Living the Abundant Life
Today I was reading in Zechariah 10 and noticed the second part of verse 2 said that the people in that day were wandering around like sheep - like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd. And Spirit reminded me of John 10 where Jesus says He is the shepherd. I am thankful that He is my shepherd - but I wonder why I still wander around sometimes like I am shepherdless. I kept reading in Zechariah 10 and got to verse 10 which says "I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon and there will not be room enough for them." I saw a picture in my mind of a shepherd calling his sheep from the far corners of the pastures to lead them back home again. And I recalled from John 10 how Jesus said that the shepherd goes out before his sheep and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. And I saw how sheep are sometimes in a pen and the gate is opened and shepherd calls them out to green pastures. John 10 says that when the gate is opened He calls His sheep out by name. I know His voice - do I follow when He calls? I began to ponder Zechariah 10:10 as I thought of how He has made us His sheep, has shepherded us with such lovingkindness, and how He calls us - to take us to green pastures and to lead us home.
Zechariah 10:10 says God was going to bring His people back from Egypt. Egypt was where some had fled when their promised land was taken by force. They ran for refuge to the country of their past - the country that had been a refuge for their father, Jacob, and his sons during famine. To them, it was a green pasture and it represented freedom from their immediate oppressors. I think they had forgotten that Egypt had also been the place of 400 years of slavery for their ancestors. How quickly we forget things when we are faced with tough situations. Like scared little shepherdless sheep we run to where we think we will be safe and our fearful bleating drowns out our Shepherd's voice. Verse 10 also says that He was going to gather His people from Assyria. Assyria was the nation that had taken over their land and hauled off many of the people to captivity. These sheep had become the spoils of war and were inside someone else's fence. My imagination says they were little sheep bleating constantly and loudly as they huddled together inside that pen. It would have been difficult for them to hear their shepherd's voice if he had come and opened the gate and called them out, wouldn't it? I know my own fearful bleating drowns out His voice at times.
As I pondered verse 10 I wondered why God said He would bring the people to Gilead and Lebanon and asked what significance these two specific places had to the refugees in Egypt and the captive in Assyria. Gilead was a region east of the Jordan River known for medicinal plants and green pastures. Those refugees coming from Egypt would cross the Jordan and enter Gilead after many miles in the desert wilderness. They were going to need some medicine and green pastures, weren't they? And Lebanon was a region of high snowy mountains at the northern edge of the promised land known for its timber. Those captives coming home from Assyria would stand at the peaks of Lebanon and look down on the promise - their home - and look around at the timber they could use to rebuild that home.
Verse 11 says that the people would pass through the sea of trouble and the surging sea would be subdued and its depths dried up - much like when the people passed through the Red Sea the first time they left Egypt and much like the raging Jordan River was dried up to let them pass into the promised land the first time. Just like when we are coming home from our running or back from our captivity, the surging seas of trouble may make the way seem treacherous, but if we are trusting Him, they are subdued and dried up as we pass through them to respond to His voice. Verse 11 also says that Assyria's pride would be brought down and Egypt's sceptor would pass away. The pride of the enemies that would hold His sheep captive would be no more just as the rule of the the enemy that tempts us with refuge only to enslave us passes away when the Shepherd calls our name and we come running.
Living the life as His little sheep is living in the promised land, being healed by the balms of Gilead and fed in its green pastures. It is standing on the high mountain peaks to see beyond the present circumstance and take hold of the strong timbers of Lebanon provided by His hand to build and rebuild all that He designs. Living the life as His little sheep is trusting Him as the Shepherd who gives eternal life and who says no one can snatch us from His hand - and that kind of trusting means we don't bleat and run and wander and fear.
He is the Good Shepherd. We are His sheep. He calls us by name, He goes ahead of us, He leads us home, He gathers us from captivity, and we can follow Him without fear. We can live the abundant and full life of His promise. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10
Listening to the Shepherd's voice,
Amy
Zechariah 10:10 says God was going to bring His people back from Egypt. Egypt was where some had fled when their promised land was taken by force. They ran for refuge to the country of their past - the country that had been a refuge for their father, Jacob, and his sons during famine. To them, it was a green pasture and it represented freedom from their immediate oppressors. I think they had forgotten that Egypt had also been the place of 400 years of slavery for their ancestors. How quickly we forget things when we are faced with tough situations. Like scared little shepherdless sheep we run to where we think we will be safe and our fearful bleating drowns out our Shepherd's voice. Verse 10 also says that He was going to gather His people from Assyria. Assyria was the nation that had taken over their land and hauled off many of the people to captivity. These sheep had become the spoils of war and were inside someone else's fence. My imagination says they were little sheep bleating constantly and loudly as they huddled together inside that pen. It would have been difficult for them to hear their shepherd's voice if he had come and opened the gate and called them out, wouldn't it? I know my own fearful bleating drowns out His voice at times.
As I pondered verse 10 I wondered why God said He would bring the people to Gilead and Lebanon and asked what significance these two specific places had to the refugees in Egypt and the captive in Assyria. Gilead was a region east of the Jordan River known for medicinal plants and green pastures. Those refugees coming from Egypt would cross the Jordan and enter Gilead after many miles in the desert wilderness. They were going to need some medicine and green pastures, weren't they? And Lebanon was a region of high snowy mountains at the northern edge of the promised land known for its timber. Those captives coming home from Assyria would stand at the peaks of Lebanon and look down on the promise - their home - and look around at the timber they could use to rebuild that home.
Verse 11 says that the people would pass through the sea of trouble and the surging sea would be subdued and its depths dried up - much like when the people passed through the Red Sea the first time they left Egypt and much like the raging Jordan River was dried up to let them pass into the promised land the first time. Just like when we are coming home from our running or back from our captivity, the surging seas of trouble may make the way seem treacherous, but if we are trusting Him, they are subdued and dried up as we pass through them to respond to His voice. Verse 11 also says that Assyria's pride would be brought down and Egypt's sceptor would pass away. The pride of the enemies that would hold His sheep captive would be no more just as the rule of the the enemy that tempts us with refuge only to enslave us passes away when the Shepherd calls our name and we come running.
Living the life as His little sheep is living in the promised land, being healed by the balms of Gilead and fed in its green pastures. It is standing on the high mountain peaks to see beyond the present circumstance and take hold of the strong timbers of Lebanon provided by His hand to build and rebuild all that He designs. Living the life as His little sheep is trusting Him as the Shepherd who gives eternal life and who says no one can snatch us from His hand - and that kind of trusting means we don't bleat and run and wander and fear.
He is the Good Shepherd. We are His sheep. He calls us by name, He goes ahead of us, He leads us home, He gathers us from captivity, and we can follow Him without fear. We can live the abundant and full life of His promise. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10
Listening to the Shepherd's voice,
Amy
"but I wonder why I still wander around sometimes like I am shepherdless."
I am not sure I understand exactly what you mean by this. :)
p.s. Because of what He did, we are the light of the world. So, can you picture millions of little glowing sheep, lighting up the dark places in the beautiful green pastures??
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Like the people in Zechariah's day - sometimes I don't pay attention to the Shepherd and end up wandering around with no direction, no hope, alone, scared. So I am listening to His voice. And isn't it great to know we are glow-in-the-dark bovids because His light is in us wherever we are? Bless you, friend!
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