Most
people who have been exposed to the Bible even a little know that David was a
shepherd in Bethlehem as a young boy before becoming Israel's greatest King.
David's Psalm 23 is often recited by believers and outsiders alike,
The LORD is
my shepherd;
I shall not
want.
He maketh me
to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth
me beside the still waters.
He restoreth
my soul:
he leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear
no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and
thy staff they comfort me.
Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou
anointest my head with oil;
my cup
runneth over.
Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will
dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." (Psalm 23 KJV)
The
figure of shepherd-king is especially suited to the agrarian society of ancient
Israel. The land--with its Mediterranean Dry climate (like California)--has
lots of rocky hills, but is well suited for olive trees, vineyards, fruit
trees, and the grazing of sheep, goats and cattle. The Philistines had bronze
and iron, the Egyptians had horses and chariots, but the Israelites fought on
foot with simple spears, borrowed farm implements, or a simple sling. Their
strength was always to be found in the Yahweh their God. They were not to enter
into entangling foreign alliances of any kind.
The
first indication that the God of Israel is a shepherd to His people Israel is
found in Jacob's words of farewell blessing to his sons in Genesis 48. Jacob,
Abraham's grandson, spoke of "the God before
whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd
all my life to this day, the Angel who has
delivered me from all harm..." (15-16 NIV)
James
Boice notes,
"The reason this is so helpful is that
Jacob had been a shepherd himself, and he knew from experience how difficult a
shepherd's work was. In his moving confrontation with Laban, after Laban had
pursued him on his flight from Haran back to his own country, Jacob aptly
described the difficulties of a shepherd's life, saying, "This was my
situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep
fled from my eyes. It was like this for the twenty years I was in your
household...If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac,
had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed"
(Gen. 31:40-42).
This is a powerful statement. But it seems to be
an understatement as a description of the difficulty of a shepherd's life.
Sheep are notoriously helpless, wayward, and even stupid animals, and it is a
difficult and full-time job to care for them.
Jacob had also learned a second thing about
shepherding, and that was how great a failure he had been when he was trying to
shepherd himself. Self-shepherding means trying to run your own life. Jacob was
like many Christians today. He acknowledged God. He would have described
himself as a believer. But he had followed his own judgment and taken his own
paths rather than trusting in the word and wisdom of the divine shepherd. The
wonderful thing is that, in spite of Jacob's waywardness. God had been a
faithful shepherd to Jacob anyway, which he acknowledges, just as God also is
to us." (Psalm 80, Psalms, Baker Books, 1996)
The
Old Testament is surely more relevant today than when it was written. Yet
American Christians are generally biblically illiterate these days. Most
churches seem to have wandered off onto irrelevant pathways having detached
themselves from much of what God is really doing in history. But dare to pick
up the Old Testament and read awhile and surely the words will begin to leap
off the page--especially if one follows the latest news from the Middle East.
The Second Advent of Jesus is "nearer now than when we first
believed"--and the Bible is packed full of details concerning the end of
the age we live in. (See Nearing the End of the Age, http://ldolphin.org/nearing.html).
When
Jesus is described as the Shepherd-King in Scripture the emphasis is first of
all about his relationship with Israel. To be sure Jesus is the Shepherd of all his people whether they
are members of the believing remnant of Israel, or Christians. Jesus spoke of
this in John 10:
"I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by
My own. "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down
My life for the sheep. "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold;
them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one
flock and one shepherd."
(John 10:14-16)
Ray Stedman says,
The first
thing in his work as the Great Shepherd is that he has "other sheep that
are not of this fold." The fold he speaks of is the nation Israel. Here
Jesus is lifting his eyes beyond the cross, beyond the resurrection, to the
going forth of the gospel to all the nations of the earth. Isn't it moving to
think that not one of us would be here this morning, as Gentile believers in
Jesus, if he had not been willing to lay down his life for the sheep. The
result of that laying down of his life was that the gospel broke out beyond the
boundaries of Israel and spread throughout the earth. Here we are, at the far
corners of the world, meeting as a great crowd of believers in Jesus because he
laid down his life for the sheep. He brought us together so that there is one
flock -- not one fold, notice, but one flock-- and one shepherd, no more than one;
one church, one Lord, as Paul says in Ephesians 4. We all belong together.
