Wee, like Sheep

There was a thought-provoking comment on my Of Tunnels and Lights submission regarding desire and prayer, which prompted me to post this sermon now. I preached it at our home church two months ago. The title is not original, but comes from a lesson in a bible study series put together by Dottie Bingham, called Gracestoration. I had the privelege of a spending a week learning from Dottie and her husband, Bob, several years ago[1]. And since it is Sunday, why not a little sermon...

Wee, Like Sheep
by Maureen Morley

Ezekiel 34:25-31: “I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
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God says, at the end of the passage above in Ezekiel 34:31, “You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

We have heard this analogy many times throughout the Bible. God’s word, all the way from Genesis, throughout the books of the Law, the Psalms and the books of the prophets, through to the New Testament and in many teachings direct from Jesus’s lips insists over and over that we are sheep. And the analogy is almost always used in a way that highlights the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd.

For example, here are just a few scriptures:

Numbers 27:16-17: “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like a sheep without a shepherd.” (Moses talking)

Isaiah 53:6: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.

Zechariah 13:7: Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.

Matthew 9:36: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

John 10:11: Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

Why does God tell us so often, over and over again, that we are sheep, that He is the Shepherd? It is helpful to ponder this analogy, thinking about how it might help us know ourselves and God better…and our proper place before him. Most of us today are far removed from the culture of sheep and shepherding that was so familiar to the people of Israel in both the Old and New Testaments, and I suspect we miss some of the richness of this analogy.

What are sheep like?

NOT Dumb, but Dependent, Defenceless and Directionless:

Sheep are one of the few animals on the planet who simply cannot survive on their own. Without a shepherd to care for them and guide them, they will die.

It is NOT that they are dumb - Those who work with sheep recognise that sheep have their own sort of intelligence. I don’t think that the Bible is calling attention to our stupidity. Rather, it is calling attention to our NEED. The key word here is dependent. Their other characteristics point to this dependency.

On their own, sheep are:

1) Defenceless: Sheep are not exactly fierce. Sheep are one of the most vulnerable animals to predators. When wolves come around, they can’t defend themselves. With their heavy coats of wool, they can’t outmanuever. They don’t have sharp claws to fight them off. And sheep don’t even have any upper teeth in the front. They chew by grinding their bottom teeth against the roof of their mouths. They can’t even bite a predator. Sheep are easily agitated and nervous. Being defenceless, their natural response is to cower when predators come, huddling together for protection, bleating out their alarm… Left alone, the predators easily overcome them. The sheep haven’t a chance. We people, God’s sheep, also have a predator after us. 1 Peter 5:8: “Your enemy the devil prowls around…looking for someone to devour.” Without the Shepherd – without God – we haven’t got a chance. The devil will have his way with us.

2) Directionless:
a) Even in the absence of predators, sheep can get into a lot of trouble. Sheep have no sense of direction on their own, but need to be guided by a shepherd. A lost sheep will wander around in circles, getting more and more anxious and upset. A sheep that likes to wander will also lure away other sheep after it – as sheep are prone to follow.
b) Sheep seek “greener pastures,” always looking for tasty grasses to chew. Sometimes this search will lead a sheep to the edges of a fence if they are fenced in (out where the predators are), or over hills and valleys, if there is no fence. Sheep have been known to wander down to a cliff edge, lured by the promise of tasty grasses, to areas from which they can’t climb out again. And they can be woefully stubborn and unaware of their danger. If a shepherd, noticing that a sheep has wandered off to the edge of a cliff, approaches right away or too quickly, the sheep might back away – determined to stay and eat that grass – and PLOP, fall off the cliff. A seasoned shepherd waits and lets the sheep graze there until he’s either had his fill or eaten all the grass there is to eat and perhaps begins to realize its predicament. Then, the shepherd will reach down and lift out the poor beast.
c) A sheep’s wool also grows over its eyes – making it very hard to see. Unless a shepherd cuts the hair, the sheep will panic, perhaps becoming stubborn and refusing to move, because on it cannot see. It needs the shepherd for clear vision.
d) And then, a sheep that has gone astray is also more likely to become CAST. A “cast sheep” is an old term for a sheep that is turned over on its back and unable to get up. It can’t right itself and is a very pathetic sight. It is more likely to happen to a poorly kept sheep, whose coat has been weighed down by brambles and other debris, but can happen to well-kept sheep too. Sheep in this position die quickly, because gasses build up and cause suffocation. Predators know this and are on the look-out. So the shepherd has to keep a very sharp eye and quickly come to the rescue.

Now “cast” also can mean discouragement, despair or even depression. It means, “to be low.” It is such a rich picture.

