their flocks

December 26, 2018

The shepherds praise God (Lk 2:20-2:20)

“The shepherds

Returned.

They glorified God.

They praised God

For all they had heard

And seen,

Just as it had been told

To them.”

 

καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν οἱ ποιμένες δοξάζοντες καὶ αἰνοῦντες τὸν Θεὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἤκουσαν καὶ εἶδον καθὼς ἐλαλήθη πρὸς αὐτούς.

 

Luke said that these shepherds returned to their flocks of sheep (καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν οἱ ποιμένες).  They glorified (δοξάζοντες) and praised God (καὶ αἰνοῦντες τὸν Θεὸν) for all they had heard (ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἤκουσαν) and seen (καὶ εἶδον), just as it had been told to them (καθὼς ἐλαλήθη πρὸς αὐτούς).  These shepherds appear to be stand-ins for the people of Israel.  They had all this information about the baby child Messiah, Christ, Savior, and Lord.  They had actually seen him as they had glorified and praised God.  Nevertheless, they seemed to go about their business, as if nothing had happened.

April 7, 2018

The herdsmen in the city (Mt 8:33-8:33)

“The swine herdsmen ran off.

They went into the town.

They told

The whole story

About what had happened

To the demoniacs.”

 

οἱ δὲ βόσκοντες ἔφυγον, καὶ ἀπελθόντες εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπήγγειλαν πάντα καὶ τὰ τῶν δαιμονιζομένων.

 

All three synoptic gospels. Mark, chapter 5;14, and Luke, chapter 8:34, and Matthew here, have the herdsmen of these pigs tell everybody in the area what happened, with slight nuances in each story.  The shepherds of these herds of pigs ran off (οἱ δὲ βόσκοντες ἔφυγον) when they saw what had happened to their flocks.  They went into the town (καὶ ἀπελθόντες εἰς τὴν πόλιν), probably Gadara.  Then they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs (ἀπήγγειλαν πάντα καὶ τὰ τῶν δαιμονιζομένων) and their herd of pigs.  They were without a job.

January 24, 2018

The curse for the worthless shepherd (Zech 11:17-10:17)

“Cursed be my worthless shepherd!

They desert the flock!

May the sword

Strike his arm!

May the sword

Strike his right eye!

Let his arm

Be completely withered!

Let his right eye be

Utterly blinded!’”

Yahweh had a curse for the worthless shepherds, who had deserted their flocks.  Yahweh wanted the sword to strike their arms and right eyes.  Yahweh wanted their arms withered and their eyes blinded.

October 2, 2017

The failure of Ephraim (Hos 5:5-5:7)

“Israel’s pride

Testifies against him.

Ephraim stumbles

In his guilt.

Judah also shall stumble

With them.

With their flocks,

With their herds,

They shall go

To seek Yahweh.

But they will not find him,

He has withdrawn

From them.

They have dealt faithlessly

With Yahweh.

They have borne

Illegitimate children.

Now the new moon

Shall devour them

With their fields.”

Israel’s pride would testify against them. Ephraim would stumble with guilt. But Judah would also stumble with them. They would go with their flocks and herds seeking Yahweh, but they would not find him. Yahweh has withdrawn from them, because they did not treat Yahweh faithfully. They, thus, bore illegitimate children, so that the new moon festivals would devour them with their fields.

June 13, 2017

Yahweh will search for his scattered sheep (Ezek 34:11-34:12)

“Thus says Yahweh God!

‘I myself

Will search

For my sheep.

I will

Seek them out.

As shepherds seek out

Their flocks,

When they are

Among their scattered sheep,

So will I

Seek out my sheep.

I will rescue them

From all the places

To which

They have been scattered

On a day of clouds,

On a day of thick darkness.’”

Yahweh God said, via Ezekiel, that he was himself going to search out for his scattered sheep. He was going to be like the shepherds with their flocks. Just as they went looking for their lost sheep, Yahweh was going to do the same. He was going to seek out his sheep and rescue them from all the places that they had been scattered during the cloudy days of thick darkness.

February 9, 2017

The war club of Yahweh (Jer 51:20-51:23)

“You are my war club!

