A shepherd, in biblical language, is one who cares for the people of God spiritually as an actual shepherd cares for his sheep physically. Shepherds, who oversee God’s people, are chosen and called by God. The Lord prepares, ordains, and gifts the men He desires to spiritually care for His people. Shepherds are entrusted by God with the challenging, risky, joyful task of guiding, directing, correcting, rebuking, exhorting, and discipling God’s people to be conformed to Christ! The true shepherd is one who has given his life to fulfill the task before him, and has no greater joy than to fulfill it. He is known and identified easily by his primary activity and the matter of this activity.
A shepherd after God’s own heart spends most of his life feeding the flock of God. Just as sheep need to graze in lush surroundings and chew the minerals from the grasses for nourishment, so the people of God need to feast often upon the Word of God and meditate upon it deeply! Therefore, you will most often find a shepherd after God’s own heart preaching/teaching the Word or studying it in order to preach/teach it!
This shepherd is known by the kind of meals he prepares from the Word. A shepherd is not satisfied with feeding his flock nutritionally void weeds. He searches for the rich substance. Neither is God’s shepherd satisfied with feeding the flock sermonettes filled with fluff and filler, having no substance. Rather he will set before them a three-course meal filled with the treasures, insights, doctrines, and applications of the Word. He knows they need it!
Jer 3:15 “And I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
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