Throughout the Bible we read of shepherds as the land of Israel is an agricultural country, so sheep and shepherds were abundant. The first time we read of a keeper of the sheep is in Genesis 4:2 “And Abel was a keeper of the sheep. The last reference is found in 1 Peter 5:4 “And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” The most precious gem concerning the shepherd is to be found in Psalm 23. Here we read about the Good Shepherd caring for his sheep, protecting them and guiding them. This Psalm is considered the “pearl of the psalms”. It is the most quoted piece of literature in the world. This psalm is a favourite, especially when one brought fact to face with the grim reality of death. It describes, in poetic terms, the peace and confidence which David has in the face of adversity and opposition from his enemies, and even death. Death normally produces fear, and not faith. David’s faith, as expressed in Psalm is not natural, but supernatural. Facing death today is a fearful experience but we can identify with David, and the peace and security which he knew and cherished. Paul says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13).

The book of Psalms gives amazing insights into life, needs, feelings and emotions. It speaks of the blessed times of God’s provision, the joys of life, the lows of life, the elation and the despair. You discover your own feelings and emotions here. The value of Psalms is that it provides for our emotions and feelings the same kind of guidance as other Scriptures provide for our faith and actions .

Vs 1 “The Lord is my shepherd”.is Psalm but the first has to admit that, “I may know the Shepherd’s Psalm, but I now realise that this great man knows the psalm’s Shepherd!” Nothing gives more peace and assurance that all is well between you and Him. Religion does not do that, fashionable or cool ideas, religious rituals, and cultural instructions cannot take the place of that personal relationship with our Father and Creator. Nothing gives greater satisfaction than knowing you belong to the Shepherd’s fold. Nothing is as more important than to follow the voice of our Shepherd. Nothing gives the joy of knowing he will supply all our needs. No experience can surpass our relationship with him. He will be with us regardless of what circumstances that come our way.

In the world of that day the shepherd rose early to move their flocks before the sun got too high and the heat became too intense. They moved out having total trust in their shepherd, trusting he would provide all their needs. In ancient Israel, a shepherd’s was 24/7, outdoors in the fields and the sheepfold with the sheep: nurturing, guiding, protecting, and calling each one by name. It was the lowliest form of work and usually given to the youngest son, such as David. If there was only one son then the daughter would be the shepherdess, such as Rachael the youngest daughter of Laban (Gen. 29:6). It was Jethro’s daughters who looked after the sheep (Ex. 2:16). In Exodus 3, Moses took the place of the daughters. He, like David, had to learn to lead the sheep before they could lead the nation. Shepherds would often be away for weeks working from sunrise to sunset, it was a lonely life and the only companions they had were their sheep and occasionally meeting other shepherds. Our Lord was forsaken by all , he knew about loneliness. They had to keep moving to fresh pastures. It was a dirty and difficult and dangerous job. David wrote this psalm much later in life after becoming king. He had spent many years in this dangerous task. He took the image of a loving, protective, guiding nurturing, caring shepherd to God and applied it to Gods people and the Divine Shepherd. He saw them as wandering sheep who needed the care, protection and provision of a shepherd.

When David looked to the heavens and said “The Lord is my shepherd” He calls him Jehovah, God the Father. In John 10 when Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd”, it is the second person of the trinity. During the church age it is the Spirit who leads us, feeds us, guides us and protects us. The Godhead has a shepherd heart, he guides us least we go astray, he personally cares for us lest a hireling flees when trouble comes, he gives his life for the sheep, he protects them and is “the door” of the sheepfold”. See John 10:2. He keeps them secure and lets no man take them out of his hand. See John 10:27. Caring for the sheep, providing for them, guiding them, protecting them, feeding them and correcting them.

Who are the sheep? Throughout scripture God’s people are likened to sheep. Sheep are helpless and defenceless creatures so they need a shepherd to care for all their needs. We are like sheep.  Sometimes we wander off, or we are food for false teachers (wild beasts), we need lifted up when we fall into a ditch. Sheep are interesting animals, they are not driven from behind, they are led; they respond to voice command. While often different flocks are housed mixed together in one sheepfold for the night, one of the shepherds will lie down across the open door to protect the flock from intruders. At first daylight, all the shepherds appear to call forth their sheep and, even though the flocks are mingled, each sheep will respond only to the voice of its own shepherd.

