Isaiah 40:8 "The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but THE WORD OF OUR GOD ENDURES FOREVER.”
The BIBLE is:
LIGHT -- Psalm 119:105,
FIRE -- Jeremiah 23:29,
SEED -- Luke 8:11,
BREAD -- Dueteronomy 8:3,
MILK -- 1 Peter 2:2,
HONEY -- Psalms 19:7,
MEAT -- Hebrews 5:14,
GOLD -- Psalm 19:10,
SWORD -- Hebrews 4:12,
HAMMER -- Jeremiah 23:29,
"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that YOU SPEND WHAT YOU GET ON YOUR PLEASURES." James 4:3
LIVING FOR OTHERS IS NATURE'S RULE Nothing in Nature lives for itself. Rivers don't drink their own water. Trees don'T eat their own fruits. The sun doesn't shine on itself. A flower's fragrance is not for itself.
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it-not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it-they will be blessed in what they do." James 1:22-25
WHAT YOU SAY IS WHAT YOU ARE;
WHAT YOU DO
DEMONSTRATES THE TRUE YOU.
COMPROMISE
To see EVIL but not call it EVIL
is the worst kind of EVIL.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Disclosure: Much of what is in my posts are things I have compiled through the years and I do not know if they have copyrights. What I do know about origin or website I give credit and have tried to always post a link to the origin. I do not market anything in any way on this blog -- I merely hope it will encourage and inspire others. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Wilkerson - Guarding The Sheep | Full Sermon
There are wolves that are being raised up in the churches that are perverse and cause the sheep to be scattered everywhere. The bible says to beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly thy are ravening wolves. They are greedy pastors and evangelists that come as angels of light to deceive even the elect. Can you recognize the wolf from the real shepherd?
As Paul was on his way to Jerusalem in Acts 20, he made a stop at Ephesus . There he called a special meeting of all the leaders of the church. He told those Ephesian believers solemnly, “This is the last time I’ll see you. And this will be my final message to you. You’re not going to see my face after this” (see Acts 20:25).
Paul then delivered his last message to the Ephesians. He told them, in essence, “I’ve been with you before, and you know what I stand for. I have served you with humility and tears. I’ve preached in your church, and from house to house. I’ve done it all under great trials and persecution. And I have kept nothing back from you.”
Then, with tears, he gave them this sober warning: “For three years now, I’ve warned you night and day with tears about what I see coming to the church after I’m gone. Now I want you to hear this warning one more time” (see 20:31).
What did Paul see coming? What so grieved him that he would spend three years weeping over this church? What coming tragedy had he warned them about so many times, both publicly and privately, in their church and in their homes? What issue could shake this praying, holy man so deeply?
Paul’s concern wasn’t an outbreak of lust, or adultery, or divorce, or drunkenness. His warnings weren’t about coming persecution from society or government restrictions on them. He didn’t warn about an outbreak of depravity, or homosexuality in the pulpit, or signs of moral decay, or unemployment and poverty, or terrorism and wars.
In short, Paul’s warnings weren’t about the chaos going on outside the church doors. No, Paul was grieved over what he saw coming inside the walls of God’s house. He warned the Ephesians about what he foresaw coming upon the ministry, upon shepherds, in particular. And those warnings were about destruction to come at the hands of deceivers who would flood into the church.
In his final message, Paul’s mind was not on church growth, or pastors’ personal struggles, or believers’ trials and temptations. No, Paul’s deep heart-cry was, “You pastors, you shepherds, take heed. Be on guard, for yourselves and for your people.”
“The Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God , which he hath purchased with his own blood” (20:28). In other words: “You overseers, you bishops, you leaders — feed your flocks, to prepare them. Fill them with God’s pure Word. Savage wolves and deceivers are coming, and they’re going to take aim at the weak sheep.”
“For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore, watch” (20:29-31).
At that point, Paul pointed out to them, “Right now, you are a blessed church. You’re a faithful people, a powerful body of believers. You have a strong foundation.” Christ also would later say this about the Ephesians, in Revelation. He told them, “You’re patient and fruitful. You don’t put up with evil, and you expose all false preachers.”
Yet, according to Paul, “As blessed as you are, your church won’t be spared, unless you heed my warnings. You’re going to see an ungodly, perverse ministry arise and make merchandise of this flock.” Christ gave the Ephesians the same warning, in Revelation 2: “You’ve left your first love. Repent, lest I take away your lamp stand, your glowing witness to the world.”
How did these Ephesian believers lose their first love? How does any church become dead? Clearly, it was because their pastors and leaders weren’t guarding the sheep. They weren’t careful, and let wolves have access to the flock. When those wolves came in, they devoured the sheep, not sparing them.
Update 3/18/2015: Another 100,000+ views of this article since the last update in 2014 by far surpassing any other article on this website. Update 03/09/2014: This article has been up for almost six years, it has been up so long that it’s original source has deleted the web page where it was located. For the entire time that this article has been up except for the last week or so there was moderate viewing of the article. However in the last week this article alone has been viewed over 100,000 times. And that high viewership has not abated. I personally believe that God is trying to speak to people! And usually when God is revealing something to people in a very strong way, it means that something is on the way, and Christians need to be awake and prepared for it. “People don’t like to hear this, but we’re headed for perilous times—just a few years away from a collapse like the world has never known. When that happens, all who preached prosperity are going to disappear because the people will say, “Your gospel has failed me.” When that time comes, I want to grasp onto Jesus, and I want everyone I’ve preached to to have faith in the keeping power of Jesus Christ. I want them to know Him in His fullness. I want to know that I’ve done it in love, in grace, that they would know the difference between the holy and the profane.”
The Dangers of The Gospel of Accommodation
A sermon given by David Wilkerson at an Assemblies of God headquarters chapel service.
By David Wilkerson
I am not coming to you as a pastor but with a prophetic word. God so shook me recently with this message that I should bring it somewhere, sometime in Springfield. This morning the Lord, by His Spirit, spoke to my heart that this is the time. He has called me to be one of His watchmen, and I have wept over this and prayed that He will help me deliver the message in a spirit of love. This is not a chastisement but a warning for the Assemblies of God.
A New Gospel
Accommodate means to adapt, to make suitable and acceptable, to make convenient. A gospel of accommodation is creeping into the United States. It’s an American cultural invention to appease the lifestyle of luxury and pleasure. Primarily a Caucasian, suburban gospel, it’s also in our major cities and is sweeping the nation, influencing ministers of every denomination, and giving birth to megachurches with thousands who come to hear a nonconfronting message. It’s an adaptable gospel that is spoon-fed through humorous skits, drama, and short, nonabrasive sermonettes on how to cope—called a seeker-friendly or sinner-friendly gospel.
To begin with, those terms are unscriptural. The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been confronting—there is no such thing as a friendly gospel but a friendly grace.
This new gospel is being propagated by bright, young, talented ministers. They have come upon a formula which states you can go into any town or city; and if you have the right formula, within a short time you can raise a megachurch.
