SHEPHERD OF THE AGES

SHEPHERD OF THE AGES
Thursday, August 22, 2024 by LINDA WOOD RONDEAU

PSALM 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want …

*“Thus the metaphor of shepherd was a royal one, with connotations of strong leadership but tender care. ‘A man’s personal god is a shepherd who finds pasturage for him. Let him lead him like sheep to the grass they can eat.’ For the psalmist, there is but one shepherd, Yahweh, the one true God.”

The role of the king as a shepherd was not a new concept in the ancient world. Some known shepherd kings were:

Mardak … the chief God in Babylonia whom the people praised as a shepherd

Shamesh … a Mesopotamian sun god described as their herdsman, above and below

Hammurabi … believed he received kingship to lead his people to watering places

Ashurbanipal … believed the gods appointed him to overthrow enemies

In this most famous of David’s psalms, he advises that the Lord is his shepherd, the one and true shepherd, who provides for him all his days.

Kings of Israel were commissioned to be shepherds of God’s people, the tradition set by Samuel when he anointed Saul the first king of Israel.

In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’” 2 Samuel 5:2

Jesus calls himself the “Good Shepherd” who lays down his life for his sheep. In this regard, he established himself as a king and was from David’s lineage.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” John 10:11-13 NIV

This statement also acknowledges the prophecy of Micah relative to the coming Messiah:

He will stand and shepherd his flock
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
    will reach to the ends of the earth. (Micah 5:4 NIV)

The New Testament continues to show Jesus, the Messiah King, in the role of Shepherd.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20)

One day this great Shepherd will be crowned in glory, and we will share in His great pasture forever:

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away (1 Peter 5:4 NIV).

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