You are my hammer!

My weapon of battle!

With you

I smash nations.

With you

I destroy kingdoms.

With you

I smash the horse.

With you

I smash its rider.

With you

I smash the chariot.

With you

I smash the charioteer.

With you

I smash men.

With you

I smash women.

With you

I smash the old man.

With you

I smash the boy.

With you

I smash the young man.

With you

I smash the girl.

With you

I smash the shepherds.

With you

I smash their flock.

With you

I smash the farmers.

With you

I smash their teams.

With you

I smash the governors.

With you

I smash their deputies.”

Yahweh is the war club or hammer that smashes everything. Thus with Yahweh, Jeremiah can smash nations, kingdoms, horses, riders, chariots, charioteers, men, women, old men, boys, young men, girls, shepherds, their flocks, farmers, their teams, governors, and their deputies. Yahweh is a strong weapon that can smash practically everything.

February 4, 2017

Escape from Babylon (Jer 50:8-50:8)

“Flee from Babylon!

Go out of the land

Of the Chaldeans!

Be like male goats!

Lead the flock!”

Yahweh via Jeremiah has a series of commands. Get out of town! They were to get out of the city of Babylon. They were to get out of the country of the Chaldeans. They should act like male goats, leading their flocks, not like lost sheep.

February 2, 2017

Against Hazor (Jer 49:30-49:33)

“‘Flee!

Wander far away!

Hide in deep places!

O inhabitants of Hazor!’

Says Yahweh.

‘King Nebuchadnezzar

Of Babylon

Has made a plan

Against you.

He has formed a purpose

Against you.

‘Rise up!

Advance

Against a nation at ease,

That dwells securely.’

Says Yahweh.

‘They have no gates.

They have no bars.

They live alone.

Their camels

Shall become booty.

Their herds of cattle

Shall become a spoil.

I will scatter to every wind

Those who have shaven temples.

I will bring calamity

Against them

From every side.’

Says Yahweh.

‘Hazor shall become

A liar of jackals,

An everlasting waste.

No one shall live there.

No one shall settle in it.’”

The kingdom of Hazor was the more sedentary northwestern Arab tribes in the Arabian Desert, east of the Jordan River, in present day Saudi Arabia, not the Israelite town of Hazor. Yahweh warned them to flee and get out of there, because King Nebuchadnezzar had a plan against them. Even though they were at ease and secure, they had no gates, bars or fortresses, since they lived alone. The king of Babylon was going to take their flocks of cattle and their camels as the spoils of war. These shaven temple Hazor people would be scattered all over the place with all kinds of trouble on every side. These oasis tent towns would become a wasteland, as if they were not already. No one would want to live and settle there. This is like the previous warnings to other places, earlier in this chapter.

 

 

 

December 21, 2016

The farmers and the shepherds (Jer 31:24-31:25)

“Judah

With all its towns

Shall live there together.

The farmers

With those who wander

With their flocks

Shall live there together.

I will satisfy the weary ones.

I will replenish

All who are faint.”

This is something like the old western USA problem about the farmers and the cowboys. How could they get along? Here the towns of Judah are asked to get along with each other. At the same time, the farmers who till the land have to get along with the shepherds and their flocks, because they might wander into their planted areas. Yahweh was going to replenish those who were weary and fainting.

November 4, 2016

Panic in the land (Jer 10:19-10:21)

“Woe is me!

Because of my hurt,

My wound is severe.

But I said.

‘Truly this is my punishment.

I must bear it.’

My tent is destroyed.

All my cords are broken.

My children have gone from me.

They are no more.

There is no one

To spread my tent again,

There is no one

To set up my curtains.

The shepherds are stupid.

They do not inquire of Yahweh.

Therefore they have not prospered.

All their flock is scattered.”

Jeremiah presents this lamentation about what was happening to him personally. He has been hurt and wounded. He understood that this was his punishment and that he had to bear it. His tent was destroyed with all its cords. In this sense, it is also like Second Isaiah. His children have left him. There was no one to help him with his tent and its curtains. The idea of the stupid shepherds is a reference to their rulers. They never inquired of Yahweh, so that they have not prospered. Their flocks have scattered all over the place.