There are not two flocks; there is only one...
Surely one of the most meaningful aspects to
believers about Jesus is that he does for us what no one else can do. Do you
feel that? No one else can satisfy your heart, no one else can solve the
problems of the mind, no one can answer the questions about life after death
like Jesus can. No one can touch a human situation of conflict and strife and
bring healing and deliverance like Jesus can. Don't you often feel like saying,
with Peter, "To whom can we go? You alone have the words of eternal
life," (John 6:68 RSV). From The Shepherd and
His Sheep, http://raystedman.org/john/3858.html).
The
New Testament spiritual gift of pastor (poimen) is that of a shepherd
in the local church, (see Body Life by Ray Stedman, http://raystedman.org/bodylife/),
though many pastors today are isolated and insulated from the people they are
supposed to serve. Peter admonishes, "Shepherd
the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion
but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over
those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief
Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade
away." (2 Peter 5:2-4).
While
the theme of the shepherd and his sheep is not a major subject of the New
Testament--it is a big deal in the Old Testament. The Tanach is loaded with
powerful references to Israel's Messiah and His role as coming Shepherd-King of
Israel.
Psalm
80 is vividly clear on this subject. The writer is Asaph, a Levite and leader
in the temple choir in David's time. Hence Psalm 80 dates to the time when
Israel was still a united kingdom not under any dire threat from invading
armies. If the Psalm is taken as prophetic and applicable to the end of the age
we live in now, it makes perfect sense:
A Testimony
of Asaph
1 Give
ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead
Joseph like a flock;
You who
dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
2
Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your
strength, And come and save us [Israel]!
3
Restore us, [shŸb, i.e., "turn us again in repentance"] O God [Elohim];
Cause Your
face to shine, And we shall be saved!
4 O
LORD God of hosts, [Elohim tsaba]
How long
will You be angry
Against the
prayer of Your people?
5 You
have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given
them tears to drink in great measure.
6 You
have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our
enemies laugh among themselves.
7
Restore us, O God of hosts [Elohim Sabaoth];
Cause Your
face to shine,
And we shall
be saved!
8 You
have brought a vine (note 1)
out of
Egypt;
You have
cast out the nations, and planted it.
9 You
prepared room for it,
And caused
it to take deep root,
And it
filled the land.
10
The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the
mighty cedars with its boughs.
11
She sent out her boughs to the Sea,
And her
branches to the River.
12
Why have You broken down her hedges,
So that all
who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
13
The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild
beast of the field devours it.
14
Return, we beseech You,
O God of
hosts;
Look down
from heaven and see,
And visit
this vine
15
And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the
branch that You made strong for Yourself.
16 It
is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish
at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand [Messiah],
Upon the son
of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18
Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us,
and we will call upon Your name.
19
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts [Yahweh Elohim Sabaoth];
Cause Your
face to shine,
And we shall
be saved!
James
Boice notes,
"But lest we get the idea that a shepherd
is only some gentle, almost helpless soul doomed to care for sheep, the psalm
reminds its that this wonderful shepherd of Israel is nevertheless also the God
who sits "enthroned between the cherubim." This might refer to God's
throne in heaven or to that earthly representation of it within the Most Holy
Place of the tabernacle or temple. But whatever the case, it is a reminder of
the majesty and power of the true God. In fact, it is on the basis of God's
power that the psalm's appeal for salvation from Israel's enemies is made:
"Awaken your might; come and save us" (Boice op. cit.).
A prophetic passage in Micah speaks of Messiah as Israel's
shepherd, and king-but this shepherd is also Yahweh. He is called "the
Breaker," [i.e., the One who breaks open the sheepfold to lead his sheep
to safety].