If you are a young man and have certain skills, you find those skills and a part of the city that would best suit you. You move into that area, poll it, and find out what the nonchurchgoers want:
“You don’t like choirs. Well, would you go to a church that didn’t have a choir?” Yes.
“You don’t like to wear suits. Would you go where it’s informal?” Yes.
Then you go to your computer and design a gospel that will not confront but will shoot out the desires and the needs of the people. After you have gathered a handful of people, you keep interviewing them to find out what they want; then you design your message to help people cope with their needs. The program you design is intended to make the church comfortable and friendly for all sinners who wish to attend.
This gospel is fast becoming the most prosperous and flourishing of all religious movements. Thousands attend these churches. The pastor is the CEO, and it becomes a business. They make no bones about it: They are following Madison Avenue tactics and can make a success of it. Their formula for quick church growth is cleverly packaged and is being sold especially to young ministers—those who want to be a part of the big boys and what’s happening on a fast track. They want it to happen quickly. Paul’s Warning
Paul warned of the coming of another gospel and another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4). He warned the church that it’s really not another gospel but a perversion of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. If you hear any other gospel, he said, let that preacher be accursed. In other words, no matter how pleasant, how pious, or how sincere, if the message is not the death of sin through the cross of Jesus Christ, let it be accursed.
I tremble when I read in the Scriptures that in the last days Satan is going to come right into the church posing as an angel of light. He’s going to take ministers who, at one time, had the touch of God, and he’s going to transform them into angels of light to become his tool of deception. That’s frightening. It causes me to fall on my face before God for such false, deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. No marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it’s no great thing if ministers also are transformed as the ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works.
Paul said they are going to glory in the flesh, in their bigness, their numbers, their influence, and their contemporariness. They will boast they are contemporary, that there is a gospel that is out of style that doesn’t reach human need anymore. They will glory in the world’s acceptance. Jesus warned, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). The context of that warning was: “Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it” (verse 14).
His warning was to beware of the wolves who are going to say it’s really not that narrow and straight—they are going to come posing as submissive sheep. Jesus put His finger on the cause: ambition—ambitious ravening wolves. In the Greek it means “starved for recognition and quick gratification, quick growth.”
Jesus left no doubt about His meaning. For example, He was addressing a struggling pastor who has worked for years and hasn’t seen the kind of growth he wants to see. A young man with an accommodating gospel moves into town and and within a very short time has a megachurch. People are flocking there because there is entertainment; it’s a gospel of fun. I’ve been in some of them. It’s the gospel of entertainment that has no conviction whatsoever. There is very little in their gospel that speaks to sinners of repentance, brokenness, and cross-bearing. A Christ is preached, Jesus’ name is mentioned, but Paul said their’s is another gospel, another Jesus.
Paul warned that if you are caught in this trap, if you want that hook of entertainment, that hook of sudden growth, this is the hook: The enemy will put in your path a teaching.
I have two preacher sons. One of them confessed to me, “Dad, I was that close to being sucked in because I fasted and prayed and didn’t see the growth I wanted to see, and I saw these others grow. That hook was there, and I almost bought it.”
That is something this Movement and every movement is going to have to look at and deal with: It is possible, through unholy ambition, to be transformed from a man of God, who has been seeking God and getting a word from heaven, to an unholy ambition and a tool of Satan. Let every pastor heed this warning: The moment you begin to consider the “competition,” seeds of accommodation will be planted in your heart. Suddenly, Satan will put in your path a wolf in sheep’s clothing—a man who will try to seduce you into ungodly ambition and achieving church growth at any cost. Yet the truth is, it could cost you your soul. The Right Formula
If you find the right formula, according to the accommodation gospel, you can succeed in any field of endeavor.
An editorial in the New York Times (March 1, 1998) was entitled, How To Manufacture a Best-Seller. It told the story of John Baldwin, a 53-year-old carpenter and a would-be writer, who had struggled for years to make a living from writing. He determined to become famous and rich overnight by writing a best-selling medical thriller. He studied five or six best thrillers. After 7 years’ research he found 10 steps to producing a best-selling medical novel. He honed it with some Hollywood writers and agents, and here is the 10-step formula he used:
The hero is an expert.
The villain is an expert.
You must watch all the villain’s activities over his shoulder.
The hero has a team of experts behind him, working in various fields.
Two or more on the team must fall in love.
Two or more on the team must die.
The villain must turn his attention from his initial goal to the team.
The villain and the hero must live to do battle again in the sequel.
All deaths must proceed from the individual to the group.
If the story bogs down, just kill somebody.
John Baldwin had the formula but no story, so he read of research by John Marr who was studying the epidemiological causes of the 10 plagues, hoping to explain their causes scientifically. The two men formed a partnership, and using Baldwin’s 10–step formula, together wrote a 640 page manuscript called The Eleventh Plague. Harper Collins bought it for almost $2 million.
Baldwin, who has no passion for writing, said, “If I get the formula, I’m going to be a multimillionaire and famous.” Well, he’s going to make another $3 million on the movie rights, and he’s laughing all the way to the bank. His philosophy: “If you have the right formula, you can be a success at anything.”
You see, this is the gospel of accommodation—the formula. You get the formula, you get what people want, and you can be a success. I am here to tell you that a formula-based, accommodating gospel is contrary to everything in the Scriptures. God’s Method
Certain men of God met at Antioch to send out men to preach the gospel and establish churches (Acts 13). Here is God’s method: 1. They ministered to the Lord and fasted. This was their planning session—worshiping, fasting, waiting on the Lord, and calling for direction from the Holy Ghost. They did not move until the Holy Ghost spoke. There were no formulas, no surveys, no door-to-door asking people what they wanted and then serving it to them. 2. They prayed—no strategizing, no network, and not one step until the Holy Ghost spoke His mind. Then and only then did they lay hands upon them, anoint them, and send them out in the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost.
Paul lived his whole religious life on religious formulas, and he said they didn’t work. He gave up on formulas and said, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul boasted unashamedly, “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). He was saying, “Gentlemen (he was talking to his peers), they want us to accommodate. The Jews are looking for signs in our gospel. The Greeks want the wisdom. They want to know how to cope, but I’m not compromising. There’s only one message. Our gospel has been and will be the Cross and its demands as well as its victories. As for me, I’m determined to preach nothing among you but Christ and Him crucified.” What the Gospel of Accommodation Does (1)
I see three things in the gospel of accommodation: 1. It is the accommodation of man’s love for pleasure.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers…of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1–4). The Greek for pleasure is “sensuous, lustful, voluptuous, exciting, gratifying, sensual pleasure.” If you move toward this gospel of accommodation, you are going to have to accommodate the people’s lust because they are not going to give up their love for excitement. They’ve made gods of sports, pleasure, and lust. Unless that is confronted by the gospel of Jesus Christ, unless there is a truth that comes forth, you have to accommodate this lust that is in the American lifestyle.