Christ’s sheep are those who hear his voice and follow him. See John 10:27. They know him. See John 10:14. They can say “The Lord is my shepherd.” Sheep cannot do anything for themselves—they are completely helpless, defenceless creatures and  dependent entirely upon their shepherd for all of their needs. The shepherd has concern for each individual sheep. “The Lord is my shepherd” . He calls his sheep by name. See John 10:3 “He knows them”. See John 10:27. He goes to seek the “one that was lost”. See Luke 15:4.

When Paul wrote to the Ephesians he described shepherds as gifts that Jesus gave to the church. Paul’s words were as follows: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. … It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be shepherds and teachers” (Eph 4: 8, 11).

1. What does God call False Shepherds?

God refers to individuals who we should know by their actions and words. He describes some of their characteristics. God calls them:-

• Beasts of the field and forest. Isa.56:9-11
• Dogs. Isa.56:10
• Merchants. 2Pet.2:1-3, Zech.14:21
• Idols. Zech.10:. Zech.10:3
• Clouds without water. Jude 12
• Raging Waves. Jude 13
• Trees without fruit. Jude 12, Matt.7:17-20
• Wandering Stars. Jude 13
• Wolves. Ez.22:26-28, Zeph.3:1-4, Matt.7:15, Acts 20:29-30
• Young Lions. Zech.11:3-5

Believers are to avoid such people.

2. What are the works of False Shepherds?

The Bible refers to both good shepherds and bad shepherds. The same is also true today. Ezekiel prophesied against false shepherds. Much of chapter 34 deals with the subject. He says, “The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: (vv 1, 2). Ezekiel received a clear word from God for the false shepherds of his time.

1. What the shepherds did.

“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock “ (v 2).

Rather than caring for the flock, the shepherds cared for themselves. Jesus, the supreme good shepherd, gave his life for the sheep. The true pastors give their life for the sheep but false shepherds did the exact opposite. They took the sheep’s lives for themselves. Today they want your money, your adoration. The sheep used the sheep to give make themselves fat and well off, and their wool to keep them warm.

2. What the false shepherds did not do:

“You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally (v 4).

The sheep were weak because the shepherds did not feed them. They do not “study to show yourself approved a workman that needeth not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth.” False shepherds have no spiritual food to give their sheep they say “I have a word from the Lord” or “The Lord told me” but they don’t teach the Word of god. The sheep were sick because the shepherds did not look after them. The sheep were lost because the shepherds did not search for them. Instead of being willing to serve the sheep, they wanted to rule over them. The Christian world today is littered with sick Christians, no Biblical knowledge, no Godly convictions. The tickle people’s ears with their teaching and give them a mixture of some scripture and worldly concepts.

3. The Results of the Teaching of the False Shepherds

“So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no-one searched or looked for them” (vv 5, 6).

The sheep were scattered all over the place, not committed to the one good shepherd and sheep that love God and His Word. So they became a prey to every wild animal. The wolf, the bear, the lion would devour them

False shepherds/ pastors or ministers are the exact opposite of our good Shepherd. Jesus cared or the sheep and searched for the lost sheep till he found it. False shepherds do not care about lost sheep.

• Jesus healed the sheep that were sick. False shepherds do not care for their suffering. They say if you are not healed it is because of lack faith or there is sin in your life.
• Jesus gave his own life to save the sheep. False shepherds take the life of the sheep to feed themselves. The take their money, their strength and leave them when they have nothing left to give. things
• False shepherds rule over the sheep. The are butchers walking behind the sheep driving them to the slaughter. The true shepherd leads the sheep protects the sheep and serves them.
• False shepherds have no real love for the flock. They only love themselves, they love what they can get from the flock. They are only interested in what they can get from the sheep or their own position and prosperity. They grow rich and become fat at the expense of the sheep. Rather than not face danger to protect the sheep they run away. They are not willing to lay down their lives.

