Planned from the Start

[bsteenbock]

"Pastoral imagery is part of a larger redemptive-historical narrative that depicts God’s leadership in wilderness settings. Beginning with the original Passover, re-emerging in the exile and crescendoing at the inauguration of the new age in the Gospels, God revealed himself as the Shepherd of his people, leading them by undershepherds through the desert to their promised home. By the diligent oversight and guidance of God’s gifted shepherds, every member of the flock makes it home." (p. 314, Scribd edition)

Throughout the entirety of the book, the word "narrative" was echoing in my head. I'm often trying to convince people that Scripture is one big story from start to finish, and all the pieces are connected. Like a master storyteller, God weaves parts of history together and reveals in his Word how the story plays out, both in the specifics and in the big picture. I say I try to convince, because too often the tendency is to see the Bible as a collection of moral stories, like Aesop's fables, each with a lesson of the week to take home. Or we see it as a collection of doctrinal statements and philosophies and use it as a source of proof passages. Or we see it as a rulebook that tells us how to organize our lives and then we'll be right with God.

I digress. The point is that Scripture reveals God's story, and the shepherd imagery from start to finish is another thing that brings this to the forefront. What really took my breath away, though, was to think that it is not just Scripture, but all of human history. The shepherd imagery underlies the rulership of so many ancient cultures, and from there plays into the narrative of Scripture, which builds toward Christ and God's ultimate desire for his relationship with his people. This is evidence of God working the details not just of the salvation history in Scripture, but the details of all movements on earth.