In the book of Jeremiah we see how Jehovah spoke concerning the shepherds, the rulers in Israel, mainly exposing their work of scattering the flock and promising to give shepherds according to His own heart; Christ is the Shepherd according to God’s heart.
This week in our crystallization study of the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations we come to the crystal entitled, Shepherds according to God’s Heart.
In Jer. 3:15 we have a brightly shining crystal; here we see that God promises to give His people shepherds according to His heart; Christ as the shepherd is shepherding all His sheep in God’s economy according to the heart of God.
“Shepherds” is used quite a lot in Jeremiah, and it refers mainly to the leaders, those in leadership; these are regarded by God as shepherds of His people.
Today in Christianity there are so many people in high positions called “pastors”, “reverends”, “bishops”, “elders”, etc but who among God’s people is set as a shepherd to shepherd God’s people according to His heart?
In Jeremiah we see that the vast majority of the shepherds scattered the flock, damaged the sheep, and went their own way; so God had strong words to say to address that situation.
In Jer. 23 in particular we see how serious it is to speak things that God didn’t tell us to speak; this is in the context of the false prophets speaking false words to the people of God; God, however, promises that He will give us shepherds according to His heart.
This word was spoken by God more than two thousand six hundred years ago, but it is one of the most crucial things, for shepherding according to God’s heart is one of the three key elements of a new revival that will bring the Lord back.
If we do not have among us shepherds according to God’s heart who reproduce themselves in vast numbers of saints, if we don’t have a genuine shepherding in mutuality in the church life, the Lord will not have a way to return.
This kind of shepherding, the shepherding according to God’s heart, is absolutely necessary for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.
This matter is near and dear to our heart and also very precious to the Lord, being very much on His heart, for He is the Shepherd of our souls, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, the Chief Shepherd, and the good Shepherd, and He wants to reproduce Himself into us to cause us to shepherd according to God’s heart those among whom He has placed us.
Shepherding in mutuality is absolutely necessary for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. May the Lord infuse us with His desire to have shepherds according to God’s heart so that we may become such ones, those who enjoy His shepherding and who shepherd others according to the heart’s desire of God.
God Promises to give Shepherds according to His own Heart to give His People Proper Knowledge and Understanding of God
In Jer. 2:8 and 10:21 in particular Jehovah spoke through the prophet Jeremiah concerning the shepherds, the rulers in Israel; they transgressed against Jehovah, for they didn’t seek Jehovah and their flock was scattered.
Even though they were set as shepherds over God’s people to shepherd His flock, the shepherds destroyed and scattered the sheep of Jehovah’s pasture (Jer. 23:1-2).
So Jehovah came in to promise that He would gather the remnant of His flock and bring them back to their pasture; He promises that He would raise up shepherds over them who would shepherd them, and they would be fruitful and multiply (vv. 3-4).
In His promise to recover and restore His people, God promises that He will raise up shepherds according to His heart who would shepherd them and bring them back to their pasture so that they may be healed, be fruitful, and multiply.
We need to realize that God has sovereignly placed certain ones to be shepherds among HIs people, and His expectation from them is to shepherd His flock according to God.
However, there may be some situations in which leaders and shepherds who rebel against God and the ministry of the age, and they poison others instead of shepherding them, spreading division and poison rather than ministering life.
The flesh and the self can be manifested even among us in the church life in the Lord’s recovery; may the Lord have mercy on us to keep us enjoying His shepherding and learning to shepherd others according to God.
Against the negative background of so many shepherds in Christianity who scatter the flock of God and go their own way, God is promising to recover His people and restore them, and He will give to His recovery shepherds according to His heart.
In the church life in the Lord’s recovery, the principle of the remnant is being worked out, and the Lord is raising up shepherds according to His own heart who would give His people proper knowledge and understanding of God (Jer. 3:15).
We as the people of God, the sheep in the flock of God, need to have proper knowledge and understanding of God, so that we may know our God, enjoy our God, experience our God, and cooperate with our God for the fulfillment of His purpose.
Yes, God does speak to us in His word concerning His purpose and economy, but we all as His sheep need the shepherding of some whom the Lord has placed around us so that we may know God in an intimate way, experience God in a genuine way, and function in our measure for the building up of the Body of Christ.
May we stand one with the Lord and remind Him of His promise to raise up shepherds according to His heart, and may we be those who enjoy His shepherding and cooperate with Him to shepherd others according to what He is, according to His heart!
Thank You Lord for Your promise to gather the remnant of Your flock and bring them back to their pasture and that You will raise up shepherds over them who would shepherd them. Amen, Lord, raise up many shepherds in the church life, those who shepherd the flock of God according to God. Keep us under Your shepherding, Lord, and make us those who shepherd the saints according to Your own heart to give the people of God proper knowledge and understanding of God. Amen, Lord Jesus, raise up many shepherds according to God in the church life, those who cooperate with Your heavenly ministry to shepherd the people of God according to God!
Seeing Christ as the Shepherd according to God’s Heart who Searches for His Sheep to Recover them
Who is the shepherd according to God’s heart, what is he like, and what are his characteristics?
If God would merely promise this and expect this to happen among us, it would be impossible for this to be worked out.
