Jeremiah 23:4
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There's a term in literature called paraprasdokian. If you are nerdy enough to know how to pronounce that and I got it wrong, you have to tell me later. I didn't look it up. It's a paraprasdokian is a figure of speech in which the ending of a story or sentence is surprising or unexpected, particularly in a way as to make the reader or listener re-evaluate a previous assumption. In story and poetry, this paraprasdokian formulation is used to emphasize a point, to create, you know, have a dramatic effect, or to surprise.
In sentences, it's used for comedic effect. I'm not a comedian, but I'm going to tell you one of them. There's an old, old, old comedian, way before my time, who once quipped after a dinner party, I've had a wonderful evening, but this surely wasn't it. a little bit funny uh paraprosdokian super nerdy the wikipedia page is fascinating and most of the links at the bottom for further reading are fascinating too if you want to talk about it later you're a huge nerd probably and i would gladly talk about it with you all right we're in jeremiah 23 tonight and you will be hugely aided by opening up your bible to jeremiah 23 and not just looking on the front of your bulletin. It's on page 650 of your pew Bibles.
Jeremiah 23. Jeremiah 23, verse 4. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them and they shall fear no more nor be dismayed. Neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. I want to talk to you tonight from this verse with the main point, the Lord provides for his people when they are hopelessly powerless to do anything for themselves.
The Lord provides for his people when they are hopelessly powerless to do anything for themselves. Two points tonight. Shepherds care for the sheep. And the Lord provides shepherds. So first, shepherds care for the sheep. Jeremiah is prophesying to the southern kingdom of Judah in the few short years before Babylon will come in and carry them off into exile as God's judgment for their sin, as God's judgment for abandoning the covenant and for forsaking the Lord in his ways.
And the Lord has promised through Jeremiah's prophecy, he's promised it very clearly, that he will bring disaster on the people. So we have God's people in God's land, under God's laws, and they have all these piled up for years and years and years, piled up promises of blessing, and it's all at risk. Things are dire because Israel and her leaders have massively failed to follow God and his law, and Jeremiah has just lit them up for 22 chapters.
listen to Jeremiah's indictment of the people. They defiled the land. They committed evil. They turned back to the iniquities of their fathers. They refused to hear God's words. They went after other gods. They broke the covenant, and they forsook the Lord. And then listen to his indictment of their leaders. In Jeremiah 10, he says, the shepherds are stupid and they do not inquire of the Lord. The priests did not say, where is the Lord? Those who handle the law did not know me. The shepherds transgressed against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal. They refused to hear my words. And in all these warnings about the consequences of Israel abandoning the Lord, Israel's shepherds are singled out for condemnation and penalty.
You see, they were supposed to lead the people and to teach them, to be an example to them, to hem them in, and to show them where safe pasture lies. And they weren't doing that. They weren't caring for the sheep. In fact, it's worse than that. They showed a total disregard for the sheep because they showed a total disregard for what was good for the sheep. So let's look tonight in our verse at what should shepherds be doing.
What were Israel's shepherds not doing and what does a good shepherd look like? So our verse again, I will set shepherds over them who will care for them and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing. This gives us a multifaceted look at what a shepherd should be. So first, shepherds care for the sheep. This verb care has a rich meaning and a rich etymology, a rich background.
You can think of it in two ways, as to tend and to pasture. To tend and to pasture. Tend has a complex etymology all by itself. You can think of a servant who attends to their master's needs. That's the same root. They attend to their master's needs. You could think of tending store, managing something with the goal of causing it to flourish and to produce something valuable. You could think of it as tending a garden, causing it to grow and flourish, to be strong and vibrant and full of life, and to be life-giving.
And you could think of tending as tenderness. Those all come from that root of to tend, which is one of the meanings here of shepherds who will care for the people. You can also think of it as to pasture, like a farmer pastures his flock. We don't use it, that word, in that verb form very often, but it means to take them out to pasture. So to put their animals, to put their flock in a situation, in a protected land where they're safe and where they have vegetation that they need for food.
That's what this Hebrew word, care, should evoke in your mind. A shepherd who knows what is good for his sheep, who gently attends to their needs, and who provides what they need so that they can grow and flourish. A good shepherd tends and feeds his sheep. The second thing here, i will set shepherds over them and they shall fear no more shepherds shelter their sheep so that they don't fear fear is a a hallmark of our fallen situation and our alienation from god and therefore we have these common restoration promises throughout scripture that one day we will no longer fear, that one day fear will be no more. Think about it for a moment. Where can you think of fear first cropping up in the Bible? Actually, think for a second. Where can you think of fear
first cropping up in the Bible? It's Genesis 3. After Adam and Eve had sinned, and the Lord comes into the garden, and Adam tells God, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid, so I hid. Sin brings alienation from God, brings separation from God, and that brings fear, and fear has plagued humanity ever since. And here we read that a good shepherd gives his sheep rest so that they no longer fear. Our third characteristic here, I will set shepherds over them, and they will no longer be dismayed. They shall fear no more, nor be dismayed. Dismayed is also not a word that we use very often. It literally means to be shattered and broken, shattered and broken. This is weakness.