4. How to recognise False Shepherds

• If a proclamation is made in the name of the LORD and it does not come true, you have a False Prophet. See Deuteronomy 18:22.
• They do what they do for the sake of dishonest gain. They love money and you have and are false shepherds. See Titus 1:11.
• They love to have the prominent place to be noticed and crave the attention. They love to promote their name and ministry and have no accountability. They usually lord it over the flock and don’t want them to mix with other believers who know the truth. They will watch every move you make. See 2 John 1:9.
• They divert attention away from the main issues surrounding their sin by stirring up evil suspicions against those who would expose them. The motive is to keep the money flowing into their ministry. They live in expensive homes, buy expensive cars. See 1 Timothy 6:4.
• They stretch the truth and tell lies and even submit to a statement of faith or the Westminster confession of faith but don’t really believe it. See Revelation 2:2. They quote and associate with people who have non biblical ministries and even support them.
• They dress up fine, smell good, smile a lot, masquerading as a servant of righteousness. Their end will be what they deserve! 2 Corinthians 11:14.
  The characteristics of a good pastor/elder are found in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1

See 1 Thessalonians 5:21 “prove all things, hold fast to that which is good”. There are many voices calling to the sheep today. Jesus warned, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” See Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves”. The warning was important because Jesus later said to them: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16). The apostle Paul, with a deeply troubled spirit and in tears, penned a similar warning: “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29). Paul warns, “For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers … Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.” —Titus 1:10,11 “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.” (2nd Corinthians 11:13). Throughout church history these warnings concerning professing Christians who deceive even the elect have seldom been taken seriously. The church has lost its ability to discern the truth. They cannot discern truth from error but also to discern wolves from sheep?

The good pastor/shepherds refuse to leave their defenceless sheep alone at night … so should we be on guard to warn others about Satanic workers who appear as true believers. We should warn everybody we can! They are asked to follow this ministry or that ministry, this teaching or that teaching, this person or that person. It can become very confusing. Whose voice do you listen to—that of your Shepherd or those of men or the world? Do you follow what he says? You must learn to recognize the voice of your Shepherd when He is speaking to you through His Word. Can you honestly, “The Lord is my shepherd”?

Psalm 78:70–72, says, !He [God] chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of His heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands”. Many wolves in sheep’s clothing teach the sheep that they can be born into the flock of God by a ritual performed by older black rams. Some wolves teach the sheep how they can all get along in the pasture of their fathers. Other wolves in sheep’s clothing in these folds teach that the natural chosen flock of God was totally replaced by a spiritual flock and then we saw the rejection of the true shepherd.

5. The Rejection of the True Shepherd – Jesus

In Zechariah 9:4-14, he tells us that Judas would betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, cast in the house of the Lord, ultimately given to a potter. All of that was fulfilled in the death of Jesus Christ.

He goes onto tell about the wailing of shepherds who have been ravaged and destroyed because when the true shepherd comes, they won’t receive him. He goes and acts it out in verses 4 to 14. In verse 15, he talks about the reaction of the false shepherd how that they would reject the true shepherd, and ultimately a false one, the Antichrist.

When Jesus came into the world, they refused Jesus. They crucified Him about 30 A.D. About forty years later, 70 A.D., the prophecy of this chapter was fulfilled. The land was wiped out. And that came because they rejected the true shepherd.

In verse 15 God told him to take the instruments of a foolish shepherd, put on a stupid shepherd costume and tells him that before the destruction of Jerusalem, God will appear in the person of Christ to shepherd Israel. He said the poor of the flock will receive the word of the true shepherd and the rest will reject Him and the good shepherd king would be valued no more than a slave and they’d sell Him cheap. And as a result of that, God would come against them in judgment, death, famine, war, civil strife, and their nation would be destroyed. The awful thing is when the false shepherd comes along, they’re going to accept him.

He is to act out the character of the false shepherd, the antichrist. “And the Lord said to me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish (wicked) shepherd.” He is full of iniquity a wicked, evil shepherd. These instruments are the opposite to the rod and staff that comfort. He devours and slaughters, he’s a butcher Revelation 17 He slaughters two out of every three Jews.

His work in verse 16. “For lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land.” God permits this shepherd to even arise. God allows those things to occur.

“He will not visit those that are cut off.” When the sheep are dying because they are being attacked by wild beasts, separated from the lock and wounded he is not interested. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t go out to defend them or help them. He is unconcerned and doesn’t take care of them. The true shepherd, on the other hand goes and finds the sheep that was wounded and was lost. The one that got separated from the flock. The false shepherd does not care.

He has no concern for the little lamb who are the ones who gets lost, those that are injured or fall in a ditch or caught in a thicket. The true shepherd leaves the 99 and goes after the one.

He doesn’t heal the broken limbs, the broken-hearted. A good shepherd would make a splint to provide for the broken leg. This shepherd isn’t interested in binding the broken leg.

