Shepherds and Sheepdogs
“This man lives in the steppe south of Aktobinsk, western Kazakhstan. He lives in a small farm house with electricity but no water. He owns quite a few goats and sheep and … carries a gun to kill any wolf who tries to get to his herd, a common problem in that area.”
Image: Airunp / Wikimedia Commons
For example, in ancient Israel, sheep herding was a vital part of life. During the day, it was easy for the shepherd or sheepdog to see a wolf and protect the flock. Nighttime was a different story; when darkness fell, the shepherd was powerless. Not so with the dog. Even in the dark, when he could not “judge after the sight of his eyes or reprove after the hearing of his ears”, the dog could smell a wolf. A dog’s sense of smell is 100 times greater than a human’s. At a burnedout arson site a dog can smell 1/500,000th of a drum of flammable fuel. It was this usage of ruach which Isaiah said would typify the future Messiah. When Messiah came, He would not depend on sight or hearing for making judgment; instead, another sense, one which could penetrate the dark, would be His basis of judgment. When the Scripture says, “The Spirit of the Lord shall … make him of quick understanding,” that is, “quick to smell”, it literally means the Messiah will be able to “smell a wolf in the dark”. That is the clearest, most poignant illustration of the Holy Spirit’s gift of discerning of spirits that you will find anywhere in Scripture. It also means that those who operate in this blessed sheepdog-endowment do not find themselves defenseless simply because night has fallen. Not so.
Here is my concern; I meet pastors and church members who are virtually powerless in the area of discernment. They excel in their love for God. But in detecting Satan’s devices, they remain spiritually naive. Costly mistakes are made. The sheepdog is urgently needed.
Theoretically, what these Christians observe in daylight hours, they recognize well. When darkness falls, they are helpless as anyone else, easily victimized by “those who lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14). When the thief comes to “kill, steal, and destroy,” they are quickly exploited (John 10:10). The high divorce rate among Christians is primary proof of what I say. Deception tears good couples apart. Families, individuals, even churches, frequently have long histories of wrong decision making. This cannot be the will of God. He is not honored when the world makes fools of His children.
God has provided adequate protection against this hazard through the Holy Spirit’s gift of “discerning of spirits” (1 Corinthians 12:10). But this gift does not operate automatically; it has to be sought, nourished, and lovingly developed. A casual attitude toward it will produce superficial results; an earnest seeking of it will bring remarkable discretion and judgment. The choice is ours. In the New Testament day, the word “discern” was a Greek medical term which meant “to cut and look below the surface”. With this spiritual gift in operation, one does not merely rely on things as they appear but may know them as they really are. Yes, it is possible, for believers to operate in the revelations of the Holy Spirit. In this capacity, we can regard ourselves as sheepdogs. Besides exposing things that are evil and dangerous, the Caleb-gift of discerning spirits also discloses the good and beautiful.
Category: Ministry, Spring 2010
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