I was shocked by an article in the New York Times.1 Philip Wogaman, President Clinton’s pastor, said, “Sexual misconduct does not automatically render a leader immoral. Morality should also be judged by indicators like courage, concern for the poor, fostering world peace, running the economy responsibly, and furthering racial equality. Heterosexuality and homosexuality are merely cultural expressions.” In other words, Mr. Clinton has been told that he has enough good indicators to overrule another that would be immoral in his life.
God said that men who preach doctrines like these resist the truth; they are men of corrupt minds counterfeiting the faith.
In disbelief I watched a televised Sunday night service of a seeker-friendly church—seeker-friendly by its own admission. To a packed church where thousands attend, the pastor said, “This is fun night, a David Letterman night.” The youth pastor came out and did his monologue as David Letterman. Then they showed 10 of the most boring things teenagers do during preaching. Three of the 10 were throwing spitballs, yawning, and picking their noses. The crowd went crazy. After the service, the pastor brazenly announced, “We’re not here to offend people, but to make church comfortable for everyone.” I wept.
I ask you, how long do you think that audience would stay in church if the pastor was gripped by the Holy Ghost, convicted for “entertaining” people toward hell, and suddenly preached a message entitled, “Be sure your sins will find you out”? How long would people keep coming back if a gospel of holy living and separation from the world was preached? Two things would happen: (1) Those who are misguided, hungry, and didn’t know any better would weep and run to the altar. (2) Those who are judiciously blinded by their pleasures in madness would flee from the church and never come again. The church doors would close.
I keep this foremost in my mind and before my eyes, because every minister of the gospel one day has to face it when he stands before the Lord. He will say, “Son of man, I made thee a watchman. You were to hear the words of My mouth and give them warnings from Me. You were to tell the wicked, ‘Thou shalt surely die.’ And you gave them no warning nor spoke to warn the wicked to turn from their wicked ways to save their lives. These same wicked men died in their sins, but their blood I’ll require at your hands.” What the Gospel of Accommodation Does (2) 2. This gospel of accommodation accommodates all man’s aversion to self-denial.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is one of self-denial. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Self-denial is not something you give. It’s someone you give up—the giving up of yourself, giving up everything you are. It’s a living sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ to present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. God has every right to say to His church, “If you expect to give Me your body, your resurrected body, all through eternity, I have every right—it’s only reasonable of Me and your reasonable service—to ask your body why you’re here on earth. I want every part of you. I want you to be spiritually minded. I want to possess you.”
The gospel we preach must bring people under the total possession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, it’s a gospel of accommodation.
The seeker-friendly gospel accommodates the body. The human body belongs to Him. What we see in America is a neognosticism where you take your physical body on one side and do as you please as long as your spirit is right with God. This is coming even out of the White House, this dividing of personality. No, we are one personality, and it all belongs to Jesus Christ. This neognosticism is destroying the faith of many throughout the nation. What the Gospel of Accommodation Does (3) 3. There is an accommodation of man’s offense to the gospel.
The Scriptures state, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumblingstone and rock of offense.” Paul spoke of the offense of the Cross. This is the heart of God’s anger. We’re not called to the Cross but to go through the Cross—to experience the same thing Jesus did, not only coming to the Cross but dying and going into the grave with Jesus Christ and then being raised from the dead to a newness of life.
It’s cruel, pastor, to lead sinners to the Cross, tell them they are forgiven by faith, and then allow them to go back to their habits and lusts of the flesh, unchanged and still in the devil’s shackles. If the preaching of grace doesn’t have as its goal the producing of a walk of righteousness, then it’s another gospel, another Jesus.
I listened in horror to a man, who attended one of the largest seeker-friendly churches, being interviewed by CBS. He said, “I come to this church because I’m comfortable. I’m never made to feel uneasy. I bring my Jewish friends and my business friends, and I know nothing will ever be said that will offend them. The best part of it is, the whole thing only lasts an hour.”
Take it from me: You can get your big church and be one of the big boys, but it’s going to cost you your soul if you preach with a focus only on earthly things, rather than on the things of God.
I’ve lived in New York City 35 years. We have 103 nationalities from all walks of life—from the poorest to the richest. Probably 300 or more from the United Nations live there. But I look over a congregation (so does my dear friend, Jim Cymbala, in Brooklyn) and see men who have just walked in from the porno shops and are wild animals. I see a businessman friend who was CEO of a multimillion–dollar company, but he started snorting coke, lost everything, and is now a bum on the street. He sits in the congregation. A little 14-year-old girl with AIDS is up on 8th Avenue performing lewd acts before dirty old men. She comes to church and keeps saying, “Pastor Dave, I’ve got to get out. I’ve got to get help.”
I’m not about to put up a silly skit and preach a 15-minute message on how to cope to a multitude of people who are dying and going to hell. I tremble at the thought.
People don’t like to hear this, but we’re headed for perilous times—just a few years away from a collapse like the world has never known. When that happens, all who preached prosperity are going to disappear because the people will say, “Your gospel has failed me.” When that time comes, I want to grasp onto Jesus, and I want everyone I’ve preached to to have faith in the keeping power of Jesus Christ. I want them to know Him in His fullness. I want to know that I’ve done it in love, in grace, that they would know the difference between the holy and the profane.
May God, in Jesus’ name, spare the Assemblies of God forever. If I have ever given a prophetic message in my lifetime that God intended for a purpose, it is now.
Many are being deceived. If they are not awakened, what I warn you about will happen.
I pray that God will keep the Assemblies of God in its original purposes. In New York City, He has proved that the people come to hear a straight gospel, and thousands will come where the Word of God is being preached without compromise and yet with grace. May the young men who are discouraged in the Movement not try for a shortcut but be broken and on their faces before the Lord.
May we get our eyes off growth and onto a new revelation of who Jesus is.
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/agoodshepherd.html
God has made every under shepherd a watchman. There are many gates into any church. The gate of the bookstore, the gate of the music ministry, the gate of the pulpit, the gate of the bulletin board advertising upcoming so-called "Christian" events, the gate of the women's ministry, and the gate of people who come into the body but have an agenda to take people away from unity in the Faith. We need to lay our bodies down in the gate to protect the flock at the risk of our reputations, friendships, our livelihood, and perhaps even our lives. There are too many "hired hands" in the churches today who are not doing their job because they do not want to take a stand against anyone or anything. By their inability to make the hard stands they make themselves useless to the Good Shepherd, and allow great evil a foothold under their watch.