“Nor feed that which stands still”. He doesn’t care about the fit sheep either. This shepherd is useless. He’s the opposite of a true shepherd, he is unconcerned about th e lambs and the sheep. He wont bind their wounds or fix broken bones. He doesn’t even feed the sheep.

Vs 16 “He eats the flesh of the fat sheep.” He eats his own flock. He eats them instead of feeding them. The Antichrist will do this to Israel. This is the warning Jesus gave in Matthew 24, “Run for the mountains when it happens.” There is an awful slaughter.

“It shall come to pass, two parts in the land shall be cut off and die, the third shall be left and even the third shall go through fire and refine as silver and gold.” Zech 13:8. He’s going to kill two out of every three. Jew and Gentile believers, every one that doesn’t take his mark, will be slaughtered. God in His mercy spares one-third of Israel, hiding them away in Edom.

“And tear their hoofs (claws) in pieces.” He tares them apart and even eats the hoofs, he consumes every last bit.

This is the shepherd that they want and they turned their back on the real one. He loved them and the rejected him. One day they will repent and look upon him whom they have pierced. Then all Israel will be saved.

The doom of the false shepherd. verse 17. “Woe, worthless shepherd, forsaker of the flock, woe worthless shepherd, forsaker of the flock.” God curses him and will judge him and cast him into the Lake of Fire. “The sword shall be upon his arm and on his right eye. His arm shall be completely dried up and his right eye utterly darkened.” His strength will be cut off and his mind darkened.

6. The Shepherds Cloths and Equipment

• Long robe and a fleece coat – He would often wear a long robe and a fleece coat over it. During the day the natural oil in kept him cool It kept him warm during the cold nights. He reversed it at night so that the wool was on the inside to keep him warm.
• The Rod and Staff. The Rod was a weapon for the protection of the sheep. The staff was or rescuing sheep when they got into trouble, this guide them
• The sling is the weapon of offence. It was used to keep the enemy at bay.
• The script.
• The bottle of hogs oil.
• A red flute.
• A lamp.

“The Lord is shepherding me.” He is right now at work looking after me now, providing, protecting, nurturing, caring, and guiding us to our destination. The Lord, Jesus Christ calls believers “My sheep” because the Father gave us to Him (John 17:12) and because He willingly laid down His life for us.

7. God’s Name My Blessing

In Psalm 23 we find the covenant names of Jehovah God. The first one is done for you as an example.

vv.1–2: I shall not want; Genesis 22:14 –He makes me to lie down Jehovah-Jireh He will provide for me in green pastures

v. 2: He leads me beside Judges 6:24 –still waters Jehovah-Shalom

v. 3: He restores my soul Exodus 15:26 –Jehovah-Rophe

v. 3: He leads me in the Jeremiah 33:16 –paths of righteousness Jehovah-Tsidkenu

v. 4: Yea, though I walk Ezekiel 48:35 –through the valley. . . Jehovah-Shammah You are with me

v. 5: You prepare a table Exodus 17:15 –before me in the presence Jehovah-Nissi of my enemies

v. 5: You anoint my head Leviticus 20:8 –with oil Jehovah-M’Kaddesh

Abundance, rest, protection, restoration, keeping to the right path—all these are the responsibility of the shepherd. The shepherd goes to the limits to protect his sheep as they face moments of great need and peril.

Verse vv. 4–6 David’s fear of death was gone because he was assured of God’s presence. David moves from the metaphor of a shepherd with his flock to a gracious host meeting the needs of his travelling guest so they will lack nothing. David stops talking about God and speaks directly with God. Surrounded by his enemies, David is confident that God is working all things together for his good.

He found comfort and freedom from fear in the presence of God.

The act of anointing the head with oil (v.5) was to symbolize the heart being revived in the face of great need. What difference would the certainty of God’s presence make?

The overflowing cup (v.5) signified the abundant supply of God’s divine grace (that which is beautiful and pleasant) in every situation. Here the expression is used to convey David’s confidence that God would forever show him favour based on His covenant love.

David’s final triumphant declaration? Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. v.6. Romans 8:28–39, he had a real relationship with God we need the same now as well as their future hope. He had great confidence, the assurance of comfort in God and we need it today also. His faith rested in the fact that God was present with him, in life, in death, and throughout all eternity. Jesus is not just “with us” as we pass through the valley of the shadow of death. He has gone before us. He has already passed through death and defeated it. He experienced death, suffered the penalty for our sins, and then rose from the dead. Jesus leads us through death. He rose from the dead.

Categories: Psalms