April 8

Friday April 8 Jeremiah 23:1-8
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the
LORD.
Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds
who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven
them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil
doings, says the LORD.
Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of
all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and
they shall be fruitful and multiply.
I will raise up shepherds over them who will
shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be
missing, says the LORD.
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a
righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute
justice and righteousness in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will
live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our
righteousness.”
Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be
said, “As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of
Egypt,”but “As the LORD lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house
of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven
them.” Then they shall live in their own land.

DG Comment: When Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd, we know there is Old Testament basis and powerful symbolism for the metaphor. We are Christ's flock. God cares for us.