Yahweh
Appointed Various Judges To Shepherd His People
2 Samuel 7:1-17 reads,
7:1It
happened, when the king lived in his house, and Yahweh had given him rest from
all his enemies round about, 7:2that
the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but
the ark of God dwells within curtains. 7:3Nathan
said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart; for Yahweh is with you.
7:4It
happened the same night, that the word of Yahweh came to Nathan, saying, 7:5Go and tell my servant David, Thus says
Yahweh, Shall you build me a house for me to dwell in? 7:6for I have not lived in a house since the
day that I brought up the children of
At various times in the past Yahweh appointed a particular tribe of
It should be stressed that a shepherd of Yahweh's people should be one Yahweh has appointed over his people. The people belong to Yahweh and it is he who appoints who leads them according to his word.
The
Shepherd Of Yahweh's People Is Their Master
1 Kings 22:1-23 reads,
22:1They
continued three years without war between
22:6Then
the king of
22:10Now
the king of
22:13The
messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, See now, the words of
the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth: please let your word be
like the word of one of them, and speak you good. 22:14Micaiah
said, As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that will I speak.
22:15When
he was come to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to
Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered him, Go up and
prosper; and Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king. 22:16The king said to him, How many times shall
I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh? 22:17He said, I saw all Israel scattered on
the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and Yahweh said, These have no
master; let them return every man to his house in peace. 22:18The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,
Didn’t I tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? 22:19Micaiah said, Therefore hear you the word
of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven
standing by him on his right hand and on his left. 22:20Yahweh said, Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up
and fall at Ramoth-gilead? One said on this manner; and another said on that
manner. 22:21There came forth a
spirit, and stood before Yahweh, and said, I will entice him. 22:22Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘I
will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ He
said, ‘You shall entice him, and shall prevail also: go forth, and do so.’ 22:23Now therefore, behold, Yahweh has put a
lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and Yahweh has spoken
evil concerning you.
Shepherds
Of Yahweh's People Should Consult Yahweh In The Manner They Lead Them
It is important that shepherds of Yahweh's people consult Yahweh before undertaking actions that involve leading Yahweh's people in ways out of the ordinary course. They should make a point of consulting only those who truly bear Yahweh's word, and not just those who profess to bear Yahweh's word but do not, in truth, do so. And once they receive Yahweh's word they should act upon it, and not ignore it. For what is the point of seeking Yahweh's word only to reject it? Wouldn't it have been better not to have sought his word in the first place, than to seek and then rebel against his word?
Sheep
Without A Shepherd Are Scattered
Ahab clearly understood Micaiah's message to him, that he would die in the battle! For where Israel was to cease having a shepherd and master, and he was at that time Israel's shepherd and master, the only conclusion was that he was to die! And once the shepherd is struck the sheep scatter, for they have no one to lead, and each sheep goes its own way! It is therefore imperative, for the good welfare of the sheep, that they always have a shepherd who leads them according to Yahweh's word.
Psalm 23 reads,
A Psalm by David.
23:1Yahweh
is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
23:2He
makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
23:3He
restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
23:4Even
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.
23:5You
prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed my head with oil.
My cup runs over.
23:6Surely
goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.
These are the actions of a true shepherd - Yahweh himself! Provide the flock with all that they need - food, water, rest, energy, guidance in righteousness, protection from evil, comfort, anointing, goodness, lovingkindness, dwelling in Yahweh's house forever!
Yahweh
Bears Up His Flock Forever
Psalm 28:6-9 reads,
28:6Blessed
be Yahweh,
Because he has heard the voice of my petitions.
28:7Yahweh
is my strength and my shield.
My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped.
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices.
With my song I will thank him.
28:8Yahweh
is their strength.
He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
28:9Save
your people, and bless your inheritance.
Be their shepherd also, and bear them up forever.
A good shepherd bears up his flock, ruling over them throughout the appointed period of his rule.
Death
Shall Be The Shepherd Of The Foolish
Psalm 49:13-15 reads,
49:13This
is the destiny of those who are foolish,
And of those who approve their sayings.
Selah.
49:14They
are appointed as a flock for Sheol.
Death shall be their shepherd.
The upright shall have dominion over them in
the morning.
Their beauty shall decay in Sheol,
Far from their mansion.
49:15But
God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,
For he will receive me.
Selah.
Death is master over those who are foolish and approve of foolish sayings! In other words, such people are subject to the power of death - a flock for Sheol. But those who are wise are delivered from the power of Sheol, from the power of death, and are received by Yahweh. In other words, the wise live - after having been received by Yahweh, while the foolish die, not being delivered from Sheol.
How
Yahweh Shepherded Israel From Egypt
Psalm 78:52-55 reads,
78:52But
he led forth his own people like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
78:53He
led them safely, so that they weren’t afraid,
But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
78:54He
brought them to the border of his sanctuary,
To this mountain, which his right hand had taken.
78:55He
also drove out the nations before them,
Allotted them for an inheritance by line,
And made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
Yahweh, the good shepherd, leads his flock safely, guiding them in difficult terrain.