[God speaking] "I will surely
gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people ["in a great commotion"]. One who breaks
open the way [Heb: ha parats] will go up before them; they will break
through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD
[Yahweh] at their head." (Micah 2:12-13)
Taking other Scriptures into account, this passage most likely is
speaking about of the remnant of Israel who will flee Jerusalem at the mid-point
of the approaching tribulation period (See Matthew 24:19-22). The place of
their refuge for three and a half years seems to be in Southern Jordon at
Bozrah ["sheep-fold"] and/or at nearby Petra. It is there that the
Shepherd of Israel will meet them, (Ezekiel 20-33-44). (See Israel's Coming
Exile in Edom, http://ldolphin.org/bozrah.html).
As Israel is overrun by foreign armies one last time (see
Zechariah 12-14, Daniel 11:36ff), Jesus will lead the remnant of Israel back
into their land from Bozrah/Petra in His role as a Greater Moses. Together they
will come triumphantly to Jerusalem, arriving at the Mount of Olives in power
and glory (Isaiah 63, Rev. 19:11-16). The sudden national conversion of Israel
(Zech. 12) will be in time for Israel to rise up suddenly and defeat the armies
of the nations assaulting them successfully against overwhelming odds, as
Messiah slays Israel's false messiah and his European military-political ally
(2 Thess. 2:3-12, Rev. 19:19-21). (Note 2)
After His return to earth, Jesus will gather the survivors of the
nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat just South of Jerusalem --and separate
them there "as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats." (Matthew
25, see http://raystedman.org/olivet/).
Jesus has already been appointed Judge of all the earth (see http://ldolphin.org/judgment.html).
Thus says the LORD, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: "Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me. I have made the earth, And created man on it. I--My hands--stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded...Thus says the LORD: "The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush And of the Sabeans, men of stature, Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; They shall walk behind you, They shall come over in chains; And they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, 'Surely God is in you, And there is no other; There is no other God.'" Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! They shall be ashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved by the LORD With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever.
For thus says the LORD, Who created
the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established
it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am
the LORD, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place
of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, 'Seek Me in vain'; I, the
LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. "Assemble
yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations.
They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a
god that cannot save. Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take
counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from
that time? Have not I, the LORD?
And there is no other God besides
Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. "Look to Me, and be
saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have
sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall
not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.
He shall say, 'Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men
shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. In the LORD
all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.'" (Isaiah
45:11-25, v. 23 is quoted in Rom. 14:11, Php. 2:10)
Historically, Sennacherib of Assyria overran the ten Northern
tribes, destroying their capital of Samaria in 722 BC, and laying siege to
Jerusalem (unsuccessfully) in 701. However, several Old Testament prophets use
the term "the Assyrian" as a type of the final invasion of Israel
from the North which opens up the campaign of Armageddon, for example,
"The LORD of
hosts has sworn, saying, "Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to
pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand: That I will break the Assyrian
in My land, And on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be
removed from them, And his burden removed from their shoulders. This is the
purpose that is purposed against the whole earth, And this is the hand that is
stretched out over all the nations. For the LORD of hosts has purposed, And who
will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?"
(Isaiah 14:24-27)
"Behold, the name
of the LORD comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy;
His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire. His
breath is like an overflowing stream, Which reaches up to the neck, To sift the
nations with the sieve of futility; And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of
the people, Causing them to err. You shall have a song As in the night when a
holy festival is kept, And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, To
come into the mountain of the LORD, To the Mighty One of Israel. The LORD will
cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the
indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering,
tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the LORD Assyria will be
beaten down, As He strikes with the rod. And in every place where the staff of
punishment passes, Which the LORD lays on him, It will be with tambourines and
harps; And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it. For Tophet ["a
burning place", Gehenna] was established of old, Yes, for the king it is
prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The
breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it."
(Isaiah 30:27-33)
Micah Chapter 5 is about Israel's Messiah and coming king. The
return of Yeshua to our earth will be followed by a total purging of all
idolatry from the earth.
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little
among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to
be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that she who is in labor [Israel] has given birth; Then the
remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. And He
[Messiah] shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the
majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall
be great To the ends of the earth; And this One shall be peace.
