434. God will feed the flock
Zechariah 11:7And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
The Lord promises to feed the flock. The promise came true in Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who feeds and nourishes the Church, the flock of the people of God. The image of the Lord as the shepherd of the sheep comes through the Scriptures in many places, most notably in Jesus’ promise to be our Good Shepherd. Here we the believers are called the flock of slaughter. Jesus Himself became a Lamb who was slaughtered. The suffering and death of Christ is the source of our life and salvation, and of our forgiveness and feeding.
We also are the slaughtered ones, for Sin has taken its toll on life, and Death reaps the wages of sin, and the Devil robs us of the joy of life. All day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. But in all these things we are more than conquerors, for the Lamb of God was slaughtered in our place. And now He feeds us with the milk of life and the grains of salvation, earned by His slaughtering.
This Good News of salvation feeds us, nourishes us, makes us alive, fixes us up, and keeps us going. The Gospel is especially refreshing when we are poor. “Blessed are the poor.” The Gospel turns us from weakness, poverty and wretchedness to strength, riches and pure joy.
The Lord our Shepherd tends the sheep with the rod and staff called Beauty and Bands. He gives the grace and loveliness of the Lord God to live in us, transforming sinners into saints. He gives the unity and fellowship joy of being one with the Lord God of the universe; He binds us with an unbreakable bond between Himself and all other believers. We are fed and cared for in Jesus’ powerful hands.