Yahweh
Appointed David Shepherd Of His People Israel
Psalm 78:70-72 reads,
78:70He
also chose David his servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
78:71From
following the ewes that have their young he brought him
To be the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.
78:72So
he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
A Plea To
Yahweh, Shepherd Of Israel
Psalm 80 reads,
For the Chief Musician. To the tune of
"The Lilies of the Covenant." A Psalm by Asaph.
80:1Hear
us, Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock,
You who sit above the cherubim, shine forth.
80:2Before
Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might,
Come to save us.
80:3Turn
us again, God.
Cause your face to shine,
And we will be saved.
80:4Yahweh
God of hosts,
How long will you be angry against the prayer of your people?
80:5You
have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in large measure.
80:6You
make us a source of contention to our neighbors.
Our enemies laugh among themselves.
80:7Turn
us again, God of hosts.
Cause your face to shine,
And we will be saved.
80:8You
brought a vine out of Egypt.
You drove out the nations, and planted it.
80:9You
cleared the ground for it.
It took deep root, and filled the land.
80:10The
mountains were covered with its shadow.
Its boughs were like God’s cedars.
80:11It
sent out its branches to the sea,
Its shoots to the River.
80:12Why
have you broken down its walls,
So that all those who pass by the way pluck it?
80:13The
boar out of the wood ravages it.
The wild animals of the field feed on it.
80:14Turn
again, we beg you, God of hosts.
Look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vine,
80:15The
stock which your right hand planted,
The branch that you made strong for yourself.
80:16It
is burned with fire. It is cut down.
They perish at your rebuke.
80:17Let
your hand be on the man of your right hand,
On the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.
80:18So
we will not turn away from you.
Revive us, and we will call on your name.
80:19Turn
us again, Yahweh God of hosts.
Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
Yahweh, the Shepherd of Israel, sits above the cherubim and shines forth. He has power and capacity to do good to Israel and also to punish Israel when Israel walks amiss! Yahweh prophesied that he would save Israel by "the man of his right hand", "the son of man" whom he made strong for himself - Yah'shuah the Messiah!
Yahweh Is
Shepherd Of His People
Psalm 95:6-7 reads,
95:6Oh
come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before Yahweh, our Maker,
95:7For
he is our God.
We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Today, oh that you would hear his voice!
Strayed
Sheep Have Forgotten Yahweh's Commandments
Psalm 119:176 reads,
119:176I
have gone astray like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant, for I don’t forget your commandments.
Strayed sheep are those that have forgotten Yahweh's commandments. Therefore those sheep that abide by Yahweh's commandments are part of the flock and haven't been scattered away. Also, the manner of seeking and bringing back strayed sheep is to give such sheep knowledge of Yahweh's commandments and help them abide by it.
Yahweh
The Shepherd Appoints Shepherds Serving Under His Authority
Ecclesiastes 12:11-14 reads,
12:11The
words of the wise are like goads; and like nails well fastened are words from the
masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. 12:12Furthermore, my son, be admonished: of
making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
12:13This
is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his
commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. 12:14For God will bring every work into
judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
Yahweh is the One Shepherd of his people. He has several masters of his assemblies, or segments of his people. These masters are to speak wise words, those that originate from Yahweh himself!
The Arm
Of Yahweh Will Gently Lead Israel In Future
Isaiah 40:9-11 reads,
40:9You
who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain; you who tell good news to
Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, don’t be afraid; say
to the cities of Judah, Behold, your God! 40:10Behold,
the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him:
Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 40:11He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he
will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently
lead those who have their young.
Yahweh's arm that rules for him is his Anointed One - Yah'shuah, who is also his Shepherd of his people. He is also called the Lord Yahweh!
Yahweh
Appointed Cyrus Shepherd Over Peoples
Isaiah 44:24-28 reads,
44:24Thus
says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb: I
am Yahweh, who makes all things; who stretches forth the heavens alone; who
spreads abroad the earth (who is with me?); 44:25who
frustrates the signs of the liars, and makes diviners mad; who turns wise men
backward, and makes their knowledge foolish; 44:26who
confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, They
shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places of it; 44:27who says to the deep, Be dry, and I will
dry up your rivers; 44:28Who says
of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of
Jerusalem, She shall be built; and of the temple, Your foundation shall be
laid.
Cyrus king of Persia was indeed Yahweh's shepherd, who performed all of Yahweh's pleasure! It is therefore the case that Yahweh's shepherds are not confined to Israel, and his flock is not confined to Israel, being made up of all the righteous of all the nations of the whole world!
Isaiah 56:8-12 reads,
56:8The
Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, Yet will I gather others
to him, besides his own who are gathered. 56:9All you animals of the field, come to
devour, yes, all you animals in the forest. 56:10His
watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all mute dogs,
they can’t bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. 56:11Yes, the dogs are greedy, they can
never have enough; and these are shepherds who can’t understand: they
have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. 56:12Come you, say they, I will get wine, and
we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, a
day great beyond measure.
