The Shepherd’s Staff II

The Shepherd’s Staff

It comforts us. But to whom does “us” refer? They are not all those who call themselves, or consider themselves to be, God’s lambs or sheep; they are those who are that in heart and mind.

The shepherd’s staff does not comfort the goats or billy goats, yet it does comfort the sheep. The Good Shepherd does not lead billy goats to the green pastures or the still waters. On the contrary! It is written that the rebellious dwell in a dry land! Ps. 68:6. The goats will be separated from the lambs and the sheep. A good shepherd takes care of that. A shepherd’s staff is suitable for that purpose. It doesn’t help much to say that you are a lamb or a sheep while your butting clearly expresses the nature of a billy goat.

Putting it differently, those who have become like children, and who abide in simple faithfulness to Christ (2 Cor. 11:3), are the lambs and the sheep that He leads and whom He guards with His staff. These are the ones for whom the shepherd’s staff is so unspeakably comforting!

Using different words again, it is the humble, those who are lowly in their own eyes and who know that they are utterly dependent on the Shepherd and who therefore also submit to His laws of life, who are the flock that the Chief Shepherd and His good shepherds watch over with their blessed shepherd’s staffs. For it is written, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Pet. 5:5. Both His leading and the use of the shepherd’s staff are pure grace, help, and preservation. However, pride goes before the fall. When a person becomes arrogant, God withdraws His grace and with it, His shepherd’s staff. By the very nature of this act the person’s fall is sealed, and he falls prey to the wolves. For, without Him we can do nothing. John 15:5. Without God’s grace no one can keep himself from falling or from falling prey to the wolves. Only the shepherds’ staff can do that! What a glorious staff this is!

It is therefore of the utmost importance always to react in the right way, in a way that is acceptable to God, so that it can please the Chief Shepherd to watch over us with His rod and staff.

Blessed lambs and sheep! Blessed Shepherd and shepherd’s staff! They belong together, but billy goats are not part of this gathering. May God have mercy on them in one way or another.

Hearty greetings, O you blessed flock of sheep!