The Wonders of God’s Creation
The Lord has very graciously called those that love Him His sheep and lambs. This is understandable because these animals always need someone to look after them. If they see a chance to break away, they quickly get into trouble and usually don’t get back until the shepherd goes out and saves them. The Lord Jesus does this for all who love Him and know Him as their Good Shepherd.
Most of North America’s sheep are raised in Texas, California, Wyoming, South Dakota and Colorado, but there are some raised in every state as well as the provinces of Canada. The largest flocks in the world are in New Zealand where they often cover hillsides so solidly that from a distance they look to be snow-covered.
These wooly animals are called lambs until they are a year old, and after that the females are called ewes and the males are called rams. The cries of the little ones sound like they are calling “Ma Ma,” and the mother ewe does her best to see that they stay near her. For the first week the lambs’ only food is their mothers’ milk, but soon they start eating grass and hay. Then they seem to enjoy spending all the time possible in the pastures.
Like cows, sheep have a four-part stomach, which the Creator has provided to enable them to digest all their food. They eat so rapidly and swallow so fast that they don’t have time to do any chewing. In fact, they can’t, because their upper jaw has only a thick pad with no teeth, although the lower jaw does have them. When they close their mouths around a bunch of grass, they clamp down hard on it and give their heads a strong jerk, and then just swallow the bite. Later the sheep bring the grass up to their mouths for “chewing the cud.” Then it passes on to another part of their stomachs.
Large flocks in the western parts of the United States and Canada are watched over by shepherds and their helpful dogs. This is a lonely job with no human visitors for long periods of time. During these times the shepherds get to know their sheep and lambs really well. The shepherds live alone in campers in which there may be a refrigerator and a small stove for cooking and warmth when the weather gets chilly.
It would be a poor shepherd who was not kind to his sheep, as well as to the trained dogs that help him. The beginning Bible verse tells us of the Good Shepherd who cares for boys and girls who know Him as their Saviour. He thinks of them as His much-loved lambs and the older ones as His sheep. And He wants you to be His lamb or sheep, too, if you have not yet accepted the Lord Jesus as your Good Shepherd and learned how He will protect you when Satan tries to harm you. Are you part of the flock He loves so well?
(to be continued)
ML-12/10/1989