Shepherds are synonymous with watchmen, those who watch over Yahweh's people.
Yahweh here describes the traits of bad shepherds. These include blindness, lack of knowledge, muteness, slumbering, greed, lack of understanding, turning to their own way, turning to their own gain and living recklessly, as if there is no future day of reckoning! In contrast the traits of good shepherds should be: vision, possession of knowledge, trumpeting Yahweh's words, being awake, sharing one's goods with the needy, possessing understanding, remaining steadfast in Yahweh's way, pursuing Yahweh's gain and that for his people and living prudently, knowing that Yahweh judges us for our works.
It should also be noted that Yahweh calls bad shepherds "dogs"!
How
Yahweh Shepherded Israel From Egypt And In The Wilderness
Isaiah 63:7-19 reads,
63:7I
will make mention of the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, and the praises of Yahweh,
according to all that Yahweh has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward
the house of Israel, which he has bestowed on them according to his mercies,
and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. 63:8For he said, Surely, they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely: so he was their Savior. 63:9In all their affliction he was afflicted,
and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he
redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old.
63:10But
they rebelled, and grieved his Holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their
enemy, and himself fought against them. 63:11Then
he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, Where is he who
brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he
who put his Holy Spirit in the midst of them? 63:12Who
caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? Who divided the
waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name? 63:13Who led them through the depths, as a
horse in the wilderness, so that they didn’t stumble? 63:14As the cattle that go down into the
valley, the Spirit of Yahweh caused them to rest; so did you lead your people,
to make yourself a glorious name.
63:15Look
down from heaven, and see from the habitation of your holiness and of your
glory: where are your zeal and your mighty acts? The yearning of your heart and
your compassion is restrained toward me. 63:16For
you are our Father, though Abraham doesn’t know us, and Israel does not
acknowledge us: you, Yahweh, are our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is
your name. 63:17O Yahweh, why do you
make us to err from your ways, and harden our heart from your fear? Return for
your servants’ sake, the tribes of your inheritance. 63:18Your holy people possessed it but a little
while: our adversaries have trodden down your sanctuary. 63:19We are become as they over whom you never
bear rule, as those who were not called by your name.
Yahweh is the ultimate shepherd of his people. Under him he appoints shepherds of his people, to rule over his people according to his word.
The good shepherd shares in the afflictions of the flock. He redeems them out of those afflictions.
Shepherds
After Yahweh's Heart Feed His People With Knowledge And Understanding
Jeremiah 3:14-25 reads,
3:14Return,
backsliding children, says Yahweh; for I am a husband to you: and I will take
you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 3:15and I will give you shepherds according
to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 3:16It shall come to pass, when you are
multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says Yahweh, they shall
say no more, The ark of the covenant of Yahweh; neither shall it come to mind;
neither shall they remember it; neither shall they miss it; neither shall it be
made any more. 3:17At that time they
shall call Jerusalem the throne of Yahweh; and all the nations shall be
gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk
any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 3:18In those days the house of Judah shall walk
with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the
north to the land that I gave for an inheritance to your fathers. 3:19But I said, How I will put you among the
children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the
nations! And I said, You shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away
from following me. 3:20Surely as
a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously
with me, house of Israel, says Yahweh. 3:21A
voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and the petitions of the
children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten
Yahweh their God. 3:22Return, you
backsliding children, I will heal your backsliding. Behold, we are come to you;
for you are Yahweh our God. 3:23Truly
in vain is the help that is looked for from the hills, the tumult on the
mountains: truly in Yahweh our God is the salvation of Israel. 3:24But the shameful thing has devoured the
labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons
and their daughters. 3:25Let us lie
down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against
Yahweh our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day; and we
have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God.
Shepherds after Yahweh's own heart impart Yahweh's knowledge and understanding to Yahweh's flock, thereby facilitating Yahweh's flock departing from stubbornness of heart into faithfully following Yahweh.
The Bad
Fruits Of Brutish Shepherding
Jeremiah 10:21 reads,
10:21For
the shepherds are become brutish, and have not inquired of Yahweh: therefore
they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.
It is imperative that shepherds or rulers of Yahweh's people inquire of Yahweh and lead them according to Yahweh's word. But when they rule or lead Yahweh's people according to their own mind, rather than Yahweh's words, not only do they not prosper, their flocks are also scattered. It is therefore a great blessing simply to inquire of Yahweh and follow his word.
Yahweh's
Flock, His People, Are Likened To His Vineyard
Jeremiah 12:10-13 reads,
12:10Many
shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot,
they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. 12:11They have made it a desolation;
it mourns to me, being desolate; the whole land is made desolate, because no
man lays it to heart. 12:12Destroyers
are come on all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Yahweh
devours from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no
flesh has peace. 12:13They have sown
wheat, and have reaped thorns; they have put themselves to pain, and profit
nothing: and you shall be ashamed of your fruits, because of the fierce anger
of Yahweh.
The effects of bad shepherding, that contrary to Yahweh's words, results in the destruction of the territory holding Yahweh's flock.
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