Then the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” So he said, “I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, like sheep which have no shepherd. And the LORD said, `These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.’ “– 1 Kings 22 : 16 – 17 (NASB)

As I continue my shepherding Bible study, I came across this passage again.  While the passage (see also 2 Chronicles 18) does not refer to a specific person or persons shepherding, I still thought there was a lesson or two here for those of us entrusted with shepherding the Church.

The king mentioned in the passage above is Ahab, king of Israel.  Israel’s kings have turned away from God and began worshipping the Baal.  Ahab contributes to the blasphemy by erecting Ashura poles on the high worship places.  His evil wife and queen Jezebel is intent on killing all God’s prophets, Elijah most of all.  Unbeknownst to Ahab, the verses above and in fact all of 1 Kings 22 are about the end of his reign as king of Israel.

Three years have passed since Israel warred with Aram.  Israel was victorious in the previous conflict when God delivered the Arameans into the hands of the Israelites after the Arameans thought God’s power was limited to the hills (1 Kings 20).   Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, has allied himself with Ahab.  It is a curious alliance as Jehoshaphat has done much to restore Judah to worshipping God, unlike Ahab.  Having been in that part of the world, I know blood ties are strong.  Possibly a common ancestry is what binds Ahab and Jehoshaphat together, for faith certainly does not.  Regardless, Jehoshaphat asks Ahab to seek God’s counsel before going to war.  Ahab consults his “prophets”, who assure him God will be on his side if he wars with the Arameans again.  Jehoshaphat knows the prophets did not consult God and so he asks if there is no true prophet to consult (note the difference between “the prophets” in verse 6 with “prophet of the Lord” in verse 7).  Ahab confirms there is, but he is reluctant to consult him because he won’t tell him what he wants to hear.  Still, Ahab sends for God’s prophet, Micaiah.

The messenger who fetches Micaiah tries to convince him to tell Ahab what he wants to hear.  Micaiah states he will only say what the Lord has told him.  Interestingly, once he is in Ahab’s presence Micaiah does tell Ahab what the other prophets had already said.  Ahab may be evil but he is not naïve.  He must have sensed what I imagine was Micaiah’s mocking tone, both toward the king and his so-called prophets.  True to his word, Micaiah delivers God’s message that Ahab will lose the battle and the Israelites will be “scattered on the mountains, like sheep which have no shepherd (found in verse 17 and referencing Numbers 27:17).  Micaiah is rewarded with imprisonment for delivering God’s message telling Ahab what he does not want to hear.  Ahab ignores the message, fights with the Arameans, and is killed.

Years ago I was attending staff training at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  The thrust of the training is to turn Army officers into good staff officers.  I remember one portion of our training consisting of a “B” grade video The Road to Abilene.  The video takes place during the hot Texas summer in a small town an hour or two away from Abilene.  It is set during the 50s or 60s when vehicle air conditioning was not standard equipment.  A family is slowly passing a long hot afternoon.  One of the family members mentions they could drive to Abilene for ice cream to cool off.  What ensues is a discussion where everyone eventually goes along with the idea.  Cut to the end of the video.  Everyone is soaked with sweat and quite irritable.  They start blaming each other for a long hot road trip with no air conditioning.  I forget how the video ends, but I do remember it ends with everyone upset with everyone else.  It seems none of them really wanted to go to Abilene but none of them wanted to be the one to say “no” either.  They all succumbed to what we call “groupthink”, which is basically going along with whatever idea or plan is presented even if you don’t think it is good.

The lesson for us was good staff officers will avoid groupthink and present our superiors with the information they need to make decisions, even if that information is unpleasant or unpopular.  We were still to have the courage to present the information, regardless of personal consequences, because we were usually dealing with decisions costing lots of money and, more importantly, potentially costing lives.  Sometime after my training I had the opportunity to serve in Iraq with a commander who encouraged contrary opinions, provided you had the facts and analysis to back up your conclusions and recommendations.   Because of this I and my staff were able to gain his trust and confidence over time and we enjoyed successes for the remainder of our tour.

So what are the lessons for us?

First, avoid groupthink to encourage HOT (honest, open, transparent – not to be confused with heated or angry) dialogue.  Unfortunately, there are times when a congregation’s shepherds are accused of groupthink.  What people are not privy to are the discussions that go on behind closed doors or the information discussed because of the trying to maintain someone’s privacy, trust, and confidence.  Fortunately, the shepherds I serve with are so diverse there is usually HOT dialogue, especially over non-routine matters.  Most of our meetings also include our ministers, and both always provide valuable insight and other perspectives for us to consider in our decision-making.  However, we never let those discussions disrupt the unity or harmony among the shepherds because that will sow the seeds of division within the congregation.  In fact, there have been times where one of us will disagree with the others but will yield so we can maintain unity and harmony in the body.

Second, be prepared to be unpopular.  Micaiah presented a message from God and was rewarded with a slap from a false prophet and imprisonment from a king.  In some cases be prepared to receive a figurative slap that comes in many forms from members disagreeing with how you handle things.  Some do it intentionally, some unintentionally, but it hurts just the same.  I know I was guilty of the same in my younger, more spiritually immature days (and yes, I still have a long way to go).  One reason they do it is because they don’t have all the information you do, and they also forget you are fallible.  This is also the time to remember the numerous New Testament warnings about false prophets.  They will spread lies to fill the information gap we create as we protect our members’ confidentiality.