Have you ever been “cast?” Have you ever felt completely and utterly stuck? Have you ever had a problem that looked to you so bad that you simply had no idea what to do? You were sure you could do nothing. How about addictions? Despair at difficult news? This analogy is telling us that there are times when we ARE stuck. At that time, all we can do is cry out – all the sheep can do is bleat… King David cried out, in Psalm 42:6: “O my God, my soul is cast down within me.”

3) Dependent:
a) All this points to the key characteristic of sheep: DEPENDENCY. Sheep are happiest when tended by a caring shepherd, in the company of the other sheep in the flock.
b) Sheep can’t defend themselves from predators. They can’t find their own food. If they are hurt, they can’t heal themselves. If they are cast, they can’t right themselves. They are completely dependent upon the shepherd for care.

Does any of this sound familiar?

If it doesn’t sound familiar, I wonder: Are we seeing ourselves clearly? Are we like that sheep on the cliff edge, munching away on some little clump of grass, unaware that we’ve backed ourselves into a position that eventually will become dire – unless the shepherd rescues us? Have we turned away and stubbornly said “No” to the shepherd? Has, perhaps, the wool grown over our eyes so that we cannot see? Or, are we all too aware of our frailness, and feel cast down? Helpless and, worse, hopeless?

It is not a mistake that the Bible insists that we are sheep. And even more specifically, it insists that we are like the ones that go astray, always in danger from poachers and predators.We ARE like sheep…WEE, small, defenceless, directionless, dependent sheep.

But who is this Shepherd upon which we are dependent? The Bible has a lot to say about this too.

What is a Good Shepherd like?

1) Gentle: Isaiah 40:11 is instructive: “He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”

2) Strong – a defender. Some shepherds would sleep out among the sheep – at the entrance to the sheep pen…what would be the sheep gate except that there was no gate. The shepherd slept at the entrance area. Per Psalm 23, the shepherd would beat off enemy attacks with the rod that he carried, or use his staff to pull back and rescue a straying sheep.

Let’s hear God tell us what the Good shepherd is like.

Listen to Ezekiel chapter 34, verses 11-16: “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land… I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong [Hebrew word = ‘hazaq’] I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”

(Note: ‘hazaq’ means mighty, powerful, strong, severe: those who think they can live out of their own power, turned away and rebellious to God, and ultimately harmful to themselves and God’s flock.)

In Ezekiel, the Lord is speaking to his people, Israel. Who are God’s people today? It’s the church, the body of believers in Christ. Jesus tells some of the Jewish leaders in Israel, the Pharisees, in John 10:16 “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”

Jesus continues to teach us, using the shepherd-sheep analogy. Can his words help us to understand who he, who God is, and who we are…and more, how we are to live? Listen.

Jesus said, John 10:14-15: Then in verse 27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

What kind of “knowing” is Jesus talking about? It is a relational knowing. There are other Greek words for knowing that have to do more with acquiring technical or factual knowledge, or knowing a topic well. The word used here isn’t about that sort of factual knowledge. It means to come to know, to experience, to know and approve, to receive favourably. It is the same word that is used for sexual intercourse. It is a very intimate knowing. Jesus says “I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the father…”

Can you hear that this is a mutual knowing that Jesus is talking about? A relationship. Jesus knows us, knows what we are like, and speaks to us out of that knowing.

And then he says: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

The question arises: Do we listen? – and the listening he refers to here has to do with really hearing and following – obeying, when we hear.

We sheep, wee little sheep, can have power to live our lives with genuine joy and steadfast peace, only as we listen to and respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd. We have power to transform lives only to the extent that we follow and point others toward Jesus. This applies to all of us – no matter how long we’ve been following Jesus. (if we don’t know the way we could follow the guide for 20 years, but if we stop following, we’ll get lost again…doesn’t matter if you are 15 or 35 or 80.)

It isn’t about acquiring knowledge, although God teaches us many things and knowledge isn’t BAD. Questions are good, seeking is good. But God is quite clear: “You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.” We’re not ever going to become God. We won't know all the answers, and our peace does not lie in knowledge, but in right relationship with the living God who loves us.

Jesus calls to us, “Come, follow me.” He asks us to follow. He says, (Mathew 11:29) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

God tells us much about himself in the verses that describe him as Shepherd. We need to really listen to his descriptions of himself as the GOOD SHEPHERD. He is a shepherd who leads, not a bad shepherd, what we’ll call a sheep-herder (like a cattle-driver) who drives the flock relentlessly, making them tired, keeping them anxious.

