The
Good Shepherd
Jeremiah
23:1-8
In his book The Good Shepherd, Kenneth Bailey traces
the biblical record of the good shepherd from Psalm 23 through the prophets and
then through the gospels. He shows how
the concept remains the same and how it changes from time period to time period
and author to author.
It’s a powerful metaphor because sheep and shepherding
are a vital part of the Middle Eastern economy.
From ancient times sheep have been important in that culture for all the
ways they are useful to humans.
Throughout the region rulers were considered to be shepherds. This was especially true in Israel, where God
appointed kings to care for the people as a shepherd cares for the sheep—as
God, the Good Shepherd, cares for God’s people.
Lest we think this concept is only from ancient cultures,
remember how much of this language is still used today, especially in our
churches. Ministers are referred to as
pastors—a shepherding word. Many of us
refer to our congregation as our flock.
There’s even an expression for wooing members of another
congregation. It’s called stealing
sheep.
In
Psalm 23 David describes God as the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep, makes
sure they have both water and food, and protects them from danger, enemies from
outside the flock who would harm the sheep.
One
of Bailey’s stopping places is Jeremiah 23.
He focuses on the presence of evil shepherds (here the enemies of the
flock) and the contrast between them and the Good Shepherd. God has harsh words for the evil shepherds who
have harmed God’s flock. The sheep of
Israel have been scattered, both through the inattention of the country’s
leaders and through their deliberate hostile actions. Because these shepherds, these leaders have
not attended to their responsibility to care for the sheep, God will attend to
them. God isn’t specific as to what will
happen to these wicked shepherds, but we know it won’t be good.
Once
the shepherds have been dealt with, God promises to gather the scattered sheep
from the lands into which they have been driven, or into which they have fled
to escape the wicked leaders, and appoint good shepherds—good leaders—who will
care for the sheep.
We
must remember that this is still God’s world.
God is in charge, although it isn’t always evident, and the world will
evolve in the way God wishes. There have
been many instances down through history of wicked leaders harming their
people. Eventually they are replaced by
leaders who care for the flock. It may
not happen right away, but sooner or later, in one way or another, wicked
leaders are eliminated and replaced with good shepherds. This is true not only in the church, but in
government and business as well.
When
faced with leaders who do not have the best interests of the people at heart,
we are tempted to throw up our hands and say, “We are doomed! We can’t do anything about the
situation. They are in charge and will
continue to be in charge. We might as
well shut up and give up.” There are two
things to remember.
First,
the situation won’t go on forever. God
is still God, and the words Jeremiah delivered to the people are still
valid. The evil shepherds will be
replaced, and the flock will be brought together and cared for once more.
But
this knowledge doesn’t let us off the hook.
To the extent we are able we must work against wicked leadership to
bring about change. Wherever evil
leaders exists it is our job to do what we can to root them out and see that
good leaders are put in charge.
God
often chooses to work through human agents to bring about change.
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