Isaiah 52:6 NLT – But I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that I am the one who speaks to them.”
Psalm 23:1-6 The Lord is My Shepherd; I shall not want
Isaiah 40:11 NKJV
- The reality of the flock (Isaiah 40:11 ; Psalm 23:2 NKJV
We see and envision the peaceful all is well tranquil flock. The reality is that within the flock of the Lord, there are weak, anemic, frail, bruised, battered, wounded, sick, and struggling sheep. There are also healthy and fulfilled, but the reality is that all of this is happening not in a peaceful scene without the presence of an enemy. It’s prepared for you in the presence of your enemy.
This tells me that this text isn’t talking about eternity, our enemy will not be present in Heaven, this is for the here and the now. Right, where we are and where you are.
Jesus didn’t come to tend only to the healthy sheep. He came to tend to those that were bruised, battered, and broken.
There was a strong rebuke to those who ignored the needs of the broken, bruised and battered.
Ezekiel 34:4,6; Jeremiah 34:6; Isaiah 53:6
Isaiah said we all… like sheep have gone astray. This isn’t to some of us, it’s for all of us. We all have gone!
However, we are still called the sheep of His pasture, we are still in the fold! Why? The Lord is my Shepherd. He cares for the bruised, battered, and broken. He looks for the sheep that has gone astray. (Ezekiel 34:11-15)
Here is what David said in Psalm 23:1 – The Lord (Jehovah) is my Shepherd.
The self-revealing one (Jehovah) is my Shepherd.
Shepherd in the Hebrew is Ra’ah or Rohi = to tend, pasture or shepherd.
The Lord tends to me and I shall not want.
The Hebrew Word that David uses for want here indicates a meaning of lack. The reality of what David says is this… “The Self-Revealing one is tending to me and I lack nothing”
- I Lack Nothing – I shall not Want!
God has us covered in every way.
He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:14)
Jeremiah 23:4 4 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.
Ezekiel Chapter 34 is a denunciation of the shepherds of Israel. Primarily, the shepherds refer to Israel’s kings and political leaders. Secondarily, it speaks to any of us who are shepherding people—as pastors, elders, employers, or parents.
Ezekiel 34:1-7 NKJV
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”
7 ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”
God denounced them for their care of the flock.
The sheep couldn’t be clothed, eat, healed, or secured unless they had a shepherd. Sheep cannot fend for themselves, defend themselves, protect one another, they are sheep. Sheep need a shepherd that supplies their needs.
David said the Lord is my shepherd, and he takes cares of my needs and I lack nothing. Saying that, meaning that God covers it all for us. Jesus the good Shepherd takes care of everything.
Remember what Paul said, My God shall supply all of my need, in every facet of my life, My God supplies, I shall not want!
- Search for me God (Psalm 119:176; Luke 15)
David wrote 175 verses praising God and then in the last verse makes an admission to God. Asking for the Lord to search for Him for He is like sheep that has gone astray. He conceded that He couldn’t find his own way back but needed the Lord to help guide Him back into to the Fold.
Luke 15 the Parable of lost things.
A lost sheep, lost coin and a lost son.
The sheep had to be found and returned.
The coin had to be searched for.
The prodigal had to be guided back the house and reminded that He was still a son of the House.
References:
Psalm 13:5-6 NKJV
Psalm 34:6
Psalm 3:1 ,8