The Lord is a Shepherd: Jeremiah

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0:00 Last week I was thinking about this starting in on the year in a new kind of way, right? It's like the eighth month of the year, but of course for so many of us, the school year, I was just talking with Terry about fiscal years for companies. They come at different times. So many of us, the fall feels like we're starting back up again on new routines. We're stepping back into routines. And if you're anything like me, I was sure by the time we got to the school year back in May, I thought there is no way that we would be debating

0:35 whether or not kids go back to school or in what way kids go back to school. And now here we are all doing the best we can in all different types of situations. Students are doing the best they can. Teachers are doing the best they can. Parents are doing the best they can. And as I thought about that for myself, and I asked the Lord, where is the Lord in this? And I begin to ask myself, what do I really need in this season? What came to mind, I described the memory last week that came to mind was this memory of my grandmother's funeral

1:11 as I followed behind her casket with my whole family. And we rolled her casket up in front of the altar where she was baptized, confirmed, married, and now buried. And there was something substantial about taking my place in a long line of people who have laid loved ones down in full anticipation that the day will come when Christ calls them back up out.

1:43 And coupled with that memory of the church militant, doing the thing that the church has done for generations, saying, death is not the end for us, we have one who calls us back to life. In that memory, coupled with that memory is this Psalm 23 that Carol read for us just a little bit ago that describes Jesus as the great shepherd that always leads us to green pastures, beside quiet waters, through valleys of death to banquets east in the presence of our enemies.

2:21 That though we walk through confusing times, fearful times, even times of hardship, injustice, even times of death, we look for the green pastures in full anticipation that that's the place where our shepherd leads us. So we're going to spend several weeks looking at shepherd in the scriptures. And the first thing for me was like shepherd seemed like an unnatural term for a king, and so this week I did a little research.

2:55 It turns out actually in ancient near East, like in the Sumerians and the Assyrians, the notion of the king as the shepherd was a common metaphor. So Sumerian kings, Assyrian kings, even sometimes Babylon, they would refer to themselves as shepherds, and they would refer to their people, their kingdom as their flock, that they would be the shepherd who would take care of this flock. So it's a term out there in the world in the time of the Old Testament.

3:27 The next thing I found out is that it's not common in the Old Testament. So it is a term used in the culture around them, but not very much in the story of scripture. Actually, most poignantly in the Old Testament it's used in Psalm 23. And then in the story of the exile, which if you think about it, makes sense. Mostly in the prophets speaking on behalf of God to the people, the metaphor of the shepherd is used.

4:03 This is very interesting because consistently in the mid-rath and in the story of the rabbinical, the religious tradition, shepherds are distrusted, distrustful people. As a matter of fact, you can't call a shepherd as a witness in a religious trial because they are so likely to be unreliable. By the time we get to the New Testament period in the first century, shepherds and tax collectors are in similar boats. Isn't it funny that then Jesus gives shepherds such a prominent role that the church doesn't like them, but Jesus does?

4:42 And it's almost that way in the prophets during the period of exile, right? Because it's not used in the story of scripture that's crafted, but as God speaks through his prophets to his people, he uses a metaphor that they would be familiar with in the culture that they're using of a shepherd to help him orient their relationship to the God as their king. I want to look at one in Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a prophet during the time of the exile.

5:19 If you have a paper copy of the scriptures, which is not many in the room, but if you're at home and you have a paper copy of the scriptures, Jeremiah is towards the middle, a little bit to the right of Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah. If you get to Lamentations and Ezekiel, go back to the left. If you're typing it in on digital copy, we're in Jeremiah chapter 23. That's where I want to look. Jeremiah sometimes is called the weeping prophet because there's no record of Jeremiah ever getting a convert.

5:56 Like anyone ever being like, yeah, Jeremiah, you're my guy. Jeremiah had a really hard life. He spoke to God, spoke for God, two people who were not very interested in Christ. Not very interested in listening, especially during the time of the exile. But we have a lot written. He's the second longest book, very prominent prophet for us. He records so much of what God is trying to tell people. And in Jeremiah chapter 23, it's a word of warning first from God. It says this, woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter this heap of my pastor declares the Lord.

6:32 Therefore, thus does the Lord of God, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people. You have scattered my flock and have driven them away and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Remember, if we think about shepherds as a term for the king, God, speaking through Jeremiah to the people, has a problem with the Israelite kings.

