1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,760
Day 235, or August 23. The Lord is my shepherd. Our thoughts today come from Ezekiel 34, verses

2
00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:18,840
11 and 12. For this is what the Sovereign Lord says, I myself will search for my sheep

3
00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:25,460
and look after them, as a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them.

4
00:00:25,460 --> 00:00:32,160
So I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered

5
00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:36,720
on a day of clouds and darkness.

6
00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:43,480
And now the big picture surrounding these two verses. Ezekiel takes time to explain

7
00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:48,840
the difference between good shepherds and bad ones. He is really talking about the leaders

8
00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:54,520
of Israel. Some are good and some are bad. Just like when Jesus talks about being the

9
00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:59,880
good shepherd himself, when his comments were received by a people who had some knowledge

10
00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:09,120
of what Ezekiel had said. The prophet reveals God to be our shepherd, our protector.

11
00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:16,280
And now our action step for today. The imagery of shepherds and sheep is something that doesn't

12
00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:21,520
sit well with many in the western world of the twenty-first century, because we can struggle

13
00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:28,000
to understand it. In the ancient world kings were often portrayed as shepherds, and even

14
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:35,240
held shepherds' staffs as images of Tutankhamun shows. Shepherds were in control of their

15
00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:41,640
sheep, and frequently disciplined them for straying. The staff that they used was for

16
00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:49,140
rescuing sheep, but the rod that David mentions, your rod and your staff comfort me, was for

17
00:01:49,140 --> 00:01:55,720
disciplining the sheep as well as protecting them. It's a mixture of TLC and discipline,

18
00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:01,640
and that's how God treats His people even today. If God showed no discipline, it would

19
00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:08,760
mean we never needed it, or He didn't care what we did, and neither of these is correct.

20
00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:14,400
Discipline is a loving, godly word, and not to be confused with punishment. When we truly

21
00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:20,840
understand it, then it becomes a concept that is extremely positive rather than oppressingly

22
00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:28,680
negative. God loves us so much that He disciplines us, and we should love others enough to intervene

23
00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:44,520
where necessary today.