However, both the Old and the New Testament reveal Christ as the Shepherd according to God’s heart (see Isa. 40:11; Ezek. 34:11-31; John 10:11; Heb. 13:20-21; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4; Rev. 7:16-17).
In John 21 in particular, as the Lord is about to ascend to the heavens, He incorporates the New Testament apostolic ministry with His shepherding ministry, commissioning Peter to shepherd His sheep; the apostles and the leaders among God’s people need to shepherd according to God and be patterns of the flock, so that the Lord may perfect many to do the same.
David was one who enjoyed the Lord’s shepherding; in Psalm 23 he was not a king but rather a sheep, and He said, Jehovah is my Shepherd, He makes me lie down in green pastures, He restores my soul and leads me beside the waters of rest…and then he said, When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil, for You are with me.
When it comes to going through the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord is personal and near to us as the Shepherd.
In Isa. 40:10-11 we see how, as the mighty One, the ruling and judging One, Christ comes to be a Shepherd; He cares for His flock by ruling and correcting His sheep and by feeding His lambs.
Christ as the Shepherd according to God’s heart gathers the lambs in His arm, carrying them in His bosom, and leading those who are nursing the young (Matt. 2:6; 9:36). What a tender, all-inclusive care!
We can all testify that, because of our fallen condition, we were buried under many evil things, so we needed God to search for us.
As He cares for the flock, the Lord rules over the sheep to correct them; His correcting is His shepherding.
Many times we feel the Lord’s regulating within us, and His regulating shepherds us to bring us into the flock, to get us on the right way, and to adjust us to the proper pace. We may be too fast or too slow, but His shepherding adjusts us to the pace of the flock.
In Luke 15 we see the shepherd looking for the one lost sheep signifying Christ as the Shepherd, and we also see the woman lighting the lamp and searching within the house for the one lost coin – this woman signifies the Spirit.
The reason the prodigal son came home is because the Spirit was searching within him and the Shepherd went to seek Him.
The Lord Jesus as the Shepherd according to God’s heart came to seek us; the Spirit lit the lamp of the word in our being, sweeping within us until He found us, and we returned to God the Father who was waiting for us with open arms.
What a sweet and tender shepherding! But even though we were saved, we soon became to degrade and enter into decline, and we were buried under doctrines, forms, gifts, etc; we backslid in degraded Christianity.
So once again the Lord Jesus as the Shepherd according to God’s heart searched for us; He sought us out, He brought us out of our situation and condition, and brought us to the church life.
Day by day we are being sought out in all our scattering, going away, and being lost, and He brings us to Himself as our portion and our pasture.
We are here in the church life not because we are better than others but because Christ as the Shepherd according to God has found us and brought us here.
In Ezek. 34:11-31 we see the prophecy that the Lord Himself will come as the Shepherd to search for His sheep and seek them out.
They have been scattered and abused, but He Himself will come to seek them and find them.
The Lord’s heart is still the same today; He knows how many of us are backslidden, how much we are away from the Lord, and how far we go from enjoying Him…and He shepherds us according to God by bringing us back to the enjoyment of Himself.
The Lord Jesus knows how many sons and daughters of dear saints in the church life have gone astray; they are not forgotten by the Shepherd, for the time will come, and He will seek every single one of them, find them, and restore them to the enjoyment of the Lord.
How we thank and praise the Lord that, out of billions of unbelievers on earth, the Lord Jesus has sought us out and brought us into the church life to enjoy Him and be restored to our portion of enjoyment.
We may have been a school teacher, an office worker, an installer, or someone working in constructions – right there where we are, the Lord sought us out, He brought us back, and now we are being restored and recovered. He is the Shepherd according to God’s heart.
Thank You Lord Jesus for coming as the Shepherd according to God’s heart to seek us out and bring us back to the enjoyment of Yourself. Thank You for gathering us as Your lambs in Your arm, carrying us in Your bosom, and taking tender care of us in all our situations. Even though we were scattered and abused, You came to find us, tenderly care for us, and bring us back to our pasture and to the flock. Thank You for shepherding us by regulating us within and by bringing us in the enjoyment of Yourself as our all-inclusive portion. Thank You for Your tender care, Your all-inclusive shepherding according to God. We love You, Lord Jesus, our dear Shepherd according to God!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ezekiel, msg. 16 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization Study of Jeremiah and Lamentations, week 11, Shepherds according to God’s Heart.
- Hymns on this topic:
– The King of love my Shepherd is, / Whose goodness faileth never; / I nothing lack if I am His, / And He is mine forever. / And so through all the length of days / Thy goodness faileth never; / Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise / Within Thy house forever. (Hymns #528)
– Jesus, our wonderful Shepherd / Brought us right out of the fold / Into His pasture so plenteous, / Into His riches untold. / Glorious church life, / Feasting from such a rich store! / Here where we’re dwelling in oneness / God commands life evermore. (Hymns #1221)
– Shepherd the flock with tender, loving care. / Shepherd by life and one another bear. / Christ shepherds us by searching for His sheep / And brings us to Himself, our pasture sweet. (Song on, Shepherd the Flock)
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