God comforts His people, primarily by forgiving our sins, cleansing us from all unrighteousness, and reconciling us to Himself. Judgment is taken away, and everlasting life is promised!
One of the greatest metaphors God uses to comfort His people is that of the Shepherd and His sheep.
In Psalm 23, not only does the shepherd protect and sustain His sheep in physical matters, but far more importantly, He comforts them in danger, in death, and brings them to joy and everlasting life with Him.
The reason there are many metaphors used by God to describe His relationship with His people, is that no single metaphor is adequate to picture His marvelous dealings with His people!
In Ezekiel 34, God denounces the false shepherds who harm His sheep, rather than heal them. In all this, the reference is not principally to physical matters, but rather to the wandering away of God's people from safety into sin and danger.
God has little to say about His sheep's delinquencies – going astray, wandering off, not trusting in Him, and helpless without a Good Shepherd.
In God's use of this metaphor, we see expressed a kindness, a compassion by God for poor lost sinners. Rather than using harsh language to denounce the sheep, God reserves His anger for the false shepherds who did not guide and guard the sheep from following after their sinful desires.
And then, God promises to bring us back to the Good Shepherd, with the kindest and gentlest of words.
In the end, God lets us know, that His sheep are men, and He is our God.
Sometimes, even in the shepherd / sheep metaphor, God describes our faults, our disobedience, but always in the context of forgiveness and pardon for our sins. |
