Of sheep, and goats

 

And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord.  --Ezekiel 34:31

A classic barbershop quartet song speaks about an adventurous goat owned by a man named Bill Grogan.  If you have heard it, you may sing it in your head every time you read it:

Bill Grogan’s goat,
Was feeling fine.
Ate three red shirts,
Right off the line.

Bill took a stick,
Gave him a whack,
And tied that goat,
To the railroad track.

The whistle blew,
The train grew nigh,
Bill Grogan’s goat,
Was doomed to die.

He heaved a sigh,
Of awful pain,
Coughed up the shirts,
And flagged the train!

Yes, goats are adventurous and curious, and those traits sometimes cause them to eat things they shouldn't.  While sheep like to graze on grass and clover, keeping their heads down, goats prefer leaves, twigs, and shrubs.  Because of their agility, they will often stand up on their hind legs to reach the tops of plants. Coupled with their curious and inquisitive nature, their liking for anything they can get in their mouths often gives them a bad name.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the differences between sheep and goats.  The Bible surely makes a distinction, often equating sheep with God's chosen and preferred people, and goats with evil-doers, sinners, and those left behind on the last day.  One of the distinctions, obviously, is diet.  Is it any wonder, then, that one of the identifying marks of God's people in the Old Testament was their diet?  Kosher dietary laws prohibit Jews, God's chosen people, from eating anything and everything.  It's one of the things that sets them apart.

There are other differences between sheep and goats.  Aside from their genetic make-up (sheep have 54 chromosomes, goats have 60), there are four distinct, observable differences between the two animals.  Without belaboring the point, I want to show a correlation with the physical and spiritual differences outlined in Scripture.

First, an obvious outward sign is the tail.  A goat's tail points up.  A sheep's tail hangs down.  It is usually cropped or shortened for health and sanitary reasons.  A shepherd that cares for the sheep will cut off the tail because he cares for the sheep, and this is usually done when the sheep is young.

In the Old Testament, an identifying mark of His people was circumcision.  It was a physical alteration done, some might say, for health and sanitary reasons.  God, who cared deeply for His people, ordered the practice to set His people apart, and it was usually done when the baby was very young.  Romans 2:25-29 says, "For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the Law, but if you break the Law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.  So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?  Then he he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the Law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but breaks the Law.  For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.  But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.  His praise is not from man but from God."

A second outward difference is the glands.  Goats have glands in the tail which emit a strong odor during rutting (mating) season.  The purpose is sexual, to attract a mate and procreate.  Sheep, on the other hand, have glands on their feet.  Their scent can be followed by others who keep their heads down, who search deeply and earnestly.  Romans 10:14-15 says, "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'"

I had always thought of 2 Corinthians 2:14 in terms of a conquering Roman parade, leading the procession with the captives trailing behind.  "But thanks be to God," it says, "who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere."  How different it is to think not of a conquering general, but of a gentle shepherd, who leads His sheep out of harm's way.  Because a sheep's glands are on its feet, the fragrance of the knowledge of the Good Shepherd is spread with every step.

A third physical difference is the wool.  Goats are covered in hair that does not need grooming or shearing.  Goats are independent in that way, but they are selfish, too.  Sheep need to be shorn every year or so to keep them healthy.  This accomplishes two things at once:  First, it means a dependence upon the Shepherd.  A sheep cannot shear himself, nor can he count on other sheep to help him in this way.  Second, it is for the benefit of the Shepherd that wool is harvested and sold.  The wool is made into clothing to cover others, and to keep them warm.

When cleaned thoroughly, wool is often bright white.  In Scripture, it can symbolize purity.  Isaiah 1:18 says, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."  Daniel 7:9 says, "As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire."

A fourth physical difference is found in the eyes.  A goat does not have tear ducts, but a sheep does.  Goats must keep debris out of their eyes in other ways, while sheep can wash their eyes clean.  Humanly, tears denote sadness, shame, and emotional distress.  Spiritually dead people show no emotion.  

Ezekiel 11:19 describes a spiritual awakening. "And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them.  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God."

Fred Rogers died of stomach cancer in 2003.  He read scripture in the hospital, the story of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25.  His last words before slipping into a coma were when he asked his wife, "Do you think I'm a sheep?"

I have been reading Ezekiel in my daily Bible readings.  Over the first 33 chapters, Ezekiel preached the wrath of God toward Israel and other nations.  But in the 34th chapter, the tone changes.  "For thus says the Lord God," he writes in verse 11, "Behold I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out."  He will look for those with physical differences, who are marked for His service.  He will look for those He cares deeply about, even those who may have suffered short term pain for His glory.  He will look for those who leave a pleasing odor wherever their feet step.  He will look for those who humbly submit to Him, and who share of themselves with others.  He will look for those who sincerely repent with tears deep from the heart, not those with a heart of stone.

Why did Ezekiel spend so long preaching against the nation of Israel?  Because they had intermingled with the other nations, nations who were genetically different from them.  Most of the time, sheep and goats cannot mate, at least not with any success.  I read one online article that said when sheep and goats hybrids are created in a lab, they are called chimeras.  A chimera is a mythological creature that combines parts taken from several different animals.  God meted out His divine discipline, as prophesied through Ezekiel, to His sheep that had taken on too many characteristics of her neighbors.

"Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?" (Ezekiel 34:18).  Be set apart, true to your calling.  Be in the world, but not of the world.  Follow the Good Shepherd, not the siren song of sin.  "My sheep hear my voice."