Those who are called to be servant under shepherds in the body of Christ must take that responsibility seriously. There are far too many who claim to be called to servant leadership, but demonstrate clearly that they are not qualified to be shepherds according to God's criteria. We need to be feeding the lambs and the sheep, bringing them to good pasture lands and water, grooming and clipping them, delivering new lambs, leading them and teaching them to stay together, going off after the wandering lost ones, and protecting the sheep in the field and in the f
http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=qDQAYzDf0WM=
Manner And Customs of Bible Lands
by
Fred H. Wight
Copyright @ 1953
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN -
Shepherd Life; The Care of Sheep and Goats
SHEEP IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL
LARGE NUMBER OF SHEEP IN PALESTINE
From the days of Abraham down to modern times, sheep have abounded in the Holy Land. The
Arabs of Bible lands have largely been dependent through the centuries upon sheep for their
living. The Jews of Bible times were first shepherds and then farmers, but they never abandoned
entirely their shepherd life. The large number of sheep in the land can be understood when it is
realized that Job had fourteen thousand sheep (Job 42:12), and that King Solomon at the
Temple's dedication, sacrificed one hundred and twenty thousand sheep (I Kings 8:63).
Fat-tailed sheep the variety mostly in use. The fat tail provides reserve strength for the sheep,
much like the hump does on a camel. There is energy in the tail. When the sheep is butchered,
this fatty tail is quite valuable. People will buy the tail, or part of it, and use it for frying. That
this variety of sheep was in use in ancient times is seen by references in the Pentateuch to the fat
tail of the sheep. "Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that
covereth the inwards" (Exodus 29:22). "And the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the
fat that is upon the inwards" (Leviticus 3:9).1
THE SHEPHERD
Youngest boy often the shepherd. The youngest boy in the family becomes shepherd of the sheep,
especially when the Arab peasant is a shepherd as well as being a farmer of grain. As the older
son grows up he transfers his energies from sheep raising to helping the father with sowing,
plowing, and harvesting the crops, and passes on the shepherd's task to the next younger boy.
And so the job is passed from older to younger until the youngest of all becomes the family
shepherd.2
Such must have been the custom when Jesse raised his family of eight sons. "And Samuel said
unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and
behold, he keepeth the sheep" (I Samuel 16:11). David, being the youngest of eight sons,
became the family shepherd. His experiences as a shepherd lad were often used to illustrate his
beautiful Psalm. His Shepherd Psalm has become the classic of the ages.
The shepherd's garb. The dress of an Arab shepherd lad is a simple tunic of cotton that is girded
around his body by a leathern girdle, and his outer garment, called aba, is often of camel's hair,
like that of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:4) The aba keeps the boy warm, is able to shed the rain,
and at night is used as a blanket in which to wrap himself.3
The shepherd's scrip. This is a bag made of dried skin. When he leaves home to go and tend the
sheep; his mother will put into it some bread, cheese, dried fruit, and probably some olives.4
It was into this bag that David placed the five smooth stones when he went to battle with the
giant Goliath (I Samuel 17:40).
The shepherd's rod It is like a policeman's club. It is often made of oak wood and has a knob on
the end of it. Into this knob nails are sometimes driven so as to make a better weapon. It is very
useful for protection, and no shepherd would be without it.5
It was no doubt the rod that David used in protecting his sheep from wild animals (I Samuel
17:34-36). He mentions both the rod and the staff in his Shepherd Psalm (Psalm 23:4).
The prophet Ezekiel refers to the custom of the sheep passing under the shepherd's rod for the
purpose of counting or inspecting them. "I will cause you to pass under the rod" (Ezekiel
20:37). The law of Moses speaks of tithing the flock for a specific purpose at such a time. "And
concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod,
the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord" (Leviticus 27:32). To do this Jewish writers tell us that
the shepherd allowed the animals to come by him as they would under the rod at a narrow
entrance. The head of the rod was dipped into some coloring fluid and was allowed to come
down upon every tenth one that passed by, thus marking him as the one to be given to the LORD
for sacrificial purposes.6
The sceptre, which the ancient kings of the East usually had with them, had its origin in the
shepherd's rod. Kings were considered to be shepherds of their people. Thus the sceptre, or rod,
of the king became a symbol of protection, power and authority. Young translates Micah 7:14:
"Rule thou thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine inheritance."7
The shepherd's staff. David mentions the staff along with the rod in his Shepherd Psalm (Psalm
23:4). It is a stick five or six feet long and sometimes but not always has a crook at the end of it.
It is used like Western men would use a cane or walking stick. It is useful in handling the sheep
and also for protection.8
The shepheras sling. It was a simple affair, being composed of two strings of sinew, rope, or
leather, and a receptacle of leather to receive the stone. It was swung a time or two around the
head and then was discharged by letting go one of the strings.9
The shepherd, in addition to using his sling against wild animals or robbers, found it very handy
in directing the sheep. A stone could be dropped close to a sheep that was lagging behind and
startle it into coming along with the rest of the flock. Or if one would get away in another
direction, then a stone would be slung so as to drop just beyond the straying sheep, and thus
bring him back. It was the shepherd's sling that young David used in slaying the giant Goliath (I
Samuel 17:40-49).
In her plea to David, Abigail was no doubt contrasting two items of his shepherd's equipment
when she said, "The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy
God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling"
(I Samuel 25:29). The "bundle of life" is understood as either "the pouch of life," or "the bag of
life," and most probably refers to the shepherd's scrip. David's enemies were to be like the stones
in his sling, being that which was to be thrown away; whereas David's soul would be like the
provisions in his scrip, which were to be kept and guarded by the LORD himself.10
The shepherd's flute. A dual-piped flute of reed is generally carried by the Arab shepherd. It is
true that minor strains of music come from this flute, but the heart of the shepherd is stirred, and
the sheep of the flock are refreshed by the invigorating music that comes from this simple
instrument. There can be little question but that David used such an instrument when he was
with his flock, in the same way the shepherd lads have done for centuries around Bethlehem. It is
of interest to know that the word in the Arabic language which is the equivalent of the Hebrew
word for "psalm" is mazmoor, which means "played on a pipe or flute."11
FOOD AND WATER FOR THE FLOCK
Food planned for the flock. One of the principal duties at all seasons of the year is for the
shepherd to plan food for his flock. In the springtime there is an abundance of green pasture, and
usually the sheep are allowed to graze near to the village where the shepherd's home is located.
After the grain is reaped, and the poor have had an opportunity to glean what is left for them,
then the shepherd brings in his flock, and the sheep feed on certain fresh growths, or dried
blades, or an occasional ear of grain that the reapers may have left, or was overlooked by the
gleaners. When this source of food is exhausted then the pasture is sought in other places. The
wilderness of Judea which is located along the western side of the Jordan Valley is carpeted in
the spring with a certain amount of grass and this turns into standing hay as the hot weather
comes, and this becomes food for the sheep during part of the summer.12
Scripture often refers to shepherds looking for pasture for their flocks. "And they went to the
entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks" (I
Chronicles 4:39). The Psalmist thanks GOD for the pasturage which the LORD as Shepherd
provides for His people: "So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for
ever" (Psalm 79:13).
In the late autumn or winter months, there are times when the shepherd can find no pasturage
that is available for his flock, and then he must become responsible for feeding the animals
himself. If the flock is small there may be times when it is stabled within the peasant house, and
the family lives on a sort of mezzanine floor above it.
