of the masters of sheep/owners of
sheep extended the law to their benefit and did not accept any excuse from
shepherds.
So the shepherds had to pay for all
damages happened to the sheep.
It means the job of a shepherd was not
an easy one.
It was not singing and roaming.
It was hard work.
Four duties of a shepherd:
1. Feed
the sheep at safe places
2. Care
for the sheep from diseases, dangers etc.
3. Protect
from thieves in the day and night
4. Protect
the sheep from enemy (wild) animals.
The first two are acts of loving and
caring – Feed and care
The last two are the jobs of a warrior -
protection
Hence a true shepherd is a loving
personality as well as a warrior.
A true shepherd is a warrior.
So our Lord Jesus Christ is a shepherd
warrior.
If he is not a warrior, he will flee
when enemy animals come to attack the sheep.
The hireling is not ready to fight
against the enemy.
Fighting is risking the life.
John 10 : 11 - 15
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for
the sheep.
12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So
when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the
wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for
the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay
down my life for the sheep. (NIV)
What did David do at the face of peril?
1 Samuel 17: 34 – 36
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s
sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,
35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth.
When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.
36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this
uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the
armies of the living God.
(NIV)
Among the ancient Jews some kept their
own flocks, others hired shepherds to keep them for them.
And every owner must naturally have
felt more interest in the preservation of his flock than the hireling could
possibly feel.
John 10:12 The
hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the
wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the
flock and scatters it. (NIV)
It is not the bare fact of a man
receiving pay that makes him a hireling.
Luke 10: 5-7
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’
6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on
them; if not, it will return to you.
7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the
worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. (NIV)
He is a hireling who would not work
were it not for this hire
In an old MS. Bible reads it, the marchaunt - he who makes merchandise of
men's souls; bartering them, and his own too, for filthy lucre. (Adam Clarke’s Commentary)
Psalms 23
Psalms 23 (A Psalm of David)
1
The Lord is my
shepherd, I lack nothing.
2
He makes me lie down in green
pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3
he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his
name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with
me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You
prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my
life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NIV)
4 Yea,
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. (NKJV)
Introduction
to the Psalms
There is nothing particular in the
title; it is simply attributed to David.
But as it appears to be a thanksgiving
of the Israelites for their redemption from the Bablylonish captivity, it
cannot with propriety be attributed to David.
Some think it was written by David in
his exile, which is not likely.
Others believe that David penned it
when he was finally delivered from the persecution of Saul.
The Chaldee seems to suppose that it
was written to celebrate the goodness of God to the Israelites in the desert.
It is a truly beautiful Psalm.
Supposing it to have been
written after the captivity, we see:
1.
The redeemed captives giving thanks to
God for their liberty.
2.
Acknowledging that God had brought back
their lives from the grave.
3.
They represent themselves in Judea as a
flock in an excellent pasture.
4.
They declare that from the dangers they
have passed through, and from which God had delivered them, they can have no
fear of any enemy.
5.
They conclude, from what God has done
for them, that his goodness and mercy shall follow them all their days.
6.
That they shall no more be deprived of
God's worship, but shall all their days have access to his temple.
The Study
The whole psalm revolves around the
central idea about the presence of an enemy.
The whole message of the psalm is
stated in verse 5
Psalms 23: 5 You
prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (NIV)
It is a special celebrated feast
Perfumed oil was poured on the heads of
distinguished guests, when at the feasts of great personages.
It was a feast prepared by a great
King.
There is plenty – plenty of food and
wine.
The feast is prepared in the presence
of enemies.
The enemies are defeated and you are
freed from them
You are protected from the watching
enemies.
Protection is the presence of the King.
The King is a warrior
The enemies are afraid of the King.
Only a warrior king can prepare a feast
for his citizen while his enemies are watching.
The Shepherd Lord is a
warrior
So the Psalm describes what a Shepherd
Warrior does for his sheep.
Let us study one more verse:
Psalm 23: 4 Even
though I walk
through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are
with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (NIV)
Ezekiel 34: 12 As
a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look
after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were
scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. (NIV)
Valley of the shadow of
death
A valley is a low place, with mountains
on either side.
Enemies may be posted on those
mountains to shoot their arrows at the traveler, as ever was the case in the
East; but he must pass through it.
The psalmist, however, said he would fear
no evil, not even the fiery darts of Satan, for the Lord was with him.
The figure is not primarily, as is
sometimes supposed, our dying moments, though it will beautifully bear that
explanation; but it is the valley beset with enemies, posted on the hills.
David was not only protected in that
valley, but even in the presence of those enemies, his table was bountifully
spread.
The Rod and the Staff
Staff
The staff identifies the shepherd as a
shepherd.
No one in any other profession carries
a shepherd's staff.
It is uniquely an instrument used for
the care and management of sheep -- and only sheep.
It will not do for cattle, horses or
hogs.
It is designed, shaped and adapted
especially to the needs of sheep.
Staff is some sort of rest or support,
similar to our camp stool, which the shepherds might carry with them as an
occasional seat, when the earth was too wet to be sat on with safety.
It is often bent or hooked at one end,
which gave rise to the shepherd's crook in the hand of the Christian bishop.
With this staff he rules and guides the
flock to their green pastures, and defends them from their enemies.
With it also he corrects them when
disobedient, and brings them back when wandering.
The staff was
used by the Shepherd to direct the sheep in the way in which they should go.
In the case of
a wandering nosey sheep, the staff is used to pull it back into line.
The staff is essentially a symbol of
the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges.
The Rod
Rod may signify the shepherd's crook.
With the rod or crook the shepherd
could defend his sheep, and with it lay hold of their horns or legs to pull
them out of thickets, boys, pits, or waters.
We are not to suppose that by the rod
correction is meant.
There is no idea of this kind either in
the text, or in the original word, nor has it this meaning in any part of
Scripture.
The rod which
the Shepherd carried was for protecting the sheep from predators.
It was never used on the sheep.
Each shepherd boy, from the time he
first starts to tend his father's flock, takes special pride in the selection
of a rod and staff exactly suited to his own size and strength.
He goes into the bush and selects a
young sapling which is dug from the ground.
This is carved and whittled down with
great care and patience.
The enlarged base of the sapling where
its trunk joins the roots is shaped into a smooth, rounded head of hard wood.
The sapling itself is shaped to exactly
fit the owner's hand.
After he completes it, the shepherd boy
spends hours practicing with this club, leaning how to throw it with amazing
speed and accuracy.
It becomes his main weapon of defense
for both himself and his sheep.
The
rod, in fact, was an extension of the shepherd’s own right arm.
It
stood as a symbol of his strength, his power, his authority in any serious
situation.
The rod was what he relied on to
safeguard both himself and his flock in danger.
It is used both as a defense and a
deterrent against anything that would attack.
The skilled shepherd uses his rod to
drive off predators like coyotes, wolves, cougars or stray dogs.
Often it is used to beat the brush
discouraging snakes and other creatures from disturbing the flock.
In extreme cases, such as David recounted
to Saul, the psalmist no doubt used his rod to attack the lion and the bear
that came to raid his flocks.
The rod conveys the concept of
authority, of power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word
"staff" speaks of all that is longsuffering and kind.
Conclusion
Do we not gain
comfort from the fact that it is Almighty God who is our Shepherd!
No robber,
predator or enemy ever takes Him by surprise!