DAVID AS SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL
Locusts and Honey
1 Cor. 2:13
2023-Edition 2
Introduction
God could have chosen a people who raised crops to be his people. Instead, God chose a people who were nomadic and who raised sheep and goats. In the initial sacrifice made by Abel and Cain, God selected the sacrifice of Abel which were the first fruits of his flock over the sacrifice of Cain which was an offering of agricultural produce. I believe that part of the reason for the selection was that in God’s plan, the remission of sins required “innocent blood” and the redemption of man would require the innocent blood of the Son of God who would also be the Son of Man. Throughout the history of Israel, God utilized those who cared for sheep and goats as his leadership. Abraham was one who raised livestock as opposed to being a farmer. Likewise, Isaac, and Jacob were involved in the raising of sheep and goats. When Moses was being trained to lead Israel, God saw that not only did he spend forty years in Pharaoh’s court but he also spent the next forty years of his life tending sheep in Midian learning the care of the helpless animals and the humility of those who work with them. God’s training of the young David also involved the care of sheep.
David as Shepherd
Working in the sheep pens was not a mark of honor. Instead, it was arduous and unglamorous work. In Jesse’s family of eight sons, it was relegated to the youngest, David. In fact, when Samuel came to hold a feast and look for a new king, David did not even attend because he was in the fields tending the flock of his father. When Samuel saw the oldest son, Eliab, he thought “Surely the Lord’s annointed stands here before the Lord.” However God upbraided Samuel and reminded him that people look on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:6-7). After Samuel worked his way through seven sons, he finally asks Jesse: “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse answered “There is still the youngest…He is tending the sheep.”
The three oldest sons of Jesse, were part of Saul’s army facing Goliath. Jesse instructed David to take some gifts to the commander in charge of his sons. When he got there, the eldest, Eliab, looked down his nose at David and said at 1 Sam. 17:28:
Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave
those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited
you are and how wicked your heart is;
you came down only to watch the battle.
Obviously, Eliab was incorrect, and it was little brother David who killed and defeated Goliath.
God Prepared David in the Sheep Pens
God used David’s time in the sheep pens to prepare David to lead God’s people Israel. The menial and sometimes dangerous tasks of being a shepherd were used by God to prepare David for the challenges of leadership. David’s battles against the bear and the lion were preparation for his battle against Goliath and his many battles against the Philistines.
Saul responded in doubt and unbelief to David desiring to fight Goliath by saying, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” (Sam. 17:33). David’s response at 1 Sam. 17:34-35 was as follows:
Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear
came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it,
struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth.
When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair,
struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed
both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised
Philistine will be like one of them because he has
defied the armies of the living God.
The God who rescued me from the paw of the lion
and paw of the bear will rescue me from the hands of this Philistine.
Today, I hear many Christian leaders talking about paying their dues and convincing themselves that they are now “worthy” of serving as a head Pastor because they have served in lesser positions. In fact the concept of working in menial tasks as a way of deserving to be entrusted with greater responsibilities has some legitimacy to it. A person who has been faithful over little can later be entrusted with much. That being said, the concept of “paying your dues” has been overused. I have actually heard teenagers in both the secular and religious world talk about moving ahead because they have “paid their dues.” We should not however forget that there is also the matter of “calling”. The other brothers of Jesse may have well paid their dues both in the sheep pens and in the army, but it was not “paying their dues” which made the difference. Instead it was the calling and anointing of God. David was “called” to become a leader of Israel, whereas his brothers who may have served more time and appeared to be more ready to accept leadership were not.
Leadership of the Church of Christ is not a “right” nor is it because you “paid your dues.” Instead, it is because you have been called by Christ to be a leader.
Moreover, one does not ascend into a leadership position and leave the lowly sheep pen behind. Humility is not a virtue to be laid aside when one “ascends” into a leadership position. Many Christian leaders seem to treat leadership as a position in the military. They were at one time “privates” and now it is time for others “to be a private and serve” and learn from them. In all of this there is a hidden pride. Instead, the position of being a servant and a shepherd are inexorably woven together in the heart. Jesus reminded his disciples of this at the Last Supper when he washed their feet. Being a shepherd and being a servant are matters of the heart and they are not to be discarded just because of kingly robes. Today, there are many leaders but few leaders who are also servants. After all, they have “paid their dues” and that is a form of legalism cloaked in holy garb.
God as Shepherd
God defined his relationship over his people by comparing Himself as a shepherd watching over his sheep, Israel. Jacob when he was blessing his twelve sons said of God:
…because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
because of your father’s God who helps you,
because of the Almighty who blesses you
Jacob, who had spent his life raising sheep and goats, recognized God as being the primary shepherd over his people Israel.
In a number of passages by David and others God is pictured as the Great Shepherd. The people of God are pictured as sheep. For instance, it says in Isaiah 53:6 that “all we like sheep have gone astray, each unto his own way, but God has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.” A similar verse is found in Ps. 119:176 which says, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep.”
David Saw God as being the Shepherd of Israel
It is clear that David in the Psalms saw God as being the Shepherd of Israel.
All of us are familiar with the 23rd Psalm in verses 1-3 where David writes:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Some other verses where David sees the people of God as being “sheep” are the following:
Ps. 78:52—“Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.”
Ps. 79:13—“But we your people, the sheep of your pasture will give thanks to you forever.”
Ps. 100:3—“It is He who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
God is the primary shepherd over his people. He entrusts his authority to leadership but is careful to hold those responsible who abuse this authority.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
Jesus was of the line of David. We have studied previously how at his birth, angels appeared to shepherds in the fields. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the City of David and his father, Jesse. Matt. 9:36 says that ”When he saw the crowds, he (Jesus) had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
In Matt. 18:10-13, Jesus told the story about the shepherd who left the ninety-nine on the mountains to seek the one that went astray. (See also Luke 15:4-7). Jesus is that compassionate shepherd.
In John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Jesus is the good shepherd. He laid down his life for us. When danger came from Satan he did not run away like “the hireling” but instead gave his life for the sheep.
David was a shepherd for the nation of Israel and Jesus, who came from the line of David, is the Great Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep that they might be delivered from the lion of Satan.
Final Comments
God is the shepherd of Israel and that includes all of his people in both the Old Israel and the New Israel which also includes you and me. God’s leaders are expected to act as shepherds of God’s people. King David was not only a shepherd but he was a great leader of Israel and in that capacity God expected him to love and protect his people. David was called by God into leadership and went from the sheep pens to shepherding the people of Israel. David made many mistakes including stealing an “ewe lamb” which in effect was the stealing of beautiful Bathsheba and the killing of her husband, Uriah (2 Sam. 12:1-13). God judged this terrible action. Despite David’s great failings, God worked with him to become a great King of Israel and promised to build him an eternal house, which meant that God would take from his line and raise up an eternal King over Israel from the stock of Jesse and the line of David (2 Sam. 7:1-16).
The time came when God fulfilled that promise and one came from the line of Jesse to become a King over the people of God and who would rule eternally. That king is Jesus Christ, Immanuel (“God is with us”). Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Instead of just shepherding Israel, he became the good shepherd over both the Jews and Gentiles, that is, the full house, people and kingdom of God. The Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. Moreover, He ever lives to watch over us and has given his Holy Spirit to teach us, protect us and comfort us until we finally reach those green pastures and living waters that He has prepared for us.
