Shepherds After God’s Own Heart
Robert Wurtz II
But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die.” (Genesis 33:13 NKJV)
Genesis is a book about beginnings. The Holy Spirit introduces many key subjects that will fill the pages of the Bible in this first book. The topic of this article is the shepherd and the flock. God begins here in Genesis, building revelation, so that by the time the word “shepherd” is used in the New Testament, the student of God’s word has what they need to understand what God means by that term.
The Shepherd Motif
A cursory reading of the Bible reveals that God frequently used shepherds and sheep as metaphors for His people and His representatives. For example, in the Old Testament, it is “sheep” that shepherds watch for, but in Hebrews 13:17, it is “souls” that elders watch for. The word watch in Greek means “no sleep.” The idea is that someone is concerned enough to remain awake and watching (keeping watch) over the sheep (souls) while others are asleep.
The Gift of Shepherds
Note that ‘pastor’ and ‘shepherd’ are derived from the same Greek word poimen. A shepherd or pastor is not an office but a primary function within the churches. Ephesians tells us that God gave some to be pastors and teachers. It is a gift that God works in the person to have a unique care for the saints. You can’t add a title to a person and accomplish this effect.
The flock must be fed, and the flock must be kept safe by men who delight in them (See Mark 13:33; and compare Luke 21:36 and Ephesians 6:18). Early on in Genesis 33:13-15, God is laying down these qualities of leadership that will serve as the criteria for Israel and the churches of God.
Sensitive to the Flock
Every passage of scripture is useful for our edification and instruction, as God takes hold of it and applies it to our hearts by revelation. In Genesis 33, we find that Jacob and Esau have met up after years of estrangement. Jacob is moving his family and herds as God had instructed Him.
Notice that Jacob was very sensitive to the flocks’ condition and was highly concerned that they could not physically tolerate what Esau wanted to do (Genesis 33:12). Esau was no shepherd. He was in a hurry. As a result, he tried to move the flocks and herds at a pace that would cause them to perish.
Love for the Flock
One thing you find in the Bible is shepherds ready to lay their lives down for the sheep. Esau had no such feeling. He was a hunter who enjoyed the field, which may have impacted his insensitive attitude towards Jacob’s flock. This attitude, or as I call it, the “spirit of Esau,” views the flock as a resource or food source rather than as beloved flocks and herds.
To Esau, these animals might have been fit for the slaughterhouse, but for Jacob, they were beloved flocks and herds. Jacob is “watching.” God had given him a word to return to his people, but now Esau wants to lead. He may have been fit for a cattle drive out of Texas into Kansas City in the 1870s, but certainly not a shepherd.
Nursing the Flock
Solomon once threatened the death of a baby to reveal which of the two mothers was the baby’s biological mother. This love also manifests in those who are “spiritual” parents. Paul spoke of gently treating the saints like a nurse (1 Thess. 2:7). Why? He was a shepherd at heart.
Jacob nursed his flock from infancy. He was close to them and cared deeply for them. When Esau was ready to drive them, Jacob intervened. Esau didn’t raise these animals. He had no idea what it took to see them come of age. Therefore, his tendency was reckless, and no doubt if left up to him, the whole flock would have perished in a single day.
Protecting the Flock
Jacob knew what the flocks were capable of. His compassion for them would not allow his flock to be mishandled. The sheep were in mortal danger. Esau was about to kill many, if not all, of the herd; however, Jacob dared to take control before it was too late.
All that God had blessed Jacob with could have been lost in a single day had Esau been allowed to drive his herds. There is a great difference between driving and leading. A man like Esau had no business leading someone else’s flock, even though his intentions may have been good. Why? Because non-shepherds are not sensitive to the needs of the flock.
Nominal Shepherds (In Name Only)
Jesus uses an illustration of a hireling that reveals the spirit of Esau. Understand that when trouble comes, the hireling flees. Why? Because he is in it for the money, and does not care about the sheep. (John 10:13 NKJV) That’s why he is called a “hire-ling.”
Webster defines hireling as a person who works purely for material reward. This is figurative language.
The late great Greek scholar A.T. Robertson once pointed out, “He may conceivably be a nominal shepherd (pastor) of the flock (saints) who serves only for the money, a sin against which Peter warned the shepherds of the flock ‘not for shameful gain.'” (1 Peter 5:2). This is the key thing. Does the shepherd really care about the flock? You can tell by the way he feeds and protects them.
The Blessing at Risk
Esau spoke up and said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.” He wanted to take the lead. I get the impression here, and it seems that Jacob got the impression, that Esau was in a rush. “Let us take… let us go… I will go…” Again, this is the same flock that God had supernaturally blessed Jacob with, while his father-in-law had been changing his wages.
Jacob’s herd was a supernatural flock in one sense, but it was not invincible (Genesis 30:32f). It had already been a perilous journey that put the entire herd at risk. It wasn’t easy, but they managed to survive. Jacob is a picture of a faithful shepherd, who is patient and careful with their flock, leading them through this present evil world.
Murder and Eternal Life
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
Jacob knew what Esau was capable of; this is why he feared him. He worried throughout the entire trip that Esau was still consumed by hate and anger. We have this passage in 1 John 3:15, Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We read the two passages together and see one of the reasons why God rejected Esau.
