Lost Sheep

“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’ ” Isaiah 6:8

The bible refers to us as sheep. I think that the bible is on to something. (Possibly the grandest understatement in history.)

Sheep are constantly losing their way and they are in constant need of a shepherd's care to bring them back into the fold.

"Like sheep, we have gone astray, each one of us turning our own way." (Isa 53:6)

God tells us to go one way and we immediately turn the other. It's not really a new problem you know.

Jeremiah chapters 42 through 44 tells the story of some Israelite sheep. Israel had been unfaithful to God for many years. God was (and is) slow to anger. They continued worshiping other gods and ignoring God. So God sent a prophet, Jeremiah, to call his children back. The prophet repeated the message from God, “Come back home, I want you with me. But if you do not, I will turn you over to a foreign king and a foreign nation. Come back." They didn’t.

Some time later, the people came to Jeremiah seeking guidance as they were thinking about packing up and fleeing to Egypt: "Please pray to God for us. Only a few of us are left from the last battle and we are unsure of what to do. We need help. Should we flee to Egypt or should we stay where we are? We need you to pray for direction." The Israelites continued to petition Jeremiah:

"Pray that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go and the thing that we should do. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God that it may be well with us.”

Jeremiah prayed and then he told the people God's message: “Remain where you are. God will build you up and not pull you down; God will plant you and not pluck you up… Do not fear the king of Babylon (the battle that was coming) for God says, 'I am with you. I will save you and deliver you from this land. I will grant you mercy.' ”

God gave them clear direction and He addresses their potential fear. He showed mercy to his children in the middle of their situation. That's what God does.

Then Jeremiah continues by telling the Israelites God's message if they choose to leave: “But if you say, ’We will not remain this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. If you go to live in Egypt then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. There will be no survivors. Do not go to Egypt.” (42:10-22)

God gave them clear direction and He addressed the consequences.

Then the people… the same group who said, “Help us. We need direction. What is it we should do Jeremiah, whether good or bad, we will obey.” Those same people responded with the following: “You are telling a lie. (43:3) We will not listen to you. (44:16) But we will keep doing the same things that we have been doing all of these years, worshiping false gods and idols because life has been good. (44:17-19)

So they went to live in Egypt and they never changed their lives. Consequently, Egypt was taken by Babylon. (Ezek. Chapters 30-32. Also see Battle of Carchemish in history.)

The Israelites stayed because they were comfortable. They were sheep who refused the direction of a shepherd.

In the sixth chapter of Isaiah we see another timid, fragile sheep offer a different response when approached by The Shepherd. Isaiah is confronted with the presence of our mighty God whose voice shook the foundations of the earth. God was calling Isaiah to go and proclaim the name of the Lord.

Once again, God gave a clear message. Isaiah was frightened to death, but instead of arguing with God or proclaiming God to be a liar like the Israelites, Isaiah submitted to God in the midst of his fear. “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’ ” Isaiah 6:8

Isaiah went even though he was uncomfortable. The Israelites left because they wanted to be comfortable.

The Israelites left and were conquered and slain by the enemy. They shook in fear… as Nebechadnezzer and the Babylonian army approached… the voice of Jeremiah surely rang in their ears as his words had been passed on from fathers and mothers to sons and daughters, perhaps mockingly at first- but surely it sounded like salt in their wounds as the enemy pressed in, ‘Do not go to Egypt. Stay where you are and I will care for you… Do not go to Egypt.’ They died in Egypt.

Isaiah followed God's call and preached God’s word which included hope in a coming Messiah (Isa 35:1-4, 8-10; Isa 40:9-11; Isa 52:7-10). While he preached God calmed his fears. (Is 41:10).

Isaiah said, “Here I am, send me.” The Israelites said, “Send me here.”

As CS Lewis says, “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right then, have it your way.’ “

The question isn’t about whether we should stay where we are in life or go somewhere grand. The question is, “Will we listen to God when and where He speaks to us?” Have we surrendered to God in such a way that His will for our lives is our deepest desire.

Let's face it, deep down we are all spiritual sheep. We are defenseless creatures against our own desire to sin. We wander away and we need the protection of our Shepherd. It doesn't really matter where we are or where we go, it matters who we are submitting to. The Good Shepherd loves us and cares for us constantly.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I know my own and my own know me. I lay down my life for the sheep." (John 10:11-15)

For a deeper dive, check out the tenth chapter of John.