The Shepherd
The Lord is my Shepherd.
Psalm 23:1
Many times in the Bible, the people of God are referred to as sheep. A few of the more notable passages that come to mind are the Ps 23:1 “The Lord my Shepherd;” David being His sheep. Isaiah. 53:6 the Prophet refers to God's people as being sheep, “All we like sheep have gone astray.” and in the New Testament in John 10, we have the best part of a chapter on the Shepherd and His sheep, but in the New Testament the picture of the example of the sheep, takes on the wider meaning and of all humans.
There are good reasons why we people are called sheep in the Bible, and one of them is because of the nature of the sheep. By nature, sheep have 3 problems.
FIRST: Sheep are Dumb - In other words, they are not the cleverest animals in the world.
SECOND: Sheep are Directionless - If a sheep wanders off from the flock, it will have a hard time finding its way back on its own.
THIRD: Sheep are Defenceless - Lions, bears, wolves and foxes all have teeth and claws. Most animals have some type of defence mechanism. Not so with sheep. They have absolutely no means of protecting themselves from danger. If they are attacked, they are simply helpless! We humans are helpless too against our in-built urge to sin.
By their very nature, sheep need a shepherd, and this is the real reason why the sheep is used to describe we humans. How wonderful it is, that God Himself as provided the Good Shepherd that we each need in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is He your Shepherd today?
Bible Reading
John 10:1-30.
Prayer
God of all Compassion, thank You for the Gift of the Good Shepherd, Your very own Son. Amen.
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