At such seasons of the year the shepherd must provide the food. This is what Isaiah meant when
he said: "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd" (Isaiah 40:11). In some sections of Syria,
flocks are taken at this season to places in the mountain country, where the shepherd busies
himself with the bushy trees, cutting down branches that have green leaves or tender twigs, that
the sheep and goats can eat.13
Micah was probably speaking of this custom of providing food for the sheep, when he said:
"Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage" (Micah 7:14).
Water provided for the flock. In selecting pasturage for the flock, it is an absolute necessity that
water be provided, and that it be easy of access. Often flocks are stationed near to a stream of
running water. But the sheep are apt to be afraid of drinking water that moves quickly, or that is
agitated. Therefore the shepherd looks for pools of water, or provides some quiet place where
they may quench their thirst. How appropriate then are the words concerning the divine
Shepherd: "He leadeth me beside the still waters" (Psalm 23:2). But when all such watering
places are dried up in the heat of summer, as is often the case in Palestine, then wells are used.
Usually a large rock is placed over the mouth of the well and this must be removed, as Jacob did,
before the sheep can be watered (Genesis 29:8-10). Noontide is usually the time for watering the
sheep. When Jacob was at the well, he said, "Lo, it is yet high day . . . water ye the sheep"
(Genesis 29:7) The matter of water supply plays an important part in locating the flock for
pasturage.14
THE SHEEPFOLD
A simple improvised sheepfold. Such is sometimes made by the shepherd when he is a distance
from his home, or especially when he may be in the territory of mountains. It is a temporary
affair that can be taken down easily when it comes time to move on to another location. A fence
is built of tangled thorn bushes or rude bowers. This is all the protection that is needed, as the
shepherds often sleep with their flocks when the weather permits. Ezekiel mentions such a
sheepfold when he predicts the future of Israel: "I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon
the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be" (Ezekiel 34:14).15
Sheepcotes in connection with caves. There are many caves in the Holy Land, and when one of
these is available it is utilized as a sheepcote. During stormy weather, and at night, the sheep
retreat into the cave, but at other times they are kept in the enclosure immediately in front of the
cave's mouth. This enclosure is generally constructed of loose stones piled up in a circular wall,
with thorns on the top.16
The cave into which King Saul went to rest, and David and his men were already within it, was a
cavern with a fold built in connection with it. "And he came to the sheep cotes by the way,
where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet" (I Samuel 24:3).
More permanent sheepfolds. Such shelters are usually built by the shepherd in a valley, or else
on the sunny side of a hill where there is protection from cold winds. This fold is a low building
with arches in front of it, and a wall forming an outdoor enclosure, joining the building. When
the weather is mild, the sheep and goats are allowed to be in the enclosure during the night, but if
the weather is stormy, or the evenings are cold, then the flock is shut up in the interior part of the
fold, with its protection of roof and walls. The walls of the enclosure are about three feet wide at
the bottom, and become narrower at the top. They are from four to six feet high. Large stones are
used in constructing the outsides of the wall, and they are also placed on the top, and then the
center is filled with smaller pieces of stone, of which there is much in the land. Sharp, thorn
bushes are put on the top of this wall to protect the sheep from wild animals or robbers. There is
a gate guarded by a watchman.17
JESUS made reference to the familiar sheepfold of Palestine when He spoke those memorable
words of His: "He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some
other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the
shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter [watchman] openeth. (John 10:1-3).
HANDLING AND GATHERING THE SHEEP
Several flocks sometimes allowed to mix. More than one flock may be kept in the same fold, and
often flocks are mixed while being watered at a well. For the time being, no attempt is made to
separate them. Jacob saw such a mixture of flocks: "Then Jacob went on his journey, and
came into the land of the people of the East. And he looked, and behold, a well in the field,
and lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it" (Genesis 29:1-3).18
Ability to separate the sheep. When it becomes necessary to separate several flocks of sheep, one
shepherd after another will stand up and call out: "Tahhoo! Tahhoo!" or a similar call of his own
choosing. The sheep lift up their heads, and after a general scramble, begin following each one
his own shepherd. They are thoroughly familiar with their own shepherd's tone of voice.
Strangers have often used the same call, but their attempts to get the sheep to follow them always
fail.19
The words of JESUS are indeed true to Eastern shepherd life when he said: "The sheep follow
him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for
they know not the voice of strangers" (John 10:4,5).
Gathering scattered sheep. The shepherd knows how to gather sheep that have been scattered.
Especially is this necessary when the sheep must be led back to the fold, or when they are to be
guided to another pasture. It is accomplished by his standing in the center of his scattered sheep,
and giving them the call which serves as the notes of a bugle do to an army of men. Pebbles are
sent by means of his slingshot in the direction of and beyond members of the flock that fail to
heed the call, in order to get their attention and then bring them back. He does not commence to
lead them away until he knows they are all there.20
Ezekiel predicts that the LORD as Shepherd of Israel will one day gather His people that have
been scattered, and will bring them back to their own land of Palestine.
"As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are
scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they
have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people,
and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them
upon the mountains of Israel" (Ezekiel 34:12,13).
The use of dogs. Some shepherds make use of dogs. When dogs are possessed, they are of value
in handling the flock. When traveling, the shepherd usually walks ahead, and the dogs are
allowed to bring up the rear. They bark furiously at any intruder among them, and therefore warn
of possible danger to the flock. When the sheep are in the fold, then the dogs become the
guardians against any possible attack by an enemy. Many a foe of the sheep has been frightened
away by the defiant barking of these animals.21
The patriarch Job spoke of shepherd dogs: "They that are younger than I have me in derision,
whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock" (Job 30:1).
INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SHEPHERD AND SHEEP
When we learn of the intimate relationship that exists between the shepherd and his sheep, the
figure of the LORD as a Shepherd of His people takes on new meaning.
Giving names to the sheep. JESUS said concerning the shepherd of his day: "He calleth his own
sheep by name" (John 10:3). Today, the eastern shepherd delights to give names to certain of
his sheep, and if his flock is not too large, all of his sheep may be given names. He knows them
by means of certain individual characteristics. He names one: "Pure White"; another, "Striped";
another, "Black"; another, "Brown"; and still another, "Gray-eared." All this indicates the tender
affection which he has for every one of his flock.22
Guidance for the sheep. The Eastern shepherd never drives his sheep as does the Western
shepherd. He always leads them, often going before them. "And when he putteth forth his own
sheep, he goeth before them" (John 10:4). This does not mean that the shepherd is always in
front of his sheep. Although he may be usually in that position when traveling, he often walks by
their side, and sometimes follows behind, especially if the flock is headed for the fold in the
evening. From the rear he can gather any stragglers, and protect such from a sly attack from a
wild animal. If the flock is a large one, the shepherd will be in front, and a heifer will follow
behind.23
Isaiah speaks of the omnipresent LORD in a double relationship to His people: "For ye shall not
go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the GOD of Israel
will be your rereward [rear guard]" (Isaiah 52:12).