7:02 With the kings of his people, it says, you, I set you up, God says, you shepherds, you kings of Israel, and you did not care for them. You did not protect them or provide for them. You didn't set them on the right path. You didn't corral them in and point them in the right direction. Instead, you cared for yourself, you shepherds. And so he says, I'm going to deal with you. The thing that got me thinking, if you watch the story of Israel, the kings are more often bad than they're good. And we talked a little bit about that last week. God told the people that they didn't want a king.

7:35 They were sure they did. They're more often bad than good. And this week I was thinking, if the kings were so bad, how did they get there? Did God make a mistake? Like who let them get there in first place? If the God of Israel is the shepherd over the shepherds, what's going, did God make him a city pick the wrong? How did he set up the wrong system? I don't know.

8:11 I think God is this and I think all the superlatives that are like philosophical minds have abstracted from the story of scripture about who God is are true. And yet you look at the story and it seems like sometimes things don't go as planned. I imagine one day we can ask God how this all worked out and he'll explain it to us. But for us today, reading the story honestly, it looks like sometimes things don't go as planned.

8:50 We're worried about leaving the house and the air we breathe inside buildings. Our jobs are on shaky ground. Our futures are in. Sometimes things don't go as planned. Who's fault is it? I could say God made a mistake, but what do I know? Here we are.

9:27 What's interesting is God comes back and he says, I'll deal with you crooked shepherds. Right? You have scattered my flock and have driven the way and you have not attended them. You hold I will attend to you for your evil deeds to clear the Lord. Sometimes things don't go as planned. Did God make a mistake? I don't know, but he keeps moving. He keeps moving. He's going to clean it up.

10:00 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of the countries where I have driven them. And I will bring them back to their fold and they shall be fruitful and multiply. God says, look, the people I put in place scattered everybody. Nobody knows what's going on or where they're supposed to be. Nobody knows how to ask or how to treat one another. It's a mess. So out of all the confusion and amidst all the despair, he's like, I'm going to do it myself.

10:30 I'll call the people back to myself. Years ago when I was learning to preach, Meghan would look over my messages before. One of the common refrain piece of advice that she gave me, I didn't tell her since days. One of the common piece of advice that she would give me was like, hey, stop making it so complicated.

11:05 What do you actually want to say? Just say that. I can imagine the diaspora of Israel in this metaphor. Confused, betrayed by the shepherds who were supposed to walk over them, out far and away from home. But if in the right moment, in the midst of their confusion, they just stop for a minute.

11:36 And listen again. The good effort says, I'm going to call them all back to me. When we talked about the core values of the culture of the reign of God, part of my contention is that you and I have a limited scope of responsibility. We are not responsible for our future. We are not responsible for our provision. We are not responsible for our protection.

12:10 We are responsible to live lives as faithful sheep. And when things get confusing or fearful or afraid, the best thing this sheep can do is quit running and trying to find their own pastures and stop. And then listen. God, through the Prophet Isaiah a couple thousand years ago, says, then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold.

12:51 And they shall be fruitful and multiply. This is the common refrain, the dream for humanity from God that we might be fruitful and multiplying lives. I mean that we might multiply our influence and the image of God that we might live creative, multiplying lives, that we might not be stagnant and dying, but life enlivened and life-giving lives, that we might be fruitful and multiply.

13:29 If you and I, in the midst of all these broken and confused shepherds, are going to live fruitful and multiply lives, we are going to need one good shepherd. If you are going to live a fruitful and multiplying life, you have to stop being your own shepherd and be content being a sheep. You are going to need a shepherd.

13:59 I will set shepherds over them, who will care for them, and they shall fear no more nor be dismayed, neither shall they be missing anything declares the Lord. He says he'll put shepherds over them. And then look behold, the days are coming to clear the door when I will raise up for David, a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land in his days.

14:43 Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely, and this is the name by which he shall be called the Lord our righteousness. Of course, after Jeremiah, and God spoke this through Jeremiah, he does call them back miraculously, they get to come back out of exile. They rebuild the walls and the temple, not to its former glory, but to a glory sufficient enough. And they do have rulers who some are fair and just and some are not.

15:17 He does put rulers over them. He does call them back, but then he also points every prophet has a near fulfillment and an ultimate fulfillment. Sometimes we could say three, a near fulfillment, a pro-luptick fulfillment, a fulfillment that we glimpse in Jesus, and now and not yet fulfillment, and then a final fulfillment in the return. And in Jeremiah, we can see this for sure. In the near fulfillment, Ezra and the Amaya call the people back, they rebuild the walls and Israel is rebuilt to a certain extent, right?

