SHEPHERDS, SHEEP, AND FLOCKS

And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.
This One will be our peace.
(Micah 5: 4-5a)

I'm pretty much a third generation urban creature. Possibly even fourth generation, since my paternal great-grandfather was a minister more than farmer. Life on the farm, that immediacy of earning a living from toiling with the soil or managing livestock are far from my personal experience. And for most of us, that become more and more the case. Yet terms from that type of existence remain with us, particularly in Christian termanology.

Shepherd. Sheep. Flock.

For most of us, we use those terms more for our faith life than for the actual things they designate. If we think about sheep at all, it may be for sheep-skin and fleece that lines or trims our cold weather garments. It's soft and warm. And maybe we think of having lamb for dinner. But that's what we know of sheep. As for shephers, we know those are the people whose job it is to manage a collection of sheep, out walking with them when the animals are munching grass. And flock is a nice useful term for a bunch of things, usually sheep and birds, but also for a group of people (usually with a positive connotation).

Years ago, I made plans to write a novel about the life of King David. I did a lot of research for this, outlining things, making lists, laying out a timeline, charting out the Psalms of David. Lots and lots of research. It was going to be a three volume project. (I still have most of the notes in my files, and I hope to return to this project in the future). The first volume was going to be titled The Shepherd of Judah and would cover David's life up to the death of King Saul. Because Daivd was a shepherd, and that job shaped his early outlook, I did a lot of research on sheep and shepherding, particularly as it was done in the ancient Middle East. And I learned many interesting things that stuck with me even after the project was superceded by others.

The general "knowledge" of sheep is that they are not very bright animals. The typical picture of them is that they are timid, easily paniced. This is true to a certain degree. If I remember correctly, sheep are rather miopic, and don't see very well. This is why they don't like suddenly moving things - like fast water and running dogs. (Yes, this is why being "led beside still waters" is a very good thing.) This is why they can walk over the edge of cliffs. This is why "wolf in sheep's clothing" is actually something that can work. The poor things just cannot see very well. This is why they need to be led, and why they prefer to stick together with those that are like themselves. It's not because they are too stupid, it is because they can't see.

They are, however, apparently very good at hearing. As I continued my research, it turned out that sheep have good hearing, and are very capable at distinguishing different sounds and different voices. When scripture says that sheep "know the voice of their shepherd," that is the truth. It is not simply a matter of knowing a voice that speaks with authority. They know the actual voices of their own shepherds. And more than that, in general, they will only respond to that voice. If a stranger should come along and try to call out to them to move or follow, they won't pay attention. (This is why the picture of cars blocked on country roads by a large flock of sheep remains a current picture. If you shout at them to move, they won't pay any attention to you: you're not their shepherd and they don't know your voice.) But not only do they know their shepherd's voice, they also know their own name. When their shepherd calls them by name, they will come to the shepherd.

So when scripture compares us to sheep, those are some of the things they knew, which they applied to our interaction with God. First off, we should perhaps get rid of the idea of sheep as stupid. I don't think God sees us as stupid, but rather that we cannot see everything that is around us and that might threaten us.

That stubbornness that is attributed to sheep springs from that reliance on the guidence of the voice of their shepherd - there's a perfectly valid reason for that stubbornness. Perhaps that is something that we need to hold on to more strongly in our own lives. Instead of listening to the voices around us that nudge and push us in every possible direction, what would happen in our lives if we stayed put until we heard the voice of our own shepherd? If we waited patiently for the sound of that voice that has proven it was trustworthy, and that calls each of us by our own names. Not "Hey you!", but by our name.

Sheep know there are dangers out there in the world, even though they cannot see them. They rely on the protection the shepherd gives them. The shepherd walks with the flock, keeping an eye out for the strays, making sure they all stay on safe paths. He is always on the alert for predators that would try and strike at the sheep, and he is ready to battle them. During his time as a shepherd, even though he was the youngest in his family, by the time he was 15, David had already killed a mountain lion and a bear which had threatened his sheep. He was very good at his job.

So when Micah calls the Promised One of the Lord, these are the things he and his audience were thinking off. They were not thinking of someone who was out there just strolling along not doing much, with a mass of mindless animals following along. They were thinking of a tall figure who could see all the dangers that they themselves could not see, someone who not only knew each of them, but who was entirely trustworthy to keep them from danger. Someone who was entirely reliable.

"The Lord is my Shepherd." Like many, I learned the 23rd Psalm when I was young. It is a very comforting psalm, even when I didn't really know much of anything about shepherding. But when I learned the details of sheep and shepherding, I came to appreciate it even more.

There is so much in life that I cannot see. Circumstances and events that happen outside my field of vision that might affect me if I walked into them blindly. There are unexpected cliffs and dropoffs that I don't always see. I get aggitated by sudden unexpected changes, even panicing a little bit. And generally, I turn toward the voices I know and that know me. I'm not stupid. I know my limits.

But sometimes I do behave like a sheep that thinks it doesn't need a shepherd. And ... yeah, that doesn't always go so well. But the shepherd does not rest when one of his flock is missing. The safe ones are led into a fold (a safe confine for them, like a cave or a walled area), secured (the entrance is closed or covered, to keep them from wandering), and the shepherd goes out looking for that lost one. When I've gone wandering and gotten lost, my Shepherd seeks me out, and brings me back to the rest of the flock and safety.

And then there is peace.

When the Promised Shepherd comes, there will be peace to the ends of the earth.

And He is coming!