When the Assyrian comes into our
land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven
shepherds and eight princely men. They shall waste with the sword the land of
Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from
the Assyrian, When he comes into our land, And when he treads within our
borders. Then the remnant of Jacob Shall be in the midst of many peoples, Like
dew from the LORD, Like showers on the grass, That tarry for no man Nor wait
for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob Shall be among the Gentiles, In
the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a
young lion among flocks of sheep, Who, if he passes through, Both treads down
and tears in pieces, And none can deliver. Your hand shall be lifted against
your adversaries, And all your enemies shall be cut off."
"And it shall be in that
day," says the LORD, "That I will cut off your horses from your midst
And destroy your chariots. I will cut off the cities of your land And throw
down all your strongholds. I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you
shall have no soothsayers. Your carved images I will also cut off, And your
sacred pillars from your midst; You shall no more worship the work of your
hands; I will pluck your wooden images from your midst; Thus I will destroy
your cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury on the nations
that have not obeyed."
"But as for me, [Micah] I watch
in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Saviour; my God will hear me. Do not
gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in
darkness, the LORD will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, [Micah
identifying with the remnant of Israel] I will bear the LORD's wrath, until he
pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I
will see his righteousness. Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with
shame, she who said to me, "Where is the LORD your God?" My eyes will
see her downfall; even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the
streets. The day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your
boundaries.
In that day people will
come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the
Euphrates and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. The earth [the
entire earth] will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the result of
their deeds.
[Micah's prayer] Shepherd your
people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in
a forest, in fertile pasture-lands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in
days long ago. "As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show
them my wonders." Nations [all nations] will see and be ashamed, deprived
of all their power. They will lay their hands on their mouths and their ears
will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl
on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in
fear to the LORD our God and will be afraid of you [Israel].
Who is a God like you, who pardons
sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not
stay angry for ever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion
on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the
depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you
pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago." (Micah 7:7-20) (note 3)
One should also note Ezekiel Chapter 34 which speaks of a future
day when Israel's true Shepherd will judge that nation's false shepherds and
take personal responsibility for the care of His people Israel:
And the word of the LORD came to me,
saying, "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy
and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: "Woe to the
shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the
flocks? "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you
slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. "The weak you have
not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the
broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but
with force and cruelty you have ruled them. "So they were scattered
because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the
field when they were scattered. "My sheep wandered through all the
mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole
face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them."
'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the
word of the LORD: "as I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely
because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the
field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock,
but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock"-- 'therefore,
O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD! 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold,
I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will
cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves
no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer
be food for them."
'For thus says the Lord GOD:
"Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. "As a
shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so
will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were
scattered on a cloudy and dark day. "And I will bring them out from the
peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own
land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all
the inhabited places of the country. "I will feed them in good pasture,
and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie
down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
"I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord
GOD. "I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind
up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the
strong, and feed them in judgment."
'And as for you, O My flock, thus
says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between
rams and goats. "Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good
pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your
pasture--and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue
with your feet? "And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with
your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet." 'Therefore
thus says the Lord GOD to them: "Behold, I Myself will judge between the
fat and the lean sheep. "Because you have pushed with side and shoulder,
butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad,
"therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I
will judge between sheep and sheep. "I will establish one shepherd over
them, and he shall feed them--My servant David. He shall feed them and be their
shepherd. "And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David a
prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.
"I will make a covenant of
peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will
dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. "I will make them
and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come
down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. "Then the trees
of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase.
They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when
I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those
who enslaved them. "And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations,
nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no
one shall make them afraid. "I will raise up for them a garden of renown,
and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the
shame of the Gentiles anymore. "Thus they shall know that I, the LORD
their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people,"
says the Lord GOD.'" "You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you
are men, and I am your God," says the Lord GOD. (NKJV)
Isaiah also notes the
Messiah will come back to Israel as a shepherd comes to care for his sheep
"Behold,
the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. He will feed His flock
like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His
bosom, And gently lead those who are with young." (Isaiah 40:10-11 NKJV)
The benediction which
closes the New Testament letter to the Hebrews brings full circle the picture
of Israel's true shepherd, Yeshua, who is also the Shepherd of the church, and
our Great High Priest.