The skill of the shepherd, and personal relationship to them is clearly seen when he guides his
sheep along narrow paths. The Shepherd Psalm says: "He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness" (Psalm 23:3). The grain fields are seldom fenced or hedged in Bible lands, and
sometimes only a narrow path runs between the pasture and these fields. The sheep are forbidden
to eat in the fields where crops are growing. Thus in guiding the sheep along such a path, the
shepherd must not allow any of the animals to get into the forbidden area, because if he does, he
must pay damages to the owner of the grain. One Syrian shepherd has been known to guide a
flock of one hundred fifty sheep without any help, along such a narrow path for quite a distance,
without letting a single sheep go where he was not allowed to go.24
Straying sheep restored. It is very important that sheep should not be allowed to stray away from
the flock, because when by themselves they are utterly helpless. In such a condition, they
become bewildered, for they have no sense at all of locality. And if they do stray away, they
must be brought back.25
The Psalmist prayed the prayer: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant"
(Psalm 119:176). The prophet Isaiah compared man's waywardness to that of sheep: "All we like
sheep have gone astray" (Isaiah 53:6). David sang of his divine Shepherd: "He restoreth my
soul" (Psalm 23:3, cf. John 10).
Playing with the sheep. The shepherd is so constantly with his sheep that sometimes his life with
them becomes monotonous. Therefore he will occasionally play with them. He does this by
pretending to run away from his sheep, and they will soon overtake him, and completely
surround him, gamboling with great delight.26
Sometimes GOD's people think He forsakes them when trouble comes their way. They say: "the
LORD hath forsaken me" (Isaiah 49:14). But actually their divine Shepherd says to them: "I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).
Intimate knowledge of the sheep. The shepherd is deeply interested in every single one of his
flock. Some of them may be given pet names because of incidents connected with them. They
are usually counted each evening as they enter the fold, but sometimes the shepherd dispenses
with the counting, for he is able to feel the absence of anyone of his sheep. With one sheep gone,
something is felt to be missing from the appearance of the entire flock. One shepherd in the
Lebanon district was asked if he always counted his sheep each evening. He replied in the
negative, and then was asked how then he knew if all his sheep were present. This was his reply:
"Master, if you were to put a cloth over my eyes, and bring me any sheep and only let me put
hands on its face, I could tell in a moment if it was mine or not."27
When H. R. P. Dickson visited the desert Arabs, he witnessed an event that revealed the amazing
knowledge which some of them have of their sheep. One evening, shortly after dark, an Arab
shepherd began to call out one by one the names of his fifty-one mother sheep, and was able to
pick out each one's lamb, and restore it to its mother to suckle. To do this in the light would be a
feat for many shepherds, but this was done in complete darkness, and in the midst of the noise
coming from the ewes crying for their lambs, and the lambs crying for their mothers.28
But no Oriental shepherd ever had a more intimate knowledge of his sheep than JESUS our great
Shepherd has of those who belong to His flock. He once said of Himself: "I am the good
shepherd, and know my sheep" (John 10:14).
The difference between the shepherd and the hireling. Concerning the hireling, JESUS said:
"The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep" (John 10:13).
When the flock is small, the shepherd handles his sheep without any help, but if the flock
becomes too large, then it becomes necessary for him to hire someone to help him with the
sheep. One man can usually handle from fifty to one hundred sheep, but when he has more than
one hundred, he usually seeks a helper. The hireling does not usually have the personal interest
in the sheep that the shepherd has, and so cannot always be trusted to defend the flock in the way
the shepherd himself would do.29
"He that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf
coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the
sheep" (John 10:12).
CARING FOR THE SHEEP IN SPECIAL TIMES OF NEED
The love of the shepherd for his sheep is best seen when times of special need call forth unusual
acts of care for members of the flock.
Crossing a stream of water. This process is most interesting. The shepherd leads the way into the
water and across the stream. Those favored sheep who always keep hard by the shepherd, plunge
boldly into the water, and are soon across. Others of the flock enter the stream with hesitation
and alarm. Not being close to their guide, they may miss the fording place and be carried down
the river a distance, but will probably be able to clamber ashore. The little lambs may be driven
into the water by the dogs, and they are heard to bleat pitifully as they leap and plunge. Some
manage to get across, but if one is swept away, then the shepherd leaps quickly into the stream
and rescues it, carrying it in his bosom to the shore. When they all arrive over the stream, the
lambs will gambol about with joy, and the sheep will gather around their shepherd as if to
express their thankfulness to him.30
Our divine Shepherd has a word of encouragement for all His sheep who must pass through
streams of affliction: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee" (Isaiah 43:2).
Special care of baby lambs, and sheep with young ones. When lambing time comes, the shepherd
must take great care of his flock. The task is made more difficult because it so often becomes
necessary to move to a new location to find pasturage. The sheep that are soon to become
mothers, as well as those with their young ones, must be kept close to the shepherd while in
transit. Little helpless lambs that cannot keep up with the rest of the flock, are carried in the
bosom of his undergarment, the girdle turning it into a pocket.31
Isaiah pictures this activity in his famous passage: "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he
shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead
those that are with young" (Isaiah 40:11).
Care of sick or wounded sheep. The shepherd is always on the lookout for members of his flock
that need personal attention. Sometimes a lamb suffers from the rays of the sun, or its body may
have been badly scratched by some thornbush. The most common remedy he uses with these
sheep is olive oil, a supply of which he carries in a ram's hom.32
Perhaps David was thinking of such an experience when he wrote of the LORD, "Thou
anointest my head with oil" (Psalm 23:5).
Watching sheep at night. In weather that permits, the shepherds often keep their flocks in the
open country. One group of shepherds provided simple sleeping places for themselves by placing
"a number of oblong circles of stones, inside of which rushes were collected for bedding,
according to the Bedouin fashion in the desert. These simple beds were arranged in a circle, and
sticks and roots were collected at the center for a fire."33
With this arrangement they were able to keep watch over their sheep by night. It was in such a
way as this that the Bethlehem shepherds took turns watching and sleeping on the hills outside
Bethlehem, when the angels visited them announcing the Saviour's birth. "And there were in
the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night"
(Luke 2:8). When Jacob cared for Laban's sheep, he spent many a night in the out-of-doors,
looking after the flock. "Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by
night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes" (Genesis 31:40).
Protection of sheep from robbers and wild animals. The sheep need to be guarded against
robbers not only when they are in the open country, but also when they are in the fold. The
bandits of Palestine are not apt to pick locks, but some of them may manage to climb up over the
wall, and get into the fold, where they cut the throats of as many of the animals as possible and
then sling them over the wall to others of their band, and all of them attempt to escape without
being caught.34
JESUS described just such operations: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and
to destroy" (John 10:10). The shepherd must be on guard constantly for such an emergency, and
must be ready for quick action to protect his rights in the flock.
