Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in the fold of His robe;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
~~Isaiah 40:11~~
When I read this verse, all that I could think was, “What tender care God gives to His own!” As is my process when I study, I dug into the key words in this verse to make sure I knew what God was saying. (Our language shortchanges so many verses in the Scripture).
What I discovered doing my word study was that, in the first phrase “Like a shepherd He will tend“, the same word (ra’a) was used twice — “like a shepherd” (ra’a) “He will tend” (ra’a). That made me think of how when Scripture repeats something twice in a row, it’s for emphasis (truly, truly…etc). God wanted us to know, with emphasis, that He will be like a shepherd to us. So what does (ra’a) mean?
The Hebrew word (ra’a) means to tend a flock; to pasture it; to graze it. Consider the implications of each of those phrases in light of our Good Shepherd.
HE TENDS
The dictionary defines “tend” as: to apply oneself to the care of : to watch over : to attend as a servant. God is concerned about us. He watches over us, making sure we go where we are supposed to, as well guiding us away from things that could harm us – “His rod and His staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). His rod keeps us headed in the right direction, and His staff can rescue us from harmful situations.
When it comes to the phrase “to attend as a servant”, It’s hard to think that the Savior of the world attends us like a servant, but that’s exactly what His Word states. Think of how Christ said Matthew 28:20, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”, and in Philippians 2:6-7 it reads, “Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.” God TENDS us.
HE PASTURES
Psalm 23:2 – “He makes me lie down in green pastures” – gives us the feel for how the Good Shepherd leads us to where we can rest. In the world that we live in, it seems as though everything is done in “fast forward”. The moment our feet hit the floor in the morning it’s “off to the races”, rushing through a morning cup of coffee, grabbing a quick sandwich for lunch, stopping for fast food on the way home. There is little time to “be still and know that He is God”. God created us and knows that every person He created (that’s everybody, if ya wondered…haha) needs some downtime to rest. Our bodies need rest and our minds need rest.
God knows that with our “I have to get it done” mentality, He would have to make us lay down. Be aware of the things that cause you to “slow down” or “stop” – a case of the flu, a cold, etc. God knows what we need in order for us to avoid crashing and burning as we hurry through this life at breakneck speed.
HE GRAZES
A shepherd will also graze this sheep. He will guide them to good pastures with plenty of food and slow-moving, easily accessible water. You see, if fed grass of poor quality, the sheep would be malnourished. If the water moved too quickly, the sheep would be too afraid to drink it. So, guiding the flock to a good location was an extremely important task for a shepherd because good pastures kept his flock healthy.
Something important to note is that sheep often eat small portions of food throughout the day. Take a moment and think about your day. Are you moving through your schedule so quickly that you miss the “food” He is setting before you? God will use a myriad of things to provide truth to nourish you – that song on the radio that He knows your heart needs, a verse that seems to just pop off the page at you, that message you hear that seems that the speaker has been eavesdropping on your life because it is so “spot on” in meeting your need. That’s God grazing you!
HE CARRIES
“To carry is kindness, but to carry in the bosom is LOVING-kindness. The shoulders are for power, and the back for force, but the bosom is the seat of love.” (Spurgeon). Think about how very personal this shows God to be. A shepherd will chase after a wayward sheep
“He will carry them in the bosom of his love and cherish them there. When they tire or are weary, are sick and faint, when they meet with foul ways, he will carry them on, and take care they are not left behind.” (Matthew Henry)
God tends – God pastures – God grazes – God carries, and He does so with such a heart full of loving care for us. Man, I love Him so much!!