Day: July 14, 2024

Sunday, July 14, 2024

“Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace” (2 Chronicles 18:16 KJV).

Why does Israel have no shepherd?

In keeping with the Jews’ agrarian or agriculturally-based way of life, the Bible makes multiple references to shepherds and their sheep. Of course, just about everyone knows (or, used to know, anyway) Psalm 23:1: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Also, Psalm 79:13: “So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.” Or, Psalm 95:7: “For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,….” Finally, Psalm 100:3: “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

Then, we come across other passages, and these are quite dreadful. “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:1). “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace” (Jeremiah 50:6). “As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day” (Ezekiel 34:12).

During Christ’s earthly ministry, the situation is just as bad. “But when he saw the multitudes, he [Jesus] was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). “And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34).

Again, there is no shepherd for Israel….























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