Sheep

We are all like sheep and we have one Good Shepherd who paid a great price for us. But as God appointed pastors as under-shepherds, I thought it would be good for us to understand the nature of sheep.(Remember...we are one!)

1. Sheep are the only defenseless animal alive—which is probably why God chose to compare us to sheep. We need the defense of the Good Shepherd. The only defense sheep have is to flee and huddle together to protect themselves from predators.  You very much see the “mob mentality” in a herd of sheep. 
2. Sheep are followers. The young are taught to follow the elder sheep. Usually one ram rises as the leader of the herd. He will butt the heads of other sheep to demand dominance. In fact, he sees the shepherd as a sheep to be dominated.  A Shepherd never turns his back on a ram and children should never be allowed in a pen with a ram.  The shepherd must convince one sheep to go where he wants it to go—and then the others will follow.  
3. Sheep have poor depth perception. They have great peripheral vision which allows them to stay aware of predators around them. But many will fall off of a ledge because they can’t differentiate light and shadows. One shepherd tells the story of losing 400 sheep because they followed one after the other off of a ledge. After all...they are followers. 
4. Some sheep tend to wander.  Sheep have no homing skills.  They can’t find their way back once they’ve wandered off. The shepherd must go looking for the lost sheep. Many sheep have been found dead in remote places because they couldn’t find their way back and were killed by a predator. 
5. Sheep produce wool all the time.  The more it’s cut off, the more it grows. Fruitfulness is inherent in sheep. 
6. Sheep are picky eaters.  They won’t eat junk food. They eat grass and prefer fresh grass.  
7. Sheep have excellent hearing. They quickly learn the voice of the shepherd and are responsive to his voice.  They also recognize the calls of their enemies and quickly circle up to protect themselves. 
8. Sheep display an intensely outgoing social instinct that allows them to bond closely to other sheep—especially to related flock members. 
9. Males will physically challenge one another for social rank and breeding privileges.  Ewes tend to stay in their maternal groups for life, whereas rams may form unstable relationships—even remaining bachelors who quickly lose interest in one another.  
10. Sheep are the only animal which make no noise when they are slaughtered.  

A Shepherd

I decided to take another look at the natural job of shepherding after I heard of another pastor taking his life this morning to get some insight into the spiritual job of shepherding. What is happening?  Why has shepherding become difficult?  What has changed?   As I studied, I saw the following ten (or more) points.  I wonder if it doesn’t speak to the modern-day shepherd or pastor?  I’ll outline what I saw and leave you to your own conclusions.  

1. Son.  A shepherd was usually the youngest son of the family who was delegated to the task of caring for the sheep. A farmer didn’t have time to move sheep from pasture to pasture—so he chose his young son to do it.  A certain age was not a prerequisite. The father chose his son to do the job when he knew he was capable and ready.
2. Lonely Job. Being a shepherd, you were alone a great deal of the time. Shepherds were nomadic and lived set apart from society. They stayed with their sheep. In their alone times, they usually learned to play an instrument—for their own enjoyment (or worship) and to soothe the sheep. 
3. They Led the Sheep. They didn’t drive their sheep—they led them with confidence.  If the sheep resisted, the shepherd would convince that one favored sheep who kept close to him, to lead the way and the others would follow.  
4. Protected.  The shepherd protected the sheep from predators with his weapon.  He had lots of time to practice hitting a target as he watched his sheep graze. He was willing to lay down his life for his sheep.  If one sheep was missing, he would put the other sheep in a pen and go searching until he found the lost sheep. He loves all of his sheep!
5. Guarded.  Many sheep paddocks were circular walls with one opening. After the sheep were in for the night, the shepherd would lay across the opening to guard the sheep. In this way, he became the gate.  
6. Healer.  When the sheep got cuts from brambles, the shepherd would anoint it with oil to bring healing. If a sheep was injured, the shepherd would create a sling and carry the sheep. 
7. The Shepherd Knew His Sheep. He gave many, or all, of his sheep names.  They knew his voice because he talked to them and played with them. Whenever several shepherds ended up at the same field with their sheep, they would each call their sheep and they would naturally separate because they knew their own shepherd’s voice.  
8. A Shepherd Paid a Price.  The shepherd (or his family) bought the sheep.  It was an investment they didn’t take lightly. The shepherd guarded the sheep because they belonged to him. There was always a price to pay. 
9. A Shepherd Provides Freedom from Fear, Tension, Aggravation, and Hunger.  A shepherd would go ahead of the sheep to a new field to make sure there were no predators and to prepare the field—to free it of any poisonous or harmful weeds.  The sheep could not rest as long as it was fearful.  There’s also tension between many sheep, or especially, rams.  So the shepherd would grease the heads of the belligerent sheep so their heads would glance off of each other as they hit one another.  Sheep can literally beat their brains to death.  Gnats, flies, and other insects would aggravate the sheep until they couldn’t rest.  So the shepherd would anoint the sheep with oil. 
10. Lays Down His Own Needs for the Needs of the Sheep. The shepherd lives a life of self-denial. 

One thing I learned through my studies is that many families have to hire someone to care for their sheep.  They are called hirelings.  They have nothing invested and when predators come, they easily abandon the sheep.  Also as things have become more modern and there is less open land to pasture the sheep, fences have been put up to corral the sheep. Many modern shepherds ride the fences on horseback to check their sheep. The sheep no longer know their shepherd intimately.  

Another important thing a shepherd must do is first be a sheep and be led by the Good Shepherd. He must hear His voice and obey Him. 

*I highly recommend the book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the sheep...