Look at some ways that the shepherd and sheep-herder are different, to help remind us of what the Good Shepherd is like:

Actions of a Shepherd vs a Sheep-herder:

Affirms vs. Abandons
Befriends vs. Bullies
Cherishes vs. Confuses
Disciplines vs. Demands (deceives!)
Encourages vs. Exploits
Forgives vs. Frightens
Gives vs. Goads
Heals vs. Harasses…(and on to Z)

When listening to the Shepherd vs. the Sheep-herder, the sheep will feel:

Appreciative vs. Afraid
Beloved vs. Berated
Contented vs. Confused
Delighted vs. Distraught
Enthusiastic vs. Exasperated/exhausted
Forgiven vs. Frazzled
Grateful vs. Guilty
Healthy vs. Hated…(and on to Z)

Whose voice are you listening to? If you are feeling alone, bullied, confused, scared…who is it that makes you feel like this? Yourself? Various popular voices out in the world? Friends or family who – though maybe they have good intentions – don’t speak with God’s voice? You would do well to question the voices that goad or harass or frighten. This is NOT God’s way.

When you KNOW Jesus, you will LISTEN to him. You will want to listen, because you will KNOW from experience that he alone knows what you need, what will bring you true peace, how to give you rest. As you get to know Jesus, you learn to tell the difference between his voice and other voices that ultimately harm you. Your relationship will deepen. Your trust will grow.

We know that this relationship begins by the initiative of God – He searches us out, goes out and finds his sheep and call to them. But the choice to follow, or not, is ours. He doesn’t force us.

Psalm 95:8 calls to us: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did at Meribah, as you did that day…in the desert. This is referring to when the Israelites didn’t trust in God and wandered around in the desert for 40 years. (I’m so often reminded of this – DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS!)

Again – hear the call of Jesus: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

There is mystery here. You must choose to enter into this relationship with Jesus Christ, with God. It is personal – between you and Him. And we enter knowing that He is God – the good shepherd, and we are sheep…his ways, no matter how much we learn…are beyond us, and we must trust. Over and over again, we choose to trust. We have to keep following…no matter if we followed yesterday, we’ll get lost again if we don’t follow today.

And although he IS gentle and his aim is to bring us into a place of rest, God DOES discipline his sheep. Here is a final story to ponder. This is the story about a certain kind of sheep that shepherds have referred to as “The Bell Sheep.”

The Bell Sheep[2]

When a young lamb continually strays from the flock at the risk of its own life and safety, the shepherd sometimes has to break the leg of the wayward one. The shepherd then carries the helpless lamb in his arms and tenderly cares for it until the leg heals. After the leg is mended, he sets the lamb down to walk.

BUT, a wondrous thing has happened. During the restoration period, the lamb begins to understand the caring and comforting heart of the shepherd who spares nothing to protect his flock from dangers. Never again does the lamb doubt the shepherd’s care, concern, and wisdom for whatever lies ahead. The humbled lamb stays at the shepherd’s side, never to stray again.

Commemorating this new relationship, the shepherd then places a bell around the lamb’s neck, designating the lamb as the lead sheep or the “bell sheep.” The continual tinkling of its bell draws the rest of the flock to the shepherd’s side.
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I’m guessing that the wayward sheep had no idea what was happening when the Shepherd broke her or his leg. The sheep was probably aware of a lot of pain, an inability to move around very well. It probably felt so vulnerable. But listen: Psalm 119:67: “Before I was afflicted, I went astray.” And Lamentations 3:32,33: “For if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness; for He does not afflict willingly or grieve the sons of men.”

I don’t know what you are facing today. Are you feeling broken, or useless? Have you hardened your heart? Can you hear the Shepherd’s call in the midst of your struggles, your day-to-day life? Can you dare to believe that He IS calling in the midst of your circumstances, today? That he can and will change you, your life, and through you the lives of others, if you KNOW him, if you FOLLOW him.

Maybe God is causing you to draw close to him. Maybe he’s seen into your heart and knows that are like a cast sheep – unable to help herself. Unable to help himself. Maybe he has heard your bleating cry for help. Or maybe you haven’t called out to him yet?

But be assured, He is seeking YOU. Your peace, your rest, lies in right relationship with your shepherd. Let him draw you close to his heart.

[1] The following books were also used as sources for the information here about sheep: W.G. Bowen, Why! the Shepherd, 1988, Good Shepherd Press, San Miquel, CA, and; Charles Jefferson, The Minister as Shepherd, Scripture Truth Book Company, Fincastle, VA.
[2] The Bell Sheep story is directly from the Gracestoration bible study.