Discover His heart: He is the Shepherd who never fails us, never leaves us
@ Ezekiel 34
Shepherds and sheep – right up my alley! While writing the devotional book, Intimate Moments with the Shepherd, I had the joy of visiting sheep farms where I met dozens of shepherds and hundreds of sheep. I’m sure the shepherds enjoyed watching this city girl navigate the pastures and sheepfolds while learning about the nature of sheep. My advice for anyone pursuing an adventure like this is to wear sturdy boots, enough said.
“What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?…You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal.” (1-5) Ezekiel revealed this prophecy to the kings, prophets and priests of Israel, the shepherds of Israel, who with their selfish, cruel behavior had neglected and abandoned the children of Israel.
We’ve followed the sinful acts of Israel’s leadership over the past several weeks recorded in Ezekiel, Leviticus and 1 and 2 Kings. The common thread throughout the accounts of each evil leader was disobedience to God while following their own selfish desires to be powerful, prosperous and popular. Whether in the church world or the secular world today, the pursuit of these same three selfish desires will cause a leader to neglect and abandon those being led. The sheep become weak, lost and scattered, no longer the strong flock they once were and because of this, sorrow awaited the shepherds.
Thankfully, the shepherds I met on my journeys were not at all like those described in Chapter 34. Their eyes sparkled as they talked about their pride and joy and as they shared the heritage of each sheep, their parents, siblings and offspring. The shepherds knew them so well that many of the sheep were named according to their personalities. They knew what grasses and grains each sheep enjoyed the most and recalled the injuries and diseases certain sheep had experienced. They would never call their sheep dumb but agreed that they indeed were willful at times…hmmm.
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock… I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again… I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak… And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David [Jesus]. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them.” (11-16,23) And He did just that! He sent His Son, Jesus, the Shepherd of Psalm 23, the Good Shepherd of John 10, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.” (14-15) He is the selfless Shepherd who sacrificed His life, the faithful Shepherd who will never leave us or forsake us, and He is the intimate Shepherd who knows us by name.
Moving Forward: Standing firm today on the care and guidance of the Good Shepherd. I know Him, and He knows me!
Tomorrow @ Luke 21-22
Phyllis Benigas 