Jehovah Raah NofG 3

       When you read through the Old Testament there are so many different references to people being like sheep. Then turning to the New Testament Jesus makes many references to being a shepherd and people as the sheep. All of these stories point us toward the next name of God Jehovah Raah which means the Lord is my Shepherd. This name for God is used over 140 times in our Bible. The Raah simply means shepherd and Jehovah is Lord some translations sub in Yahweh for Jehovah.  

Looking at this name of God, we turn to the most widely known use for this name in Psalms 23.

     Why are there so many instances in our Bible of God and then Jesus using shepherds and sheep to describe themselves and people. Looking back to when the Bible was written the people knew about sheep and shepherds and what that all entails.   

     Its tells us in Genesis 47 just before the Jewish people moved into Egypt ^"3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers." 

      So God uses object lessons to teach people. He is using what people are familiar w to get his point across. In the Bible many of the lessons were given are in such a way as to convey the meaning so people would understand. Then the question becomes what is God trying to show us by referring to us as sheep and him as the shepherd. 

   Sheep need someone to lead them and care for them because they are unable to this for themselves. Shepherds lead sheep using three tools, the rod, the staff, and their voice. In the same way God leads us. Our Jehovah Raah leads with his voice through giving us instruction through his written word and through listening to wise counsel. Gods word is always true and correct but sometimes it helps to hear it from someone who you can see and touch which is why we have people that are put over us such as pastors and teachers, these are people who care for us and God uses them to teach us things and show us his ways. The rod is used for discipline for keeping the sheep moving in the right direction by giving the sheep some pain, God still directs us using a little pain, but a little pain is better then an eternity separated from him. The staff is used to nudge the sheep in the right direction as well as keep the flock together the staff is gentler then the rod used for more subtle nudging. 

      Does God still function to nudge his sheep in the right direction as well as keep his followers together, yes. Does God use his voice to direct us, yes. Does God still use the rod to give us some pain to direct us back to him yes. Its interesting that God chooses to use the analogy of sheep instead of say cattle, once reason for this is the animals are lead differently, with cattle people go behind and push them in the direction they are supposed to go w sheep the shepherd walks in front of them and leads them to water and safe pasture through using his voice and only goes to the rod and staff if the sheep don’t listen. God does not drive us or force us to do anything but he will try and lead us to the place he wants us to go. The shepherd leads the sheep from the front and the sheep follow him but they will only follow a shepherd that they know they will not follow a stranger because they do not know that stranger.

     In the Old Testament God would talk w the leader of the people such as Moses and then the people would let the leader guide them. God brought leaders to the people to try and function as the staff and gently instruct and nudge them to follow him but when that didn’t work then he had to switch to using the rod of discipline to show the people the error of their ways an example is when he didn’t allow the Jewish people into the promised land until the entire generation passed away. But God did not desire to use these methods his desire then as now is that we hear his voice through his word so we, listen, and follow.

     So looking to our New Testament, since we are a new testament church, does God still function to shepherd his people. Let us look at John 10.

     Looking at the verses on an individual basis. Verse 1 gives us the picture of the sheep standing in a pasture w a fence around it w a single gate going into the sheep. In this way Jesus is telling us that there is only one way to enter the kingdom of heaven, but people who are not children of God will try to enter other ways. When these people enter other ways they come only to steal not to do the sheep good. That is they want to separate us from our shepherd. That is people will try to come in and take his sheep his followers. 

       Verse 2 tells us that the shepherd enters through the gate because it is his field and his sheep he has no reason to sneak in because God made everything and since we follow God we want him there to guide us as our Jehovah Raah as our shepherd so he comes to us. Then verse 3 and 4 when his sheep hear his name they follow him because they know him. when we have the relationship with God as our Jehovah Raah then we know him and trust him and come to him when he calls. We then follow him just like sheep only follow a shepherd that they know and trust once you know and trust Jesus then you follow him because you know he wont lead you astray but rather that he cares for you and only wants what is best for you. God also since he is our shepherd knows our name but not just our name but he knows us, God knows what we need before we ask, God knows what we struggle w because he is our shepherd our Jehovah Raah. God then leads us in his ways and his ways are best just as a shepherd know the best things for his sheep. 