The wild animals of Palestine today include wolves, panthers, hyenas, and jackals. The lion has
not lived in the land since the days of the Crusaders. The last bear was killed over half a century
ago. David as a shepherd lad experienced the coming of a lion and of a bear against his flock,
and by the LORD's help, he was able to slay both of them (I Samuel 17:3437). Amos tells of a
shepherd attempting to rescue one of the flock from the lion's mouth: "As the shepherd taketh
out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear" (Amos 3:12).
One experienced Syrian shepherd is reported to have followed a hyena to his lair and compelled
the animal to give up his prey. He won his victory over the wild beast by himself howling in
characteristic fashion, striking on rocks with his heavy staff, and flinging deadly stones with his
slingshot. The sheep was then carried in his arms back to the fold.35
The faithful shepherd must be willing to risk his life for the sake of the flock, and perhaps give
his life for them. As our Good Shepherd JESUS not only risked his life for us, He actually gave
Himself on our behalf. He said: "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life
for the sheep" (John 10:11).
Seeking and finding lost sheep. Being responsible for anything that happens to one of his flock,
the Eastern shepherd will spend hours if necessary in traversing the wilderness or mountain side,
in search of a sheep that has strayed away and is lost. After weary hours of hunting for it, it will
usually be found in some waterless hollow in the wilderness, or in some desolate mountain
ravine. The exhausted creature will be borne home on the shoulders of the sturdy shepherd.30
And what happens then is best described by the Parable of JESUS: "And when he cometh
home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for
I have found my sheep which was lost" (Luke 15:6).
SHEEP PRODUCTS
Sheep in Palestine and vicinity have always been valuable because of the important products that
are derived from them.
Wool. Wool has been a valuable product in Bible lands. In ancient times most of the clothing
which the Israelites wore was made of wool. The large outer garment or mantle was usually
woolen. The shearing months in Palestine are May and June.37
The sheep are washed before they are sheared. Solomon's Song speaks of "sheep that are even
shorn, which came up from the washing" (Song of Solomon 4:2). The color of the wool varies
somewhat according to the color of the animal shorn, but white wool is considered to be the most
valuable. The prophet compares sins forgiven with the whiteness of wool (Isaiah 1:18).
"Sheepskins. From ancient times to modern days it has often been customary for pastoral people
to make for themselves coats out of the skins of the sheep with wool still adhering to the skins.
The Epistle to the Hebrews tells of the persecuted heroes of faith, saying of some of them that
they "wandered about in sheepskins" (Hebrews 11:37). The skin of sheep was at times tanned
and then used as leather, but the skin of the goats was superior to that of sheep for this purpose.38
Sheep for meat or sacrificial purposes, Sheep were often eaten when meat was desired. For the
ordinary person, meat was not on the daily menu, but was only used on special occasions of
rejoicing, as when a feast was prepared, a wedding supper, or when a guest of honor was being
entertained. The animal was usually cooked as soon as it was killed, and then was often boiled,
although sometimes it was roasted.39
The sheep was used in Bible times more than any other animal for sacrificial purposes. A young
male lamb was used in most cases as a thanksgiving offering, as atonement for transgression, or
as redemption of a more valuable animal.
The offering of the Passover Lamb was the most important religious act of the year. This lamb
had to be a male, which was selected after minute examination, in order that it be free from any
blemish, and it was to be a first year lamb. It was killed on the fourteenth of the month Abib
(after the Babylonian captivity Nisan, about the equivalent of our April), and the blood was
sprinkled with hyssop.
In Egypt the blood was sprinkled on the lintels and doorposts of the houses, but in Canaan it was
sprinkled on the altar. The meat was roasted with fire, rather than boiled, and not a bone was
broken, as was customary when it was boiled. It was eaten by the entire household in the spirit of
haste, as if a journey was being started. Anything left of it was burned with fire, and not left over
for the next day.40
The Feast of the Passover was the most important of all the Jewish annual feasts, and formed the
background for the Christian ordinance of the LORD's Supper.(cf. Exodus 12; Leviticus 23:5 ff.;
Matthew 26:17-29).
Milk. Milk from the sheep is especially rich, and in the Orient is considered to be of more value
than that of the cattle. Milk is seldom drunk in its fresh condition, but rather is to made into
"leben," or into cheese. Buttermilk is also much use.
Rams' horns. The horns of the rams are considered to be of great value. In many Western lands,
growers of sheep have endeavored to develop a hornless breed, but in the East the horns are
thought of as an important part of the animal. The ram's horn has been used chiefly as a vessel in
which liquids have been carried. For carrying purposes a wooden plug is driven into the large
end of the horn so as to close it, and sometimes it is covered with raw hide to hold it in place.
The small part of the pointed end of the horn is cut off, and the opening closed with a stopper.
The ram's horn was used in Bible times to carry oil.41
Samuel was told to take his horn of oil and anoint David to be the future king (I Samuel 16:1).
Solomon was anointed king by the oil in the horn of Zadok the priest (I Kings 1:39). Reference
has already been made to the shepherd's use of oil with his sheep, and this was carried in a ram's
horn.
The ram's horn was also made into a trumpet and has been called by the Jews, Shofar. The
Mosaic Law called for the sounding of rams' horns at certain times. Each year of Jubilee was
ushered in by the blowing of these horns. "Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to
sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the
trumpet sound throughout all your land" (Leviticus 25:9).
In connection with the Feast of Trumpets there was to be "a day of blowing the trumpets"
(Numbers 29:1). The most famous use of the rams' horns was in connection with the encircling
and destruction of the city of Jericho by Joshua's army. "And seven priests shall bear before
the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns; and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven
times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets" (Joshua 6:4). The trumpets were also
used as signals to gather the people (Jeremiah 4:5).
The ram's horn trumpet measures about eighteen inches long and is in one piece. It is made from
the left horn of the fat-tailed sheep, which is "not spiral but flattish, curved backwards, and
forming nearly a circle, the point passing under the ear. This structure, added to the large size of
the horn, adapts it well for its purpose. In order to bring it to the proper shape, the horn is
softened by heat (i.e. hot water) and then modeled into the very form which was used by the
Jewish priests."42
GOATS
Care of goats - leadership ability. There are many goats being cared for by Bible land shepherds.
A shepherd looks after them much as he would care for a flock of sheep. Sometimes the goats
belong to one flock along with the sheep, and in this case:
It is usually a he-goat that is the special leader of the whole (Jeremiah 50:8; Proverbs 30:31),
walking before it as gravely as a sexton before the white flock of a church choir. It is from this
custom that Isaiah speaks of kings as "the he-goats of the earth" (Isaiah 14:9, Margin), a name
applied to them by Zechariah also (Zechariah 10:3), and to Alexander the Great by Daniel, who
describes him as a he-goat from the west, with a notable horn between his eyes (Daniel 8:5): a
fitting symbol of his irresistible power at the head of the Macedonian army.43
How goats differ from sheep. Most of the Palestinian and Syrian sheep are white, whereas most
of the goats are black. The goats like the slopes of the rocky mountains, whereas the sheep prefer
the plains or mountain valleys. The goats are especially fond of young leaves of trees, but the
sheep would rather have grass.
