Sheep: December 2007

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 6
Sheep are very important to man because they provide both food and clothing. They are raised in every part of the world, and in Australia and New Zealand there are more sheep than people. In Palestine they follow the shepherd. They know his voice and will not follow a stranger. In the Bible, we read that sheep and lambs were offered in sacrifice. The Passover lambs were a type of the Lord Jesus, who was called “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Sheep are quite defenseless and are dependent upon the shepherd for safety and for good pasture. Did you know that Job had seven thousand sheep that were stolen, but then the Lord gave him fourteen thousand sheep at the end of his trial? Sheep, like people, like to wander and are easily misled. Like sheep, how easily are we overcome by evil, so it is necessary to keep close to the Good Shepherd. Many people know Psalm 23 but forget that the Lord had to die for them as mentioned in Psalm 22. We must know Him as our Saviour before we can have Him as our Shepherd. In the future judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-4631When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:31‑46)), the saved ones are called “sheep” and the lost ones are called “goats.”
1. Cain was a tiller of the ground, but what did Abel do? Genesis 4:___
2. What would a good shepherd give for his sheep? John 10:___
3. How many sheep and oxen were sacrificed by Solomon and the congregation of Israel? 2 Chronicles 5:___
4. When all things are put under the Lord’s feet, what land animals will be given to Him? Psalm 8:___
5. What do we read of believers who were as sheep going astray? 1 Peter 2:___