Jer 23:1-8 | KingComments | STEP | The LORD addresses the word to the false shepherds, the thieves and wolves who kill the sheep of His pasture and scatter them everywhere ( ). These are not just the four wicked kings from the previous chapters, but all the leaders of Judah. The job of a shepherd is to feed and protect sheep and keep the flock together ( ). He, “the LORD God of Israel”, condemns these shepherds for what they do to His people ( ). He will repay their evil deeds to them. It affects Him deeply that these shepherds scatter His people in this way. He compares His people to a flock of sheep grazing in His pasture, the land of Israel ( ). Sheep need each other and a shepherd. A sheep alone and without a shepherd is hopelessly lost. Instead of keeping the sheep together, these shepherds scatter them. Because of the unfaithfulness of the shepherds, the sheep were scattered by the Assyrians. Instead of providing safety for the sheep they drive them away. Instead of caring for the sheep they do not look after them. They are worthless shepherds ( ). The LORD Himself will take care of His sheep ( ). He will gather them out of all the countries of the scattering where they have gone. He will do this by His righteous Branch or Sprout ( ). We see a small foreshadowing of the return to the land in the return of a remnant from Babylon under Joshua and Zerubbabel. It is noteworthy that first of the shepherds is said that they scatter and drive out the sheep, but that here the LORD says that He has driven them out. Both are true. The behavior and condition of the leaders of the people left the LORD no choice but to scatter the sheep. But He places the responsibility for this on these leaders. He is also powerful to bring the sheep back to their pastures or sheepfolds. Sheepfolds are places of safety and care. Through His care they will be fruitful and become numerous. We can apply the gathering in sheepfolds to the gathering of scattered children of God in local churches, to be fruitful and become numerous there. That is what the Lord wants to do even today. He will put His care for them in the hands of faithful shepherds ( ). They will be the under-shepherds of the true Shepherd whom God will appoint over His people ( ). The sheep will lie down peacefully, not fearing what may happen or being dismayed by an enemy that appears. No power will be able to rob one. No one can snatch one out of the hand of the Father and the Son ( ).

‏ Jeremiah 23:1-8

The False Shepherds

The LORD addresses the word to the false shepherds, the thieves and wolves who kill the sheep of His pasture and scatter them everywhere (Jer 23:1). These are not just the four wicked kings from the previous chapters, but all the leaders of Judah. The job of a shepherd is to feed and protect sheep and keep the flock together (Jn 10:11-13). He, “the LORD God of Israel”, condemns these shepherds for what they do to His people (Jer 23:2). He will repay their evil deeds to them.

It affects Him deeply that these shepherds scatter His people in this way. He compares His people to a flock of sheep grazing in His pasture, the land of Israel (Psa 74:1b ; Psa 79:13 ; Psa 95:7 ; Psa 100:3). Sheep need each other and a shepherd. A sheep alone and without a shepherd is hopelessly lost. Instead of keeping the sheep together, these shepherds scatter them. Because of the unfaithfulness of the shepherds, the sheep were scattered by the Assyrians. Instead of providing safety for the sheep they drive them away. Instead of caring for the sheep they do not look after them. They are worthless shepherds (Eze 34:1-10).

The LORD Himself will take care of His sheep (Jer 23:3). He will gather them out of all the countries of the scattering where they have gone. He will do this by His righteous Branch or Sprout (Jer 23:5-8). We see a small foreshadowing of the return to the land in the return of a remnant from Babylon under Joshua and Zerubbabel.

It is noteworthy that first of the shepherds is said that they scatter and drive out the sheep, but that here the LORD says that He has driven them out. Both are true. The behavior and condition of the leaders of the people left the LORD no choice but to scatter the sheep. But He places the responsibility for this on these leaders.

He is also powerful to bring the sheep back to their pastures or sheepfolds. Sheepfolds are places of safety and care. Through His care they will be fruitful and become numerous. We can apply the gathering in sheepfolds to the gathering of scattered children of God in local churches, to be fruitful and become numerous there. That is what the Lord wants to do even today.

He will put His care for them in the hands of faithful shepherds (Jer 23:4). They will be the under-shepherds of the true Shepherd whom God will appoint over His people (Eze 34:23-24). The sheep will lie down peacefully, not fearing what may happen or being dismayed by an enemy that appears. No power will be able to rob one. No one can snatch one out of the hand of the Father and the Son (Jn 10:28-29).

The Righteous Branch

The days to come (Jer 23:5) are the days of the reign of the Lord Jesus in the realm of peace. In those days, the promise of the LORD in the previous verses will be fulfilled. He will do that Himself by “raising up for David a righteous Branch [literally Sprout]”. He is working that a descendant of David, the Lord Jesus, the great Son of David, will sit on the throne of David. Then the government will be in the hands of an infallible King, Who rules justly and acts wisely. This righteous Sprout is the Messiah.

The name Sprout appears in various compositions and each time shows us a different glory of the Lord Jesus that we can connect with the four Gospels. He is called:

1. “The Branch [or Sprout] of the LORD” (Isa 4:2). This is the Name that brings to mind the Gospel according to John. This Name speaks of His Deity Who is brilliantly described by John in his Gospel.

2. “A righteous Branch [or Sprout]” (Jer 23:5 ; Jer 33:15). This is in connection with Him as the righteous King. This is how we see Him in the Gospel according to Matthew.

3. “My Servant the Branch [or Sprout]” (Zec 3:8). In the Gospel according to Mark we see Him as Servant.

4. “A man whose name is Branch [or Sprout]” (Zec 6:12). This brings us to the Gospel according to Luke, for in it He is presented as Man.

There will be no more injustice, for He will “do justice and righteousness in the land”, as His father David did (2Sam 8:15). As the true Son of David, the true Solomon, He will judge His people “with righteousness and … with justice” (Psa 72:2). This will be a relief after a long period when unrighteousness and injustice have prevailed, when oppression and misery have been the portion of the faithful.

By “in His days” (Jer 23:6) is meant the days of His reign, when He, Who already has all power in His hands, rules publicly over heaven and earth. In those days, His people will experience the blessing of it. Judah will be redeemed, and all the people of Israel, the twelve tribes, will live securely (Eze 37:15-28).

In the Name by which they call Him, “the LORD our righteousness”, they will acknowledge Him as their righteousness. In no other way will they seek anymore to maintain their own righteousness. This Name of the LORD contrasts with that of Zedekiah. Zedekiah means “the LORD is my righteousness”, a name that was made a lie through his life.

Immediately and inseparably linked to the messianic hope is the national restoration of Israel. What the LORD will then do for His people, the deliverance He will then work, will dwarf the deliverance from Egypt (Jer 23:7). The final deliverance of His people, the gathering of them together from all the lands to which they have been scattered, far exceeds the deliverance from Egypt (Jer 23:8). They will live in their own land and never be driven from it again.