This is knees knocking weakness. So we have other refrains throughout scripture. Do not be afraid. Do not be dismayed. Do not be afraid. Do not be dismayed. One of the famous places we see that pairing is in 2 Chronicles 20. That's where the Israelites say, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. You guys remember that? There's an army coming against Judah, and the people are afraid. And the Lord tells the people, do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed, for the battle is not yours, but God's. So a good shepherd fights on behalf of his sheep. A good shepherd fights on behalf of his sheep. This last characteristic, I will set shepherds over them and neither shall any be missing. There shall be no more fear, they won't be dismayed, and neither shall any of them be missing. That word sounds really passive, like they'll just all happen to be there, they won't be
missing. But it's not passive. It would have conjured up two thoughts to the Israelites who heard it. This is not a passive, no longer missing, but there's an active seeking out for lost sheep. An active care that each one of them would be named among the number of the fold. They're known and they matter and they will be sought out. It would also conjure up for them the military idea of mustering the troops, a calling up of the troops, making sure they're accounted for because there's a mission to be had.
A good shepherd knows and finds and keeps his sheep. A good shepherd tends and feeds his sheep. A good shepherd leads their sheep to rest. A good shepherd fights for their sheep and fights off wolves and shepherds keep their sheep you see for the sheep the shepherd is everything the shepherd is their strength and their shield and their satisfaction and praise God that he provides shepherds for us so point two the Lord provides shepherds the Lord has currently provided 17 elders for our church like Brandon reminded us of this morning Brandon, thank you for preaching to us this morning.
Thank you for being a good elder to me and to this church. Mike, thank you for preaching the last two Sundays and for being a good elder to me and to this church. And there are 14 others who I am thankful for. Is this passage talking about elders? I think the answer is yes, in part. Christians throughout history have understood this passage this way, And all of these shepherding responsibilities are taken up and reaffirmed in the New Testament for church elders as under shepherds shepherding the flock of God.
So one thing I want to encourage you to do tonight is to pray for us as elders. Pray for our holiness. Pray that we would love the Lord more than anything else. Pray that we would point you towards his sufficiency and his goodness and his kindness and his grace. Pray that the Lord would increase our faith. Pray that we would be good husbands and fathers. Pray that we would pursue the Lord through his word. Pray that we would persevere. Pray that we would not grow prideful.
Pray that we would not be negligent in our duties. Pray for more elders. Pray for good elders and pray for more elders. Maybe next year while most of you are still here. Pray for good elders for Third Avenue in 10 years when many of you might not be here. Thinking about these four characteristics of shepherds, pray that we would trust in God's word so desperately that we would never feed you anything different. Pray that we would always point to the rest that we have in Christ and that we would never point you anywhere else for safety or satisfaction.
Pray that we would know and love and teach sound doctrine and fight off wolves and pray that we would never tire of going after lost sheep. But don't look at us as the final fulfillment of Jeremiah 23. This is why I wanted you to have your Bibles open. I want you to look down below our verse at verses five and six. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
In his days, Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called. The Lord is our righteousness. Jesus is the good shepherd. This is pointing forward to Jesus. He knows his sheep and he laid down his life for the sheep. He died so that we wouldn't have to die for our sin. The Lord has provided for us in our greatest need when we were hopelessly powerless to save ourselves. Praise God.
The Lord provides for his people. There's a song we sing that sounds a lot like this verse. Jesus, strong and kind. Can you guys think of the lyrics? I'm going to tell you part of them. Jesus said that if I thirst, I should come to him. Why? Because no one else could satisfy. Jesus said that if I am weak, I should come to him.
Because no one else can be my strength. Jesus said that if I fear, I should come to him. Because no one else can be my shield. And here's the unexpected ending to emphasize a beautiful and eternal comforting truth. Do you guys remember the last verse? Jesus said, if I am lost, I should what? Jesus said, if I am lost, he will come to me. And he showed me on that cross, he will come to me.
He came to us in our spiritual bankruptcy. He came to us in our sin. And he died so that we wouldn't have to die. And we have life and comfort and hope in his name. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we have life and comfort and hope in you because you have provided for us in Christ. And you welcome the weak and the weary and the poor and you care for us. What a good God you are.
Would you comfort our hearts and strengthen our faith through these truths, even tonight we ask. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.