Shepherds After My Own Heart: Chapters 6-9

[stevebraswell]

This section of the book focuses on the following four prophets.

Isaiah: The first half of the book deals with King Ahaz facing pressure to join in opposing Assyria. In other words, the choice comes down to trusting in God or trusting in military might—a tough choice to make because one can see the physical weapons of war but one cannot see God. While it is easy for me to criticize anyone for failing to trust God (such a seemingly simple thing to do!), when the question is turned back to me about why I don’t trust God in the circumstances of my life, then I understand more about why Ahaz acted as he did. Isaiah was God’s prophet to bring God’s word to God’s people in a particular time and place—I think not so much to point to a coming messianic figure, as to call them to trust in God’s power and strength to provide for their needs. Of course, we know from history that they didn’t make that choice and ended up in exile in Babylon. In response to that event, in the second half of the book, Isaiah’s word was no more one of impending judgment but now one of comfort and hope that by God’s power there would be a “second exodus”—God’s people leaving the “bondage” of the exile and returning “home.” And Isaiah uses the shepherd imagery to remind Judah of how God would “tend them like a flock” and gently lead them home to a place of protection and provision. It would require the strong “arm of the Lord” to do this. Another image that emerges at this point is that of the “Servant of the Lord” who provides for God’s people, even if it means suffering for himself that is not deserved or warranted. Of course, we Christians immediately think of Jesus’ vicarious suffering on the cross for the sins of the world. But before we jump to that, we need to hear this word in the context of Isaiah’s original readers, and they needed to hear that the suffering of their exile did not mean that God had finished with them. Of course, the implication for God’s leaders down through the ages is that to lead God’s people means that one at times must walk through paths of suffering. Sometimes that suffering is of my own making (due to my mistakes or sins), but sometimes that suffering is due to my position as a leader in the church—and that can be a very difficult place to be!

Jeremiah: Part of God’s word through Jeremiah is a clear condemnation of the leaders of Israel in their failure to acknowledge the Lord and lead the people in wholehearted devotion to God. Because of this failure, Jeremiah even questions if a descendant of the house of David will continue to rule over God’s people, which is a threat to their whole future as a nation and their status as God’s people. Later Jeremiah adds that there will be the judgment of exile, but that it will be temporary because after “70 years” of scattering, God will bring them back home and give them new shepherd leaders who will rule in righteousness. God’s people are compared to “lost sheep, and God becomes a roaring lion who chases away Babylon. The point of emphasis is that in God’s economy leaders have the burden of pointing God’s people in the right direction and when they fail to do that, they must be held accountable for their wrong leadership.

Ezekiel: In this book the “glory of the Lord” is highlighted, so that the story is of God’s glory leaving the temple (an unthinkable thing for the Israelites)—and then of God breathing new life into the dry bones that appear to be lifeless and hopeless so that by the end of the book, God inhabits a new temple with the book climaxing with the name of the city as “The Lord is there.” This was the message for God’s people at a time when it definitely felt like the name of their city was (in the vernacular) “The Lord ain’t here” but by faith they learned the truth that “The Lord is there.” The same is true many times in my life as a church leader when people in the church are attacking me and when it seems that no matter how much I sacrifice of my time and energy, it is not enough and goes unappreciated. How could the Lord be here at a time like that? Ezekiel reminds me that the Lord is still here!

Zechariah: One of the images of the king in this prophecy is one who is gentle and riding on a donkey (which of course from the NT immediately brings to mind the image of Jesus entering Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday). The point not to be missed is that he rides a donkey, not a war horse and that he is gentle and humble, as opposed to brashly demanding his own way like we are used to kings acting. Once again, the clear reminder to God’s leaders is that we are not called to model our leadership after the “kings of the Gentiles” or the political leaders of our day. We have a different model to follow, one that appears to be completely counter-cultural, and that makes is so difficult to follow consistently because it is certainly not the “default mode” of leadership we have most often seen in our lives. The second important image from Zechariah is that of a shepherd being struck and the sheep being scattered—another image that is picked up by the NT writers and applied to Jesus. It is also a reminder of the crucial nature of leadership—if the leader is struck, it will definitely have an adverse effect on the sheep.

Reflection: These prophets are focused on a time in the history of God’s people when there were very few good examples of leaders. Much of their message was taken up with why God’s leaders had failed God’s people and why they were currently in such a predicament. The news was mostly bad, and it had a lot to do with the failures of the leaders. They had not been faithful in calling God’s people to obey their Lord. It was not just that the people stubbornly refused to follow God’s commands, while their leaders kept calling on them to repent. It was that the leaders jumped right in with them and joined in on the pattern of disobedience. But the prophets are also very clear, that as bad as the news currently is, this is not God’s last word to his people. One could understand if God just said he was finished with them, but that was not the kind of covenant-keeping God with whom they were dealing. So the prophets, known for their doom and gloom, also included words of mercy and hope, painting a picture of future hope for God’s people who would return home and one day rebuild the temple as a sign of God’s continued presence.