"Now may the God of peace who
brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good
work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews
13:20-21)
Ray Stedman connects the
Shepherd of Israel with the Great High Priest over the church in summing up the
great benediction at the end of the Letter to the Hebrews,
"Verses
20-21 must rank among the most powerfully worded blessings found in the
Scripture. They gather up the passionate concern of the writer for his readers'
spiritual growth and stress the major factors that make such growth possible:
the God of peace, the blood of the eternal covenant, the resurrection of Jesus,
his Shepherd care for his sheep, the indwelling life of God himself, the
equipping of the Spirit, the aim to please God, and the eternal glory and
lordship of Jesus. It is all there in one glorious outpouring of good wishes
and confident certainty. [F.F.] Bruce sees it as a kind of collect (a
gathered-together prayer) which later became popular in the Latin churches.
These are the themes of Hebrews brilliantly restated and forming an appropriate
conclusion to the letter. The God of peace is surely a reference to the peace given to all who are justified by
faith (Romans 5:1); the blood of the eternal covenant recalls all the writer has said in chapters 8-10 about
the opening of a new and living way to God; brought back from the dead our
Lord Jesus, though the only direct
reference to the resurrection in the epistle, implies the new beginning and the
new power which is now shared with all who believe; that great Shepherd of
the sheep pictures the high priestly
ministry of Jesus under a different figure; equip you with everything good speaks of the spiritual gifts imparted by the Spirit,
mentioned in 2:4; working in us what is pleasing to him looks back to 13:15-16, the worship and service of
God's people; and through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever concludes with the pre-eminent theme of the entire
letter: the superiority of Jesus to anything and everything else that men
worship or honor. With such marvelous resources as these, who can excuse any
failure to become the man or woman God intends you to be? We may well adopt for
our own the words of J. I. Packer: "My task is not to dizzy myself by
introspecting or speculating to find (if I can) what lies at the outer reaches
of consciousness, nor to pursue endless, exquisite stimulation in the hope of
new exotic ecstasies. It is, rather, to know and keep my place in God's cosmic
hierarchy, and in that place to spend my strength in serving God and men."
(http://raystedman.org/hebrews2/heb2comm2.html).
The Shepherd-King of Israel
is coming back soon! "Even so, Come Lord Jesus."
Notes:
1. The figure of the vineyard speaks of Israel's national
history, the olive tree of Israel's spiritual history, and the fig tree as
symbolic of her religious history. (See Arthur Custance, Three Trees And
Israel's History, http://custance.org/old/time/2intro.html
).
And the LORD said to me, "Next,
take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. "For indeed I will
raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off,
nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still
stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.
"Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword shall be
against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither, And
his right eye shall be totally blinded." (11:15-17)
3.
For mp3 audio files of my December class in Micah see http://ldolphin.org/micah.html.
Other
Friends
who want to help out with my monthly expenses may send contributions directly
to me by means of the PayPal or Amazon.com links on my web site, http://ldolphin.org. For those who'd like to contribute for
tax purposes, checks may be sent to Peninsula Bible Church, 3505 Middlefield
Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306. Please include a note designating your gift to my
support account. I am not an organization and not employed by any organization,
so I depend very much on the support I receive from friends. I do not receive a
list of those who send in contributions to my church so I can't send thank you
notes in most cases. God knows who you are, and may He bless you all richly.
Previous
newsletters
are on my web site: http://ldolphin.org/news/.
My main web site library is
http://ldolphin.org/asstbib.shtml, with newer articles posted at the
top. Links to mp3 files of my Bible classes are there as well. Email me at
mailto:lambert@ldolphin.org. Our
email team at the Paraclete Forum is
standing by to help, encourage or prayer for you. Email: inquiry@paracleteforum.org.
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Lambert
Dolphin
January 9, 2008