Who You Calling a Sheep??!

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2

When I first memorized Psalm 23, I did not understand the true meaning of the words. But over time, as I grew up and began to face my own challenges, the words began to take on new meaning. It was as if the words represents compressed layers of truth. The longer I studied them, the more sense they made to me.

About 2 years ago, I had a break through. Finally the words of Psalm 23 resonated and I began to more fully understand the relationship between a Good Shepherd and His sheep.

First of all, to be described as sheep is not a compliment.

Sheep are actually defenseless, stubborn, and quite frankly silly creatures. They are not graceful or strong.

David Murray at Head Heart Hand ministries wrote a wonderful description of sheep that lists their 12 characteristics.

Here are some of my fav excerpts from DAVID MURRAY:

1. Sheep are foolish…They are so irrational. You watch them as they pause in front of a stream. They know they can’t jump it or swim it. So what do they do? They jump in anyway!
2. Sheep are slow to learn … A sheep may get caught in barbed wire trying to break through a fence. And the next day it will try it again, and again,…
3. Sheep are unattractive…so awkward, so lacking in agility and dignity. …to most outside observers sheep are dirty, smelly, and ugly.
4. Sheep are demanding …Almost as soon as it is born, it is violently sucking its mother’s udders. And that insatiable demand never leaves them. They demand grass, grass, and more grass; day after day, and night after night…
5. Sheep are stubborn Have you ever tried to move a sheep? It’s like trying to move an elephant. …
6. Sheep are strong I’ve watched the most macho of men beaten by sheep. You look at their skinny “arms” and “legs” and think “easy.” Next thing you are flat on your back or face down in the dirt…
7. Sheep are straying [and have a] ….well-deserved reputation for straying (Isa. 53:6) and getting lost (Lk. 15:3ff). So many times I was out in the middle of nowhere when I would come across a sheep – miles from anyone and anything – and totally unconcerned….
8. Sheep are unpredictable If you travel along the roads of the Scottish Highlands you will soon learn to expect the unexpected. ..
9. Sheep are copycats …When one sheep decides to start running, they all decide to start running….
10. Sheep are restless…I once heard that for sheep to lie down they need freedom from fear, freedom from friction with others, freedom from hunger, and freedom from pests and parasites. From what I’ve seen, that combination is very rare.
11. Sheep are dependent…[They can not] cope and thrive without… close supervision….They are very dependent on their shepherd.
12. Sheep are the same everywhere…The American sheep is the same as the African sheep (see 1-11 above), which is the same as the Asian sheep, which is the same as…

If we are like SHEEP, then Jesus is the GOOD SHEPHERD who will give His life to protect us, to care for us, to love us.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

Forerunner Commentary provides another fun fact about sheep.

Sheep are “excellent dry weather animals and they can go for months without taking a drink of water from a pool.” How do they do it? Sheep have a habit of getting up “early enough to eat the grass in the morning when the DEW is still on it.” If the sheep eat the DEW in the morning they will survive.

WOAH!

And so it is with us. Even if we are best described as dependent, defenseless, stubborn, silly creatures; we can still survive the harsh conditions that surround us; provided that we get up early to fortify ourselves with dew, or more precisely, the WORD OF GOD.

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35