Introduction
Introduction
Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.
We are Thine, do Thou befriend us,
Be the guardian of our way;
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us,
Seek us when we go astray:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray.
Thou hast promised to receive us,
Poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us,
Grace to cleanse, and pow'r to free:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee.
Early let us seek Thy favor,
Early let us do Thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Savior,
With Thy love our bosoms fill:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still.
While God as a Shepherd is only one dimension of who He is, it is a description used frequently in the Bible. Not just in the 23rd Psalm, but all throughout its pages. Therefore it seems like a good perspective on which to focus.
Abraham separated from his nephew Lot because they had too many flocks and herds to support them all together. Genesis 13
Jacob - later renamed Israel - purchased his wives with a total of 14 years service as a shepherd. Fun fact: one of his wives was also a shepherd - Genesis 29:9
When Joseph moved his father and all his brothers and their families to Egypt during the famine, he told them to emphasize that they were shepherds so that the Pharaoh would give them the land of Goshen - the best farm land available in the region. It didn't hurt anything that the Egyptians hated shepherds and would therefore leave them alone. Genesis 46:31-34
The first reference I found of God being called a Shepherd was when Jacob, aka Israel, was dying and giving his blessing to his sons.
Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham
and my father, Isaac, walked—
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life, to this very day,
As the Israelites journeyed to the promised land, and as they arrived and divided it up, they took their flocks with them.
David was known as the shepherd King . . . a preview of the Christ who was born of David's linage.
When Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd the people knew what he was talking about. We've lost that knowledge. To understand our Good Shepherd's relationship to His sheep - you and me - it helps to understand the relationship between the human shepherd and his sheep.
God Is: The Good Shepherd
I am: His little lamb.
One of the most recognized of Jesus' parables is that of the Lost Sheep. Luke 15:3-7
I heard a sermon recently that described the lamb as simply following what looked good, until she looked up and discovered she was alone with no idea how to get home. Jesus comes looking. He's not sitting at the fold with all the other sheep, waiting for the lost lamb to figure it out. He comes in search of me.
When He finds me, He carries me home on His shoulders and there is great rejoicing!
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