Regardless whether you are a Christian believer or not, the Old and New Testament of the Bible refers to God as our Shepherd irrespective of whether we believe in Him or not.
A number of the prophets of the Old Testament (Jacob, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Zechariah) referred to God as our Shepherd and earlier, when David who as a young man and a shepherd in the desert, understood how a shepherd must lead his sheep to water, with good pasture, a safe place to spend the night, and secure from predators envisioned God as his Shepherd.
It was David, who wrote Psalm 23, which starts with verse 1, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want" Sheep, like people, can be foolish and wander away from the flock - and the shepherd, ever mindful of a sheep as defenseless, is faithful to search, find and bring back the lost one to the safety of the herd, being careful to treat their injuries and nurse them back to health.
Thus, as God knows each of us and our idiosyncrasies, so the shepherd knows each sheep's unique characteristics - and anticipates what they may do next.
The people in the Bible had their deficiencies and weaknesses as well, and yet God continued His eternal forgiveness of them even with their shortcomings.
In example, Jacob was a difficult man, full of selfishness and thought first of himself and committed numerous affronts to others, yet God continued to be forgiving with an eternal love with an open door to those who believe.
Isaiah thought of God as a Shepherd of the universe, calling each star by name, while Jeremiah saw God's people misled by malicious, selfish shepherds causing them to go astray.
Ezekiel spoke to the Israelites who by then were scattered far from home, all for the lack of a good shepherd.
Yet he makes reference to God finding His lost sheep to bring them back to safety and to care for them.
Micah continued to call for social justice and predicted the birthplace and coming of the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who "shepherds His flock in the strength of the Lord".
Zechariah, during the early part of 500 B.
C.
continued the prophecy of the coming Messiah and the people becoming scattered sheep, as a result of their rejection of their Shepherd.
Much later, Jesus in the New Testament said "I am the good Shepherd and the good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.
I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father".
Yet, it is the 23rd Psalm written hundreds of years earlier, that provides calm assurance to all who read it, that life ends well for those who follow the Lord as their Shepherd.
So, as the sheep with their many faults, it becomes important for each of us to answer the personal question: Who's Your Shepherd?
A number of the prophets of the Old Testament (Jacob, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Zechariah) referred to God as our Shepherd and earlier, when David who as a young man and a shepherd in the desert, understood how a shepherd must lead his sheep to water, with good pasture, a safe place to spend the night, and secure from predators envisioned God as his Shepherd.
It was David, who wrote Psalm 23, which starts with verse 1, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want" Sheep, like people, can be foolish and wander away from the flock - and the shepherd, ever mindful of a sheep as defenseless, is faithful to search, find and bring back the lost one to the safety of the herd, being careful to treat their injuries and nurse them back to health.
Thus, as God knows each of us and our idiosyncrasies, so the shepherd knows each sheep's unique characteristics - and anticipates what they may do next.
The people in the Bible had their deficiencies and weaknesses as well, and yet God continued His eternal forgiveness of them even with their shortcomings.
In example, Jacob was a difficult man, full of selfishness and thought first of himself and committed numerous affronts to others, yet God continued to be forgiving with an eternal love with an open door to those who believe.
Isaiah thought of God as a Shepherd of the universe, calling each star by name, while Jeremiah saw God's people misled by malicious, selfish shepherds causing them to go astray.
Ezekiel spoke to the Israelites who by then were scattered far from home, all for the lack of a good shepherd.
Yet he makes reference to God finding His lost sheep to bring them back to safety and to care for them.
Micah continued to call for social justice and predicted the birthplace and coming of the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who "shepherds His flock in the strength of the Lord".
Zechariah, during the early part of 500 B.
C.
continued the prophecy of the coming Messiah and the people becoming scattered sheep, as a result of their rejection of their Shepherd.
Much later, Jesus in the New Testament said "I am the good Shepherd and the good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.
I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father".
Yet, it is the 23rd Psalm written hundreds of years earlier, that provides calm assurance to all who read it, that life ends well for those who follow the Lord as their Shepherd.
So, as the sheep with their many faults, it becomes important for each of us to answer the personal question: Who's Your Shepherd?