Day 235, or August 23. The Lord is my shepherd. Our thoughts today come from Ezekiel 34, verses
11 and 12. For this is what the Sovereign Lord says, I myself will search for my sheep
and look after them, as a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them.
So I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered
on a day of clouds and darkness.
And now the big picture surrounding these two verses. Ezekiel takes time to explain
the difference between good shepherds and bad ones. He is really talking about the leaders
of Israel. Some are good and some are bad. Just like when Jesus talks about being the
good shepherd himself, when his comments were received by a people who had some knowledge
of what Ezekiel had said. The prophet reveals God to be our shepherd, our protector.
And now our action step for today. The imagery of shepherds and sheep is something that doesn't
sit well with many in the western world of the twenty-first century, because we can struggle
to understand it. In the ancient world kings were often portrayed as shepherds, and even
held shepherds' staffs as images of Tutankhamun shows. Shepherds were in control of their
sheep, and frequently disciplined them for straying. The staff that they used was for
rescuing sheep, but the rod that David mentions, your rod and your staff comfort me, was for
disciplining the sheep as well as protecting them. It's a mixture of TLC and discipline,
and that's how God treats His people even today. If God showed no discipline, it would
mean we never needed it, or He didn't care what we did, and neither of these is correct.
Discipline is a loving, godly word, and not to be confused with punishment. When we truly
understand it, then it becomes a concept that is extremely positive rather than oppressingly
negative. God loves us so much that He disciplines us, and we should love others enough to intervene
where necessary today.