The Pastoral Image In Scripture

The Pastoral Image In Scripture
What It Means To Us

The Bible teaches, and true Christians everywhere agree, that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. They also agree that God is purposeful, not only in the thoughts expressed in His Word, but also in the language in which He expresses these thoughts. He is a master communicator and His principles are universal and relevant. They can be stated in many ways in every language. However, God did not choose to give them to us in the technological jargon of the 21st century – which most of the world’s 6.5 billion people find difficult to understand – but in the language of the Middle East some 2000-4000 years ago.

To these people the imagery in which God expressed Himself was clearly understandable. Though our cultural setting has changed in many respects, this imagery is generally still quite clear to us. God uses many figures of speech in His Word, but in this article we will confine ourselves to the pastoral imagery of Scripture – expressions such as sheep, lambs, shepherd, pasture, flock, fold, wolves and straying.

Shepherds And Sheep
The term “shepherd” – denoting the occupation of one who keeps livestock – does not enter into the vocabulary of Scripture until Genesis 46:32, when Joseph described his brothers to Pharaoh this way: “The men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock.” But the Bible records that Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve, was “a keeper of sheep,” a very simple term (Gen. 4:2 NKJV). He kept sheep and presented an offering “of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat” (Gen. 4:4). Thus we see very early in Scripture that sheep needed to be kept, and that their ultimate intended purpose was to be sacrificed to God.

The Bible often directly compares sheep to people, both in a positive and negative sense. Here’s an example of each: “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture,” and “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way” (Ps. 100:3; Isa. 53:6). Ezekiel 34 graphically presents some of the problems of God’s sheep. They may be weak, sick, broken, driven away, lost, scattered, wandering and even food for wild beasts. The strong sheep may trample the pastures, muddy the waters, push, butt and scatter the weak. Some shepherds may treat sheep as though they were merely for food and clothing, but God shows how tenderly He cares for His sheep and seeks their good.

Many of God’s earthly people, the Israelites, were shepherds. Among these were Joseph’s brothers. Since shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians (Gen. 46:34), the Israelites easily became the shepherds for the vast herds Pharaoh had received from the Egyptians in exchange for food for them when their money ran out. A shepherd can hardly work with sheep without picking up their smell. In addition to this very natural reason, Egypt, a biblical picture of the world in its proud independence of God, would not appreciate shepherds who were devoted to caring for animals that could hardly survive independently.

God repeatedly trained the future leaders of His people as shepherds, Moses and David being prime examples (Ex. 3:1-12; Ps. 78:70-72). Above all, the Lord Jesus speaks of Himself as the Good Shepherd, that one who would give His life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11). Psalm 23 views the shepherd through the eyes of his adoring sheep and gives us a beautiful picture of the many ways in which the Good Shepherd cares for His sheep. Many other pictures in Scripture, among them Ezekiel 34 and Isaiah 40:11, supplement this description. Key to these descriptions is the fact that the true shepherd, in patient love, gives himself for his sheep, while the worthless shepherd is only out to see what he can get out of the sheep.

Lambs are young sheep. They are viewed as needing special care, special food, as being specially loved, and are a picture of innocence and weakness (Isa. 40:11; Jn. 21:15; 2 Sam. 12:3; 1 Sam. 7:9). The lamb was the main animal used for sacrifice. God would provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, Abraham told his son Isaac; each household of the Israelites had to offer an unblemished lamb at the Passover in Egypt; and these pictures eventually found their fulfillment in “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Gen. 22:8; Ex. 12:3-5; Jn. 1:29).

Caring For The Flock
Of course, good shepherds would lead their flocks into green, well-watered pastures even though Scripture often pictures these pastures as being in the wilderness. The need of the sheep, not the shepherd’s convenience, was ever the criterion. The Bible does not contemplate feeding the flock on hay or dry feed. Psalm 23:2 gives us a picture of the wonderful provision the good shepherd provides: “He makes me to lie down in green pastures.” To lie down in green pastures indicates the abundance available to the sheep. After sheep have grazed to their heart’s content, they lie down to chew the cud.

This same verse also says, “He leads me beside the still waters.” To be led beside still waters shows the tranquility of the shepherd’s care, as sheep are afraid to drink out of a rushing stream. In this world we are in a wilderness, but our Good Shepherd is well aware of our every need here and His gracious supply is inexhaustible. May all who serve Him as shepherds learn from Him how to care for those He repeatedly refers to as “My sheep” and “My flock” (Ezek. 34:6-31).

Not only does the shepherd feed and water his sheep, but he also concerns himself about their protection. Wild beasts lurk in the wilderness, as we see in Genesis (31:39; 37:33). David killed a lion and a bear while tending his father’s sheep in the wilderness (1 Sam. 17:34-35). The Lord speaks of the wolf catching and scattering the sheep (Jn. 10:12), and Paul warned the Ephesian elders saying, “After my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29).

Yet, despite these dangers, we can rejoice with the contented sheep who exults, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Ps. 23:4-5).

The Sheepfold
For their protection, at night especially, the shepherd often led his flock into a sheepfold. The two and a half tribes of Israel that remained on the east side of the Jordan wanted to build sheepfolds for their livestock (Num. 32:16,24). These sheepfolds were evidently more permanent structures, not mere temporary brush enclosures for the night. “You are with me,” held good here too, for the shepherd customarily slept across the single entrance to the fold. “I am the door of the sheep,” Jesus said, doubtless alluding to this custom. He pointed out also that while thieves and robbers might attempt to enter some other way, the shepherd of the sheep entered by the door (Jn. 10:7,1-2).

But the sheep were in the sheepfolds only for a short time. They were never permanently penned up. By day the shepherd “calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” They follow him, and he leads them to pasture (Jn. 10:3-9). It is the Lord’s joy to make abundant provision for His sheep.

In one sense Israel was a fold. God wanted to protect His flock from the dangers confronting them in the world. Deuteronomy 4-11 shows that He gave them the Law, doing so for their own benefit and protection. But the Lord Jesus went beyond this, reaching far beyond Israel. He said that He had other sheep not of that Jewish fold. “Them also I must bring,” He said, “and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one Shepherd” (Jn. 10:16).

Our Good Shepherd
We Christians today may be either of Gentile or Jewish origin, but we are not confined to a fold on the one hand or excluded from it on the other. We are not attracted by the voices of strangers but are drawn by the voice of our Good Shepherd and we follow Him. He knows us and supplies not only all that we need in this life, but also He gives us eternal life, and we shall never perish nor can anyone snatch us out of His hand (Jn. 10:27-28). What a glorious portion is ours! May we always keep close to our Good Shepherd!

Certainly such a wonderful Shepherd ought to be sufficient to keep us from ever straying. Yet sometimes our eye may not be fixed on Him. We may be enticed by a stranger or it may be, as Isaiah 53:6 tells us, that “we have turned, every one, to his own way.” Thank God, our Good Shepherd seeks His straying sheep until He finds us. When He finds us He lays us on His shoulders, rejoicing, and carries us all the way home. Indeed, He will present us “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Lk. 15:3-7; Jude 24).

By Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.