The LORD of hosts cares for his flock
Fri, 23 December, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.
1 “Ask rain from the LORD
in the season of the spring rain,
from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,
and he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 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.3 “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.”
In this passage, God confronts the people of Judah for their reliance upon idols when they should come to Him. The people should bring their needs to God. He tells this agriculturally based society that they should come to Him asking for the rain they need. But instead, the people reject the true God and consult their household idols.
As a result, the people wander like sheep. They have rejected the Good Shepherd, and God promises punishment to the leaders of the people who have presided over this widespread apostasy and rejection of God.
What do we learn from this?
First, we see again that God calls for us to pray to Him about our needs. If there is something that concerns us, we should pray about it. People who lived on the produce of the land needed the rains. If it doesn’t rain, they starve. Rain is something they need to survive. God commands them to pray to Him asking for the rain.
If there is some need that we lack, we should pray about it. We are not to be like the people of Judah and seek to find the fulfillment of our needs in every place except from God. To do so is to be setting up idols we are placing before God.
When we choose not to come to God in prayer, we are disobeying Him. But we are also offending Him. God cares for us. Like a father, He wants us to tell Him what we are thinking and feeling. He wants us to tell Him what we need. So bring your cares and concerns to Him in prayer.
Second, we see that when people depart from God, the leaders are responsible and will bear the guilt. When a church wanders from its Biblical rooting, God holds the leaders responsible.
The leaders of a church are acting on God’s behalf. They are His representatives. They are shepherds of the people, acting for the Good Shepherd. Their failure to properly lead the people is a failure that He will not overlook or treat lightly. God does not take the mistreatment of His people lightly. His anger is hot against those who lead the people away from Him. Church leadership is not something to take lightly, for with the great authority comes great responsibility before God.
The leaders of the church are God’s representatives to the people, and should be doing all the duties of Christ to the congregation. They act on His behalf, and they should seek to be Christlike in what they do for the people.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Here we see that the LORD of hosts cares for his flock. Yahweh cares for His sheep. In other words, God is the good shepherd. He leads and cares for His people.
Jesus Christ Himself told us that he is the good shepherd. He is the one who leads His people into safe pastures. Like a shepherd, He feeds, cares for, and disciplines those who are His sheep. He seeks for them when they are lost, and nurses them back to health when they are injured or sick. And He tells us that ultimately, He gave up His life for His sheep. When He died on Calvary, He died for the sins of His people. He is the good shepherd.
