THE VOICE AT THE GATE

 

“Each evening at sundown, the shepherds bring their small flocks of sheep to a common enclosure where they are secured against the wolves that roam the deserts of Morocco. A single shepherd then is employed to guard the gate until morning. Then the shepherds come to the enclosure one by one, enter therein, and call forth their sheep – by name. The sheep will not hearken unto the voice of a stranger but will leave the enclosure only in the care of their true shepherd, confident and secure because the shepherd knows their names and they know his voice.”

-        Elder John R. Lasater, “Shepherds of Israel”, Ensign, May 1988, p 74)

 

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

“But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

“To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

“And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

“And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”

-        John 10:2-5

 

“Take heed that no man deceive you; For many shall come in my name, saying – I am Christ – and shall deceive many…” (JS Matthew 1:6)

 

How grateful to know Your voice

In this world of utter despair

And hear it echo 

in Your loving tender care.

 

How fiercely You watch,

How tenderly You care,

How safe You make me feel

Knowing You are ever there.

 

How grateful I am to be in Your flock,

How grateful to be in Your keep;

You are my shepherd

And I am Your sheep.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Gate by Jenedy Paige)

THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL

 

People flocked to Him wherever He went. Whether they recognised in Him the healer or the Messiah, one thing they knew for sure is that He would not turn them away. Following a  rigorous interrogation by Pharisees, Mark records that Jesus retreated into a house near Tyre seeking solitude but He could not deny anyone seeking Him ‘for He had compassion on all men’ (JST Mark 7:22-23).

 

This compassionate heart of Jesus led to feeding immense crowds of people on two separate occasions. When the apostles returned from their first  mission they presented themselves to Jesus to account for all their labours (Mark 6:30). Mark notes that the crowds thronged them so much that they could not find time or place to eat (v31). For this reason Jesus invited them to retreat with Him by ship to a solitary place. When they arrived and Jesus came out of the ship he saw a multitude of people who had run on foot out of all the cities to see Him (v33). Mark records that He was moved with compassion when He saw them ‘because they were as sheep not having a shepherd and He began to teach them…’ (v34). And when the day was far spent He would not send them away hungry but fed 5,000 men plus women and children with five loaves of bread and two fishes (Matthew 14:21). As with the first, so the second occasion of feeding 4,000 men beside women and children, who were with Him for three days, with seven loaves and a few little fishes, all because: “I have compassion on the multitude….” (Matthew 15:30-38)

 

In my favourite chapter of Ezekiel,  Jehovah speaks extensively about the shepherds of Israel who had scattered His sheep through neglect and then promises He would find them and feed them upon the high mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 34:2,4,11-16,25,31). Was He cognisant of the promise He made through Ezekiel when the physically and spiritually lame flocked to Him, like sheep seeking their Shepherd, feeding upon the compassion spilling from His soul and turning the high mountains of Israel into pasture hereto before unknown??

 

Compassion rent His godly heart

When He saw His scattered sheep,

Upon the high mountains of Israel

Running to His shelter, for His promise to keep.

A promise He would honour

That His lost sheep He would find,

Upon the high mountains of Israel

That heartless shepherds left behind. 

So His promise He valiantly fulfilled

As His sheep sat hungry on Bethsaida’s hill,

And fed upon the loaves and fishes

That multiplied upon His will. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: I Have Compassion by Greg Collins)

SHEPHERDS OF ISRAEL

 

 

There is a significant promise in the Book of Jeremiah that should make us grateful for General Conference. In chapter 3, we read of ancient Israel’s betrayal of the covenant they had made with Jehovah by pursuing other gods through idolatry. This wandering away was attributed heavily to ‘the shepherds of Israel’, meaning their leaders, who led the flock astray. However, the Lord made an amazing promise through Jeremiah that in the days of ‘gathering’, meaning our day, He will give us worthy Church leaders ‘according to MINE HEART which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding’ (Jeremiah 3:15). This has been the truth for me. I am a convert of 40 years and I can say with certainty and gratitude that the Church leaders have brought me to Christ. 

 

But there is even a more blissful promise than this. Ezekiel 34 rends my heart. It reveals the sorrowful heart of the Saviour who weeps over His flock saying: “My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them” (v6). He then proclaims a harsh judgment against Israel’s shepherds who scattered the flock anciently but then gives us a hope to surpass all sorrow: “Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out….I will seek out my sheep….and gather them…and feed them upon the mountains of Israel….I will feed them in a good pasture….I will seek that which was lost…I will feed my flock…….ye are my flock, the flock of my pasture, and I am your God…. (v11-31)…….

 

We roam this earth

Lost, scattered, disowned,

Yet forgotten nevermore.

From the anguish of Thy heart

Thou art gathering the lost

To keep them safe in Thy keep;

Thou art the Shepherd

Who desires in His bosom

The flock of His beloved sheep.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by Liz Lemon Swindle)