Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD, when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives, who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”; but rather, "As the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north”– and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own land. (Jeremiah 23:5-8)
Jeremiah wasn’t speaking of Jesus. Jeremiah lived in 650 B.C. Nevertheless, his words and prophecy were adopted by Gospel writers to describe Jesus.
Jeremiah 23:1-4 reads: Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock of my pasture—oracle of the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have banished them and bring them back to their folds; there they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear or be terrified; none shall be missing—oracle of the LORD.
Even though Jeremiah wasn’t referring to Jesus, his words about bad shepherds destroying and scattering the flock of God’s pasture easily apply to Jesus. He was the Good Shepherd with those who truly followed him not fearing or being terrified. Jeremiah dealt with numerous bad shepherds as well as false prophets.
We might feel like Jeremiah in our times. We are faced with many bad shepherds such as politicians acting as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Social media’s false prophets continue to lead many of us astray. We need leaders who will govern wisely and do what is just and right in the land. We need righteous shoots.
Deacon David Pierce
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