Why we need a shepherd
The other day I came across an fascinating bible passage. On the way to the holy land, Aaron and some elders saw God, and that was shortly before they created the golden calf. That puts the later in an interesting light. Let's dive in ...
If we look into Exodus 24, we find the following in the verses 9-11:
Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.
I didn’t recognize this before and I find it very fascinating. Not only Moses met and saw God, Aaron, two of his sons and 70 elders saw him as well. They were in his presence. I don’t know about you, but I consider this a once in a lifetime, life-changing event. Nowadays, we struggle to believe in God as we can not see Him, much less explain Him. Well, we can see Him in the actions of Jesus followers, but as Jesus said to Thomas in John 28:29b:
Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
Now, those 74 men have seen him. This raises the question in me, how could the following happen (Exodus 32:3-4).
Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
In and around this passage, we don’t see Aaron arguing with them, not once, not even a little. He is simply following the crowds wishes. And this happens not to long after he saw, after he experienced God. And what about his sons and the 70 elders? The bible doesn’t show any opposition to this intense act of idolatry, up to the point when Moses comes back from his meeting with God.
What this tells me, is that we humans can be very easily distracted and taken away from the road that we are supposed to walk by Gods design. We can be so easily swayed. Even those of us who have experienced our Lord, His guidance or His blessings. When we lose our focus, we go where our worldly desires lead us, a choice for which we will have to bear the consequences sooner or later.
Now, what if we fail? What if we fall away from God in sin? Well, praise God for He is a good father to us and Jesus our Shepherd. As a shepherd, He is guiding us and taking care of us. As Jesus said in John 10:11
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
and in verses 27-30
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
More importantly for today’s topic, as a shepherd, He is coming back for us if we get lost.
Not too long ago my wife and I watched the movie The Secret Life of Pets 2. One of the main characters, the dog Max, travels with his family to a farm. There a lamb gets lost and the local farm dog Rooster and him find the lamb on a loosely rooted tree at the side of a cliff munching some leaves, commenting: “These are delicious.” Sometimes, we are like this lamb, running off to something that looks delicious to us, not realizing what situation we are getting ourselves into. Yes, we might not make a life-sized golden calf, but anything that leads us away from God is idolatry and it can be literally anything.
But if we get lost in sin and feel like loosing our connection to God, to Jesus, He will not leave us there. As Luke 15:4-7 tell us:
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Praise God, that He is trying His best to get us back and safe us, like the two dogs did with the lamb. Jesus came and died for our sins, everything we have done that is running away from God in one form or another. In doing so, He brought us back, and He still brings us back. Every time, we get distracted, every time we get swayed, He comes back for us and reminds us that true salvation is only in Him. His door is open for you and for me at all times to repent and return to Him. Praise God.