15:55 In temple. And then of course Jesus comes and this is the shepherd. He calls himself the good shepherd, right? And he develops a flock around him and he leaves them to pats his. He feeds them out of loaves and fishes. He takes them to the meadow and he walks them through the valley. He calls Lazarus up out of the tomb, right? He raises little girl from the dead. He walks into the valley of the shadow of death and then he leaves. And he establishes little shepherds again. Paul uses a common refrain for pastors to be as shepherds and he says, follow me as I follow Christ and together we'll follow the good shepherd.

16:39 I think being a sheep is hard for us because we're in control of so much. It feels high. I used to think about the kids love Chipotle and I think it's partly because you get to build your own bowls. You have so much control over everything that you have.

17:09 You can make it just how you want. It's your bowl, right? It's your burrito. And the reason those types of restaurants, florist in a time period, is this notion where people want to call all their own shots. Right? We built the democracy based on our notion of rugged individuals. Don't get in my way. Don't put anybody over me.

17:44 And I think the way governments run is fine. I don't have an opinion. I think democracy is better than tyranny for heaven's sake. But I'm saying all of that will work against your rugged individualism, your sense of self-governance, your capacity to be the arbiter of your own future will work against in your heart and mind, your capacity to resign and be the strongest. And I think the way governments run is that they're not going to be the best way to go.

18:19 And I think the way governments run is that they're not going to be the best way to go. But listen, the world is too fraught for you to find your own green pastures. You cannot predict your future, adequately protect your money, safeguard your children from every evil. You cannot. The world is too fraught. And you are too much of a mess to constantly find your own pastures. You'll pick the wrong places.

19:04 But the dream of God is that humanity would live fruitful and multiplying lives. And the only way you'll get there, me and you together, in this world is with a shepherd who leads us. And with his rod and his staff, he comforts us. So that when we're in the midst of the valley of shadow of death, we do not need to fear because we know he is taking us someplace we have not lost ourselves.

19:39 Look at how God says it through Jeremiah just a little bit further. If you're in chapter 23, go forward to chapter Jeremiah chapter 50. Jeremiah chapter 50 verse 17 is where I'm at. Comes back to this shepherd metaphor for the people looking for the good king. Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. There's this metaphor, the lions, it says that the enemy prowls a korori lion.

20:18 Like you have legitimate problems and fears. You have legitimate enemies and hurts waiting for you. Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First, they think of Assyria devoured him and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is gnawed on his bones. And therefore, thus does the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies, the God of Israel.

20:50 Behold, I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land. As I punish the king of Assyria, I will restore Israel to his pastor. It's important to see that God's love for you is not robotic or automatic. His love for you is such that his vengeance is stirred up against those who hurt you, against those who serve you. Against those who steal from you and wound you. The protection of your shepherd is not this passionate, it is passionate.

21:20 It is real and motivated so that he will restore justice to those who have perpetrated injustice against you. You can trust your life to this shepherd because he will not let evil doers off. He will even your evil. You can trust him to defend you this shepherd. And then what? Once he defends you, I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land. As I punish the king of Assyria and then I will restore Israel to their pastor.

21:52 And they shall feed on Carmel. Carmel is this beautiful, longed-for mountain pastures. Described in the Psalms with dew on the grass in the morning. He says, I will lead them and they will feast on Carmel and in Bishan. And the desire of Israel shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.

22:25 In those days and in that time declares the Lord. Iniquity shall be sought in Israel. Many people will look for Israel to have failed and there shall be none. And they'll look for sin in Judah and none shall be found. Why? Because I will pardon those who might leave as a remnant. Look, you and I, if we can uncover in ourselves the capacity to rest and be cheap today,

23:07 we will get a prolectic aid now and not yet fulfillment of the pastor. We'll get a little taste of Ephraim and Gilead. We'll get a little prolectic pastor here. We'll live fruitful and multiplying lives. We'll life will expand out of us. We'll leave legacies worthy of our shepherd. But we will also get with this shepherd an ultimate fulfillment.

23:40 Pastors on Carmel that will not end. Hills of Ephraim and Gilead that go on forever. Feasts in the presence of our enemies. Quiet waters of wrath. It's confusing times for some of us fearful. But our people have seen those times before.

24:13 And the call today for us is the same that it was for them a couple thousand years ago. Hey, wait, pause, stop, listen, your shepherd calls you. Cheap come back to your shepherd. Let him lead you to green pastures to fruitful and multiplying lives.

24:43 Let him protect and offend you. Let me pray. Hey, Lord, come and be our shepherd today. We have found the love for you in our hearts because you loved us first. Love us again this morning and live in us again this morning. Quiet us this morning to hear your call and respond to your guidance.

25:21 In Jesus name we pray. Amen.