Shepherds After My Own Heart: David as Shepherd

[preacheral]

The cool thing about David was that he was such a renaissance man. Shepherd, musician, fighter, poet - all of these roles ultimately led him to becoming Israel's quintessential king. He, of course, was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but nonetheless he became the blueprint against which all the subsequent kings were judged. It's amazing to reflect on his body of work and realize that his words are still some of the most familiar in the history of literature, "The Lord is my shepherd...".

At the risk of sounding blasphemous I have to admit that as a pastor I sometimes get sick of the 23rd Psalm. If I've said it once at a funeral I've said it a thousand times. But when I'm able to put aside all the baggage that I bring with me to the reading of that psalm I have to admit that it's beauty and depth of insight are unmatched.

The simple acknowledgment by David that the "Lord is my shepherd" is for my money the single most important facet of David's internal make-up that made him a "man after God's own heart". Even as shepherd and later as a shepherd/king David never lost sight of the simple fact that he was also a sheep. As many commentators have noted sheep are defenseless, helpless and dumb. To admit that we are sheep takes a good bit of humility. David never lost the humility of a true shepherd. Though he commanded armies and ruled a vast and wealthy kingdom he never lost sight of the fact that he was still just a sheep. David's most dramatic sin of adultery and murder can be seen as a painful example of what happens when we lose that humble perspective. And Nathan knew exactly how to reach David's heart of hearts and led him to repentance by using the example of a shepherd and his beloved sheep to drive his point home.

David honored his role as shepherd/king most when he worked to protect his people. What does that kind of protection look like in the church? What am I called to protect "my sheep" from? Wolves and other external enemies such as those who would persecute and destroy the church? Internal enemies like false teachers who lead the flock astray? Or hired hands who run away at the first sign of danger?

Shepherding God's flock has to be more than a "job". It has to be a calling in which we have a certain "ownership" of the flock. But that is a tricky line to walk because while we don't simply want to be the uncommitted "hired hand" neither do we want to become so self-important that we begin to think that it really is "OUR" flock and not the Lord's. I like the notion of being "God's sheepdog" that was brought up in an earlier discussion. If you've ever seen some of those sheepdogs "work" the sheep then you would realize that it's not a put-down but a complement. In fact I've seen a lot of sheep dogs that are more impressive than some pastors I know!