Parable of two sons

Luke 15:17-20

17     And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

18     I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

19     And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20     And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

         (KJV)

The parable of two sons begins with an incident that was quite legal. The second son among the two sons of a rich man demanded his share. There is nothing wrong in asking for his share by an adult. In the old testament too we see Achsah asking for a more opulent share from her father.

 

Joshua 15:18, 19

 18    And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou?

 19    Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs.

         (KJV)

So the father gave his share gladly. There is no sign of hesitation from the father in the parable. But the young man had an evil intention. He sold out all his properties and left his father’s house. He went away to a distant land of evil countrymen. There he gathered many evil friends and wasted away all his wealth.

The problem with is not that he asked for his legitimate share, but that e left his father’s house. The father has no dislike to his children asking or enjoying their legitimate share of wealth. He expresses his pleasure in his children enjoying their wealth in his talk with the elder son at a later time.

 

Luke 15 : 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. (KJV)

So his mistake is that he left his father’s presence and wasted his inheritance with strange evil people. The father is not responsible for it. He had the absolute freedom of choice to choose to live with his father or leave him. He selected the later. Hence he had to bear the fruit of it. He lost everything, suffered poverty and humiliation.

Poverty, frustration and humiliation made him turn aside. The parable’s brilliant part is this incident of turning away from sins and its consequences. Bible records that he came to himself. He turned to himself. He had certain realizations.

1.    He realized his present condition.

Ignorance is hindrance to deliverance. Ignorance of one’s present situation is the greatest hindrance to deliverance. But this young man turned to himself and realized his present condition.

He was theologizing over his condition. He did not try to find a theological explanation to justify his suffering. He could argue his lineage to a rich man. He could boast of his family traditions, his membership in a church, his past spiritual experiences etc. But that would not lead him to any deliverance. He understood that he is in deep bondage.

Ignorance of one’s present condition is not a blessing, but a reason for being in the bondage.

Jesus, as he approached Jerusalem on the back of an ass as the declaring himself as the King of the Jews, looked at the city and cried. He knew what waits for him and the city. So He wept for the city. Here are his words:

Luke 19: 41-44

41     And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

42     Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

43     For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

44     And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

         (KJV)

Jesus is using an image from the Old Testament period. It is process of siege of a town or country by the enemies.

The siege is done through 5 steps.

i.                     Enemies shall cast a trench about

ii.                   Compass thee round

iii.                  Keep thee in on every side

iv.                 Lay thee and your children with the ground

v.                   Shall not leave one stone upon another.

This is the process.

The word trench now means commonly a pit or ditch. When the Bible was translated, it meant also earth thrown up to defend a camp (Johnson's Dictionary). This is the meaning of the original here. It is not a pit or large ditch, but a pile of earth, stones, or wood thrown up to guard a camp, and to defend it from the approach of an enemy. This was done at the siege of Jerusalem. Josephus informs us that Titus, in order that he might compel the city to surrender by famine, built a wall around the whole circumference of the city. This wall was nearly 5 miles in length, and was furnished with thirteen castles or towers. This work was completed with incredible labour in ten days. The professed design of this wall was to keep the city in on every side. Never was a prophecy more strikingly accomplished.

The enemies shall dig deep trench about the town so that none goes out and none comes in. No food, no medicine, no help shall come to you. No spiritual and physical blessings shall come to you. You are totally isolated.

They compass you round. Enemies on the left, enemies on the right. Enemies everywhere. Enemies in the neighborhood. Enemies in the working place. Enemies in the business field. Enemies, enemies and enemies …

They will keep themselves there. They will not leave you alone. They will exercise such pressure on you. You are pushed to this side and that. You are pulled to here and that. Torture, humiliation, betrayal and many more painful experiences.

Shall lay thee and your children even with the ground. This was literally done. Titus caused a plough to pass over the place where the temple stood.

All prosperity of your home is lost. Your children remain jobless. Divorce and break up of family relationship occur. Your income and health is lost. Diseases increase in number.

The last stage. Your town is totally destroyed and even every brick is uprooted. You house is pulled down. The enemy shall leave no sign behind that you ever lived here.

Jesus was prophesying about the future of Jerusalem. His prophecy came true by AD 70 when Jerusalem was attacked by the Roman General Titus. We are not discussing the fulfillment of the prophecy. We are deducing the methods of an enemy in attacking God’s children.

Are you at any one of the above described stages of siege? If yes, it is time to turn around to your father’s house.

2.       He realized that he cannot save himself from this bondage.

The young man tried to save himself by accepting a job with a rich man of the town. He tried to quench his hunger by eating the husks that the swine did eat. But he could not get even that. Then he remembered the fact that “in his father’s house there is plenty”.

3.       He realized that only his father can save him from this deplorable condition. Only Jesus can save us from the bondages of Satan.

4.       He decided to go back to his father’s house.

5.       He acted upon his decision. He stood up and walked back to his father’s house.

In our father’s house, there is plenty. Even the hirelings in the house eat and spare. There is abundance in our father’s house.

There is healing, prosperity and more in our father’s house.

There is another significant thing that he mentions.

He is talking about the hirelings in the father’s house. Hirelings are the lowest category of servants. They are below the slaves of the master. They are daily workers hired in the morning. The master has no responsibility towards except to give their wages in the evening. The young man remembers that even those hirelings have plenty in his father’s house.

Spiritually, all those who call upon the Lord are delivered in the last days. 

 

Joel 2:32    And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.  (KJV)

All spiritual hirelings calling on the Lord are delivered in the last days. They are receiving healing and prosperity.

If the hirelings are being saved, how much more shall those who are saved by the blood of Christ?

If we are not delivered, we are worse than the hirelings.

How come the hirelings are delivered? Because they are in the Father’s House. Deliverance is there in the Father’s House. Being in the Father’s House is the only way to be delivered.

On the Cross of the Calvary where Christ triumphed over sickness, curse, poverty and sin, there is total deliverance available to all who rely on it by faith. None else is available deliverance from sin, sickness and poverty. On the Cross there is abundance.

Let us turn back to the Father’s House.

Let us remain fast in the Father’s House.

Professor Jacob Abraham

The Warrior Shepherd

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!