Zach 10:2-3 (ESV): For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. “My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
Zach 10:6-9 “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and be glad; their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord. “I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before. Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return.”
We often read or hear about Jesus being called the “Good Shepherd” and referring to his followers as his sheep. But God didn’t start referring to himself as a shepherd and to his followers as sheep in the New Testament.
God used the term in the Old Testament as well. God relates to us as shepherd and sheep throughout history and throughout the Bible. David is a wonderful example of a shepherd willing to fight and die for his sheep, overcoming bears and lions to defend his flock. And God is the same with us.
In this text, God is angry with the false leaders, the false shepherds, who were leading the people astray. God loves his people, but he knows that just like sheep, we have a tendency to get lost and into trouble. Therefore, God gives us shepherds whose responsibility is to point us toward God. At the time, Israel’s leaders failed in that obligation. They led the people away from God and towards sinful idolatry.
To correct the rampant sinfulness of the leaders and the people, God let Israel be conquered and the people removed.
But God still loved his people and longed to rescue them. He planned to rescue Israel and return them from the corners of the earth, so they would be together again as his people in the land he chose for them.
God acted as the Shepherd who goes out to find his lost sheep and bring them back to the safety of his sheepfold. God desired the best for Israel, and the best was to be close to him, in relationship with him, and in the land he destined for them to have.
God continues to be the Shepherd to his people. Jesus tells us in John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” He continues in verses 14 through 16, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
Jesus reveals two key things in this passage, 1) Jesus died for the benefit of his sheep. 2) Jesus’ sheep are diverse, coming not only from Israel, but from all peoples.
Jesus continues in verses 17 and 18, saying, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” Jesus willingly gave his life, then resurrected himself, to care for his flock. To care for all of those who will listen to his voice and know him.
If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Lord, let him become your Shepherd, do so today. Call out to him and acknowledge that you (just like all of us) are lost without him to lead you and care for you.
Blessings,
Robba