A Tale of Two Sheperds

USGN Article - February 2002

Terry & Barbi Franklin

Written by Terry Franklin

            We all know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Because of His divine perfection He, uniquely, knows how to lovingly lead His people.

But what about the "regular" guys in the Bible, those that were shepherds but who, like you and me, often failed. And in our day of needing kind, loving, and honorable shepherds to oversee our churches, what could we learn from them?

Two of these biblical shepherds were David and Doeg the Edomite. In David we see kindness -- from the way he treated all those around him, including his enemies, even to the way he cared for his own parents. We see him pleading with the King of Moab in 1 Samuel 22, "Please let my father and my mother stay2 with you, till I know what God will do for me." He knew his folks would not be safe while he was being chased by Saul. This foreshadowed what the Good Shepherd did while He was on the cross, asking John to care for Mary. He was looking out for His mom.

On the other hand we see another type of shepherd in Doeg the Edomite. He was the head over all of Saul's herdsmen and likely was a shepherd himself. When given the order to kill Ahimelech the priest and all of his family (which Saul's closest aides refused to do, Doeg ruthlessly murdered all of them -- even going beyond the order… killing their babies, cattle, and going to Nob to do the same. That day 85 priests and their families were killed…

David had every opportunity to be ruthless (and later with Uriah he showed the depths of depravity that even he was capable of sinking to) but overall he had a spirit of gentleness and kindness even with his enemies. Remember how he acted honorably toward Saul when given the chance to kill him in the cave, or later in his response to Saul's death?

How we need these types kind of leaders in our churches today! May a spirit of compassion, graciousness, and kindness be poured out on Church leaders in these critical last days!

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