The Shepherds of the Bible

The Shepherds of the Bible: From Abel to the Good Shepherd

God has a strange preference for shepherds. He accepts the offering of Abel, a keeper of sheep. He calls Moses from tending a flock at the back of the desert, and takes David from following the ewes to shepherd a nation. He names himself the Shepherd of Israel, promises to feed his flock and gather the lambs in his arms, and pronounces woe on shepherds who feed only themselves. Then, on a hillside, a man says the thing all of it was reaching toward: I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Each page below follows one shepherd through Scripture, tells honestly where its meaning is stated and where it is drawn out, and shows how the whole thread leads to Jesus, the good shepherd who laid down his life, the great shepherd brought again from the dead, and the chief shepherd who is coming again.