Unity

Flock of Sheep
The Bible says in Isaiah 53:6, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

There are times we forget the implications of the first verse in Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd."

The Lord is our  Shepherd, the Bible says so, that must mean we are like sheep. The prophet Isaiah certainly knew what he was saying. His description wasn’t selective, he knew what he was implicating. Not, some of us like sheep, but all of us “like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way.”

Isaiah’s description brings up a great question, "How are we like sheep?" To be honest, the comparison is not a pretty picture. We can’t say a lot of flattering things about sheep. But the Lord calls Himself our Shepherd because we really are like sheep, that's the way he created us.
One very great aspect we must realize is that humanity is very prone to follow. Put a flock of sheep in the middle of a lush, green pasture, turn your back on them for five minutes, and they're poking their noses under the fence. Human beings have a herding instinct too, but we call them clubs or clicks. We wear what our friends are wearing, talk like everyone around us is talking, and go where everyone is going - try to fit in. And we are so trusting, particularly when it comes to bad advice. Sheep are like that - going astray while following others who are wandering.

The other thing is we’re like sheep because we’re really vulnerable. I remember going to Free Spirit Riders to volunteer when I was in my twenties and noticing how most of the horses got along pretty well without human supervision.

Sheep cannot. They get a shepherd - because they need one. Like sheep, we are unstable, weak, and require constant care and protection.


Of course, we are stubborn also. We want to do things our way or no way. If I have learned anything from sharing God’s Word, it’s that people are stubborn! You can tell them the same truth over and over, but they often require a harsh reality check before they realize how far they have wandered. We're stubborn. We are like sheep.

The Prophet Isaiah put together the common factors between us and sheep. “All we like sheep have gone astray.”

In the absence of a shepherd, we’re lost. We truly have gone astray, always thinking we're right or we have maybe a shortcut to the truth.

But that little phrase defines how many of us live much of our lives not being where we should be or doing what we were designed to do. G-d wants us living in ways that are best for us, but we wander off on tangents and end up far from the great life He prepared for us.. We miss the path and stray from His guidance.

Because we are like sheep, it’s such great news that we have a Shepherd, a holy shepherd. Yeshua gave His life for us, saving us from being eternally lost because of our sin.

As Isaiah put it, "The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Having taken our sins, Yeshua is willing to lead us every day. We must be his "sheep" and let all else follow instead of us following it.