Dangerous People
Would you want a man to lead your flocks and herds who was capable of killing his twin brother in cold blood? Jacob knew this and stirred the family with his fears. He even set the people in order in case Esau started killing everyone, so that Rebekkah and Joseph would die last. It was a dangerous time because Jacob believed Esau was a murderous man.
When they met up, it went much better than expected. Esau seemed to have cooled off, but he was still “Esau.” Time could not change the essential character of this man. We learn later from the life of Paul the Apostle that it takes the love of God poured out in the heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), the transforming power of genuine regeneration, to remove the murderer from the man.
A Flock Unsettled
In W. Phillip Keller’s classic book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, we have this insightful perspective: “He is the owner who delights in His flock. For Him, there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing His sheep contented, well fed, safe, and flourishing under His care. This is indeed His very ‘life.’ He gives all He has to it.
The shepherd lays himself out for those who are His. He will go to no end of trouble and labor to supply them with the finest grazing, the richest pasturage, ample winter feed, and clean water. He will spare himself no pains to provide shelter from storms, protection from ruthless enemies, and the diseases and parasites to which sheep are so susceptible.”
A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (con’t)
“No wonder Jesus said, ‘I am the Good Shepherd — the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” And again, “I am come that ye might have life and that ye might have it more abundantly.” From early dawn until late at night, this utterly selfless shepherd is alert to the welfare of His flock. For the diligent sheepman rises early and goes out first thing every morning without fail to look over his flock. It is the initial, intimate contact of the day.
With a practiced, searching, sympathetic eye, he examines the sheep to see that they are fit and content and able to be on their feet. In an instant, he can tell if they have been molested during the night, whether any are ill, or if some require special attention. Repeatedly throughout the day, he casts his eye over the flock to make sure that all is well. Not even at night is he oblivious to their needs. He sleeps as it were ‘with one eye and both ears open’ ready at the least sign of trouble to leap up and protect his own.”
Real Life Experience
Keller was writing from his own experience as a shepherd. Men who have been real shepherds in real life have a unique perspective on how to lead a flock and handle the dangers. This is why many of God’s great leaders started out as real shepherds before He allowed them to shepherd His people. Abel, Jacob, Moses, and David were all real-life shepherds at one point. This is an Insightful pattern.
Overdriving the Flock
Consider Jacob’s words, “…if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die.” (Genesis 33:13) Jacob, as a good shepherd, understood that you cannot over-drive a herd when they are already weighed down, or you could kill all of them in one day. If Esau, who had no concern for these flocks and herds, is allowed to drive this flock just once (not twice or three times), he will put the entire group in their grave.
There is a valuable lesson to be learned early on in Genesis. No matter how humble and submissive Jacob might have been towards his brother Esau, no matter how fearful he was of the man, he refused to allow him to put his flocks and herds at risk. He was more prepared to put his recent reconciliation with Esau at risk than he was to put the flock at risk.
God’s leading
Jacob has a solution, “Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on softly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.” (Genesis 33:14 NKJV) Notice that Jacob, not Esau, is going to lead his flock. He articulates his strategy, “I will lead on softly.” This is pure wisdom. He will move them at a pace that they can handle.
Sheep are very vulnerable, and that’s why they need a competent person looking out for them. They have no way to defend themselves but to run; and they are not particularly fast. They are copy-cats. If one sheep does something, the others will follow. If one jumps off a cliff, they may all jump off the cliff. Sheep cannot tell danger; this is why they need oversight and protection.
God Made Shepherds
Carrying this analogy to the spiritual level, God created shepherds (pastors), not to be abusive, insensitive, or to lord over God’s heritage, but to feed, protect, and lead the flock in a path of spiritual health.
W. Phillip Keller continues, “The shepherd went up to the plateau before the sheep came to make sure everything was for his sheep. Certain wild plants were poisonous; he would identify and destroy them. He made sure the pastures were lush and there was ample room to move to another area. He placed a supply of salt and minerals around at various spots on the range.
Predators were numerous and always on the lookout for stray sheep. The shepherd was constantly on the alert to take care of his sheep. Though it was a great time for the flock, the shepherd never stopped providing for them. Just like Jesus with us, we don’t realize how much He cares for us and has our welfare in His heart.”
Fathers of the flock
Jacob watched as many of the sheep and other livestock were born; he raised and cared for them through the hard times. They were his. He had a tenderness for them. He did not view them as expendable assets. I’m reminded of the relationship between a shepherd and a sheep as I think about Nathan telling David the story of the little ewe lamb. David could relate to the scenario, and it made him furious to think that someone would carelessly and callously kill a little beloved lamb.
This is what the scripture means when it says, “David was a man after God’s own heart.” David loved God, yes, but this is not all that it means to be a man after God’s own heart. There were times in David’s life when his actions expressed the very heart of God. As a shepherd, he loved his sheep and risked his life for them when the lion and the bear came to devour them. He even rescued a dying lamb from the jaws of death.
We find this tender care revealed early on in the life of Jacob, as recorded in Genesis. He told Esau plainly, “I will lead on softly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, can endure.” This is the pattern set forth for all shepherds, spiritual and otherwise.
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