Third, seek God’s counsel when making decisions or conveying information.  Consider the options, search the Scriptures, pray, make the best decision for the body, and then communicate your decisions and as much of the information behind the decisions as possible to the congregation.  Of course, remember the second point as you do:)

Finally, we must remember Micaiah’s warning about what would happen if Ahab ignored God’s word.  The sheep would be scattered and leaderless.  If we ignore God’s word then our sheep will also be leaderless and scattered, and we will answer to God for it.

May your blessings exceed mine today and all your days. – DEM

And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” – 1 Samuel 16:11 (NASB)

We are all familiar with the text.  Saul has disobeyed God by sparing King Agag and not utterly destroying the Amalekites.  As Saul rejected God’s command, so God rejected Saul (15:23).  This is one of many examples where God’s plans will not be thwarted.  Either we carry out God’s will, or He will find someone else to do it.  But that is a lesson for another day.

You will remember Saul became king after the people asked to be ruled by a king like all the other nations around them.  God chooses Saul the Benjamite, who was taller and more handsome than anyone around.  In essence, God gives the Israelites what they asked for and what they were looking for in a king.  Our preacher recently used these verses and an egg as a visual aid to illustrate too often we focus on what the present physical appearance of something is (i.e. the egg), instead of what the egg will become, which our preacher illustrated during the sermon with a picture of a beautiful bird.  This is a great lesson in and of itself, but it is not our whole lesson for today.

We are also familiar with what happens next.  Samuel travels to Bethlehem to anoint the son of Jesse that God has chosen to succeed Saul.  At this point God has not revealed to Samuel which one God has chosen.  Jesse has eight sons, seven of whom are invited to accompany Jesse and join Samuel for “the sacrifice”.  Samuel is impressed by the physical appearance of Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab.  However, God points out “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (16:7).  It is as if God is telling Samuel, and by extension the Israelites, “We tried it your way once and see what happened.  I gave you what you wanted, now I am going to give you what you need.”

The procession continues.  Each of Jesse’s sons is presented to Samuel, each is rejected by God.  It would be interesting to know what Samuel is thinking as he believes the last of Jesse’s sons fails to gain God’s approval.  But Samuel is faithful and so he asks if there is another son.  Then we learn the youngest son is out tending the sheep.  I have to believe this was one of those “AHA!” moments for Samuel.

It was probably normal in David’s time and place for the youngest son to tend the sheep while the older sons were with their father.  Each son probably took their turn at tending their father’s sheep when they reached a certain age, and now it was David’s turn.  I am the younger of two sons, and the same thing happened to me (only we had goats, not sheep).

The real lesson for me is found when you consider verse 7 and verse 11 together.  I do not think the recorded text mentions David was tending the sheep just to move the story along.  Rather, we have this recorded for a reason.  We shouldn’t miss the significance of God’s choosing a king because of his heart, and at the time he was chosen Saul’s successor was tending his father’s sheep.

While I don’t want to read too much into this, I think it is worth pondering.  Possibly you have heard the phrase “Shepherd’s Heart”.  I have heard it, sometimes even in half-hearted jest.  Nevertheless, I believe in this case it warrants further discussion.

What exactly is meant by having a “Shepherd’s Heart”?  I believe it is a phrase with many applications.  However, to me the application with regard to our text is it means a man of Godly character.  By tending his father’s sheep David demonstrated he was faithful to God and to do his father’s bidding, he was courageous, and he was responsible, all characteristics which manifested themselves later in life.  He also demonstrated self-control (how many times could he have killed Saul?), humility (he waited years to become king instead of trying to seize power), was faithful to God and His word, and was loyal to others as well.  That is not to say he was perfect, and when he sinned with Bathsheba and against Uriah he demonstrated the exact opposite of every Godly characteristic known (although he was quick to accept responsibility for his sin when confronted – 2 Samuel 12).  Yet, he is remembered as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13;14).

So what is the application for today’s shepherds?  First, our actions demonstrate our heart (i.e. character).  David consistently demonstrated his character throughout his life even though he was fallible (a friend of mine pointed out David’s adultery and murder plot were not his only sins, just the ones recorded).  Second, David demonstrated his character by tending his father’s sheep and later by being faithful to God.  Shepherds of today get to do the same, at least with figurative sheep.  Third, David was tending his father’s sheep already, before God chose him.  When considering future shepherds we should ask ourselves who is already tending our Father’s sheep.  Fourth, David’s character closely matches what are sometimes referred to as an elder’s “qualifications” as found in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1.  We would do well to consider these qualifications as not just a checklist, but also insight into a person’s heart and character.  We would also do well to remember everyone will fall short in demonstrating one or more of these “qualifications” and we should give them the benefit of the doubt.  That doesn’t mean not to bring it to their attention as Nathan did in 2 Samuel 12 or as Jesus tells us in Matthew 18.  However, let us not forget as we approach them the goal is to win a brother and not drive them away.

May your blessings exceed mine today and all your days. – DEM