Goats will feed during all the day without the heat of summer affecting them; but when the
sunshine is hot, the sheep will lie down under a tree, or in the shade of a rock, or in a rude shelter
prepared by the shepherd for that purpose. Song of Solomon makes mention of this rest time for
the sheep: "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest
thy flock to rest at noon" (Song of Solomon 1:7). The goats are bolder, more venturesome,
more playful, more apt to clamber to dangerous places, more apt to break into the grainfields,
more headstrong, more vigorous, and more difficult to control than are the sheep.44
Separating goats from sheep. At certain times it becomes necessary to separate the goats from
the sheep, although they may be cared for by the same shepherd that cares for the sheep. They do
not graze well together, and so it frequently becomes necessary to keep them apart from the
sheep while they are grazing. Dr. John A. Broadus, when visiting Palestine, reported seeing a
shepherd leading his flock of white sheep and black goats all mingled together. When he turned
into a valley, having led them across the Plain of Sharon, he turned around and faced his flock:
"When a sheep came up, he tapped it with his long staff on the right side of the head, and it
quickly moved off to his right; a goat he tapped on the other side, and it went to his left."45
This is the picture the Saviour had in mind when he spoke the solemn words: "And before him
shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats
on the left" (Matthew 25:32-33).
Use of goat's milk. The milk derived from goats is especially excellent and rich. Most of the
"leben" used today and in Bible times is made from goat's milk. Buttermilk and cheese are also
utilized as milk products. The book of Proverbs speaks of the importance of goat's milk to the
Hebrew people: "Thou shalt have goat's milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy
household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens" (Proverbs 27:27).
Use of the meat of kids. The meat of an adult male goat is of course rather tough, and so not
ordinarily used. The female goats are seldom killed because they are needed to increase the
flock. Thus it is the meat of the young male kid that is largely used in Bible lands. In Old
Testament times, when visitors were entertained, often a kid was made ready for the meal (cf.
Judges 6:19). The prevalence of the flesh of kids in CHRIST's day is brought out by the
reference of the Prodigal's brother. "And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many
years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou
never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends" (Luke 15:29).
There is sarcasm in this reproval, for the kid was of less value at a banquet than would have been
a lamb, and considerably inferior to the fatted calf, which was killed and served on only special
occasions to do honor to a very special guest. The brother was objecting to the father serving the
fatted calf at the banquet honoring the return of the Prodigal, whereas he as the elder brother had
not been given even a kid to make merry with his friends.46
Use of goats' hair and goats' skin. The hair of the goat was considered to be of great value to the
Hebrew people. When the materials were brought for the construction of the Tabernacle in the
Wilderness, only the finest and the costliest that could be obtained were accepted; and goats' hair
was included in the list of materials the children of Israel offered unto the LORD (See Exodus
35:23). Tabernacle curtains were made of goats' hair (Exodus 26:7). The tents of the Bedouin
Arabs are made of goats' hair, just as were similar dwellings in Old and New Testament times.
Goats' skins have been used widely in Bible lands for leather, and are considered to be better for
this purpose than the skin of sheep. This leather is used in making the Oriental "bottle" for
carrying or storing water or other liquids.
Use of goats for sacrifices. The Levitical Code often allowed the Hebrews a choice of a sheep or
of a goat for the offering. "If his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the
goats, for a burnt sacrifice" (Leviticus 1:10). On the Day of Atonement, it was required that a
goat be sacrificed by the high priest, and that another goat should be "the scapegoat." "And the
goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go
the goat in the wilderness" (Leviticus 16:22). Moses had ordered that the scapegoat should be
taken out into the wilderness and turned loose. But in order to prevent its return to Jerusalem, it
became customary to lead the creature to the height of a mountain, where it was pushed over and
would be certainly killed.47
This was the symbol of the forgiveness of sin through the sacrifice of CHRIST. Although John
the Baptist spoke of JESUS as the Lamb of GOD, he may have had in mind also the picture of
the scapegoat when he said: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world" (John 1:29).
1. "Sheep," The People's Bible Encyclopedia, Charles R. Barnes, ed., pp. 63,64.
2. John D. Whiting, "Among the Bethlehem Shepherds," The National Geographic Magazine,
December, 1926, p. 729. This article has numerous photographs accompanying it that illustrate
Bible-land shepherd life.
3. Loc. cit.
4. G. Robinson Lees, Village Life in Palestine, p. 164.
5. CE. George M. Mackie, Bible Manners and Customs, p. 31.
6. James Neil, Everyday Life in the Holy Land, pp. 33,34.
7. See "Scepter," The People's Bible Encyclopedia, p. 981.
8. Mackie, op. cit., p. 31.
9. "The Sling," "The People's Bible Encyclopedia," p. 85.
10. Mackie, op. cit., p. 33.
11. See Whiting, op. cit., p. 730.
12. Ibid., pp. 736-746.
13. W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book, Vol. II, p. 595.
14. J. G. Wood, Bible Animals, pp. 149, 150.
15. CE. Abraham Rihbany's, The Syrian CHRIST, pp. 295, 296. Also Thomson, op. cit., Vol. II,
p. 593.
16. Thomson, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 313.
17. James Neil, Pictured Palestine, pp. 248, 249; also Thomson, op. cit., Vo1. II, p. 591.
18. Lees, op. cit., p. 170.
19. Ibid., pp. 170-173.
20. Rihbany, op. cit., p. 303.
21. Thomson, op. cit., Vol. II, p. 593; also Wood, op. cit., p. 158.
22. Rihbany, op. cit., p. 299.
23. Ibid., pp. 299, 300.
24. Ibid., pp. 301,302.
25. Thomson, op. cit., Vol. II, p. 595.
26. Cunningham Geikie, The Holy Land and the Bible, Vol. I, p. 222.
27. Mackie, op. cit., p. 35.
28. H. R. P. Dickson, The Arab of the Desert, pp. 403, 404.
29. Geikie, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 219.
30. Thomson, op. cit., Vol. III, pp. 25, 26.
31. Geikie, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 223.
32. Whiting, op. cit., p. 753.
33. H. B. Tristram, The Land of Israel, p. 638.
34. Whiting, op. cit., p. 745.
35. Rihbany, op. cit., pp. 307, 308.
36. Geikie, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 228.
37. Mackie, op. cit., p. 36.
38. Wood, op. cit., p. 172.
39. Ibid., pp. 163, 164.
40. Ibid., pp. 177, 178.
41. Ibid., pp. 172, 173.
42. Ibid., pp. 174, 175.
43. Geikie, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 232.
44. Geikie, op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 224, 225; also Edwin W. Rice, Orientalisms in Bible Lands, p.
167.
45. John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Vol. I, An American Commentary
on the New Testament), p. 509, footnote 1. (Philadelphia: American Baptist publication Society,
1886.)
46. Wood, op. cit., pp. 189, 190.
47. Geikie, op. cit., Vol. II, pp. 130, 131.
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