      See sheep follow as the shepherd leads them to new pastures, to water, away from predators, and to a place to care for injuries. In the same way God leads us to do the right things, to keep us out of situations that would get us into trouble, to the place were we are fed and given water so we no longer thirst, and also places to take care of our injuries. All of these things are accomplished in one of three places in our Bibles,  instruction from someone that we trust in the faith, and during our prayer time when we come to him. In verse 5 we are instructed as Gods sheep to flee from the unknown, meaning that when we see or hear someone doing something contrary to what God tells us we are to run away from that doctrine they are presenting to what we know is true. Once again the best place to check what is correct is strait form our Jehovah Raah that is go strait to the word of God. Verse 7 makes it plain that Jesus is the one way for us to enter into the presence of God for we all know that we have sinned and fallen short of what God calls us to be, and Jesus is the only way to save us. We need to be like the sheep in verse 8 when we hear things that are not true then we are to disregard them and make sure we are focusing on what God tells us and what we know is true. 

      Verse 9 Jesus once again tells us that he is the only way to come to the Father to come into Gods presence and be at peace and be saved from our sins and shortcomings. We know others will come presenting some other way to be saved, or that being saved doesn’t matter but we know there is one way there is Christ and no other. In verse 10 we are told that the shepherd does not simply want his sheep to live and not be killed or taken but he wants his sheep that is us to have life to fullest, Jehovah Raah does not simply want us to survive and be miserable but he wants us to be everything he calls us to be which brings about true happiness through faith in God. 

     Looking at verses 11 and 12 Jesus is painting a picture of how he as our shepherd will do anything to protect his sheep, let us think about this for a bit Jesus who is fully God stepped down from heaven to live on this earth, he left perfection to come down to this imperfect world, he left his glory to come to this place w/o honor. He left all of that to protect and be w his sheep to be w us. For he cares for us and wants what is best for us. Its just like if someone starts a business they want it to succeed so they do whatever they can to make that happen, they will work long hours, and make sacrifices to make it successful, but a person who doesn’t own the company but simply is coming to work for a paycheck will only do what is required of them, when situations got tough or they find something better they will leave. 

    Our Shepherd or Jehovah Raah will not leave us when things get tough he has already made the largest sacrifice that he could make he cares for us so much that he laid down his life for us he did not lose his life he gave it up for you and for me. In verse 14 we are assured that God is not just this big thing separated form us but that when we are his followers then he knows us and we know who he is, God desires a personal relationship w us. Verse 15 tells us Jesus lays down his life for us its another picture of what a shepherd does a shepherd cares more for the flock of sheep then he does for his own safety he will do anything for the sheep, I’m sure you are all familiar w the story of King David, well David was a shepherd in his youth and when he faced Goliath he talked to Saul about how he fought against lions and bears to protect his sheep. Our shepherd our Jehovah Raah has fought against and defeated things much stronger then a bear to protect us. Verse 16 is talking about how God does not desire to save a single group of people or loves one group of people more then another for everyone if they accept him as there Jehovah Raah then we become a single flock.

      Our Bible refers to God and Jesus as being shepherds and us as followers as sheep. This was done as object lessons for the original audience because they knew sheep. But it paints a wonderful picture of all of the things God does for us as our shepherd. How he guides and directs us, how he protects us, and how he laid down his life for us. If we have accepted Christ we are called to follow him as our shepherd, and the shepherd knows more then the sheep so we need to listen to our Jehovah Raah even when we don’t understand what is happening or why it is happening. We need to trust our shepherd or Jehovah Raah because he knows what is best.