He Shall Gently Lead
I’ll never see Isaiah 40:10–11 the same way again. While I have often contemplated this text, I now have a brand new lens through which to visualize it. My new visual isn’t of a literal shepherd carrying a real lamb in his arms, but of thousands of Ukrainian mothers—maternal shepherds—embracing their children in their arms, resting them on their hips, carrying them upon their shoulders, and pressing them to their bosom. What we have all seen recently are wrenching images of people in exile, and of little ones being gathered, hand-held, comforted, and carried as they go. These images bleed tender devoted love, watchful care, wearisome toil, and profound grief.
Exile is the context for Isaiah 40. Just earlier we see Israel banished from their homeland, and made to traipse off to Babylon, plodding along one bereaved step at a time. But now we observe another walking among the grieving throng. He carries himself with stronger gait, and his presence produces both comfort and hope. His coming is the good news that God’s beleaguered chosen people need to hear. He is the God they must behold (Isa. 40:1, 9–10, 29–32).
The Coming of the Lord God
Our text says that the Lord God—earlier revealed as the Eternal God born a child—comes. He draws near to enter our exile and walk among his children. He is not far off. Nor is he a distant deity who ignores and abandons. He is Emmanuel, the God who is with us. He visits you and me to touch, to heal, to carry, and to save. And when he comes, he stays (Isa. 7:14; 9:6).
We need to know who this coming One is. He is El Gibbor—the Mighty God—who comes with might. By his all-powerful arm he rules sovereignly and irresistibly over the nations (see “God Dwarfs the Nations”) and throughout our exile. He is the Good and Chief Shepherd who tends his flock—nurturing, protecting, and restoring the weary, hungry, and hurting (Isa. 40:10–11; Dan. 4:18, 34–35; Mic. 5:2–4; John 10:11; 1 Pet. 5:4).
He is the shepherd who gathers us as his lambs, guiding the weak, the wanderer, and the wayward back to each other under his watchful eye. He gently leads us without ever being harsh, berating, or impatient in restoring us to his righteous path (Ps. 23:3).
He is the one to whom we belong in love, for the flock he tends is his. He is no hired hand, fulfilling a sheep-tending job obligation, he is The Good Shepherd who knows his own sheep by name. And in his great love, he gives his life for his sheep (Isa. 53:4–6; John 10:1–18).
This is the one who will make all things right, rewarding the faithful and bringing recompense to all who do them harm. The justice God’s people have yearned for and so seldom seen in this age, will appear in his hand. Those who do wrong to the people of God will receive their due. And those who belong to him by grace, will see their rights restored and their reward made full (Isa. 40:10, 27).
Exiles and Strangers
Isaiah 40 and the daily images of Ukrainian exile, now so much a part of our life, are images of the life we all live. Those who follow Christ faithfully are all exiles, pilgrims, and sojourners in a strange land. None of us are home yet, and we all will need a shepherd to carry us all the rest of the way.
Believers in exile is a consistent theme in the Bible. We are “sojourners and exiles” in this world. We are the Dispersion, God’s scattered elect and holy nation, who are now numbered among the ancients who were “strangers and aliens on the earth.” Like Abraham—and like our Ukrainian brothers and sisters—we are going, often not knowing where life will lead; except that there is a “land of promise” awaiting. We have joined our spiritual forebears in “seeking a homeland”—a better country that is a heavenly one (Heb. 11:8–9, 13–16; James 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1; 2:9–11).
For many years, the American church has been far too much at home in this world. This is why so many of us are profoundly unsettled by our plummeting status in recent time. For better or for worse, Christianity once had a dominant shaping role in our civilization. Many Christians felt at home in what they believed to be a Christian country. But this illusion no longer holds. Our dominance has vanished. And while the church remained respected for a time, even in its post-dominance role, its influence continues to diminish. Once seemingly tolerated, it became marginalized as irrelevant.
Today, the church is openly disdained—likely with overt persecution fast approaching. Increasingly we are ostracized, alienated as unwanted others in a strange land. Although this has been the church’s norm in many places and times, it is a new and difficult change for those of us who have unwisely settled down and settled in.
How then do we face our renewed sojourner, outcast, and exile status? First, we must know that being ostracized exiles is part of our Christian identity. We should not be surprised by a trial familiar to believers everywhere. We must join them, and Jesus, outside the gate, while seeking the city that is to come (Heb. 13:12–14; 1 Pet. 4:12–14; 5:8–11).
Then we must undergird our hope-filled strength by beholding our God in the certainty that he is our mighty shepherd. He is the one who continually comes for us and will always stay, with his strong arm and tender care. He will carry us throughout our long exile all the way to the homeland that awaits. And because of his great love we may rest fully assured in this: we will be just as safe and strong in his arms while in exile, as we would be if there were no exile at all.
Tim Shorey is married to Gayline, his wife of 44 years, and has six grown children and 13 grandchildren. In his 40th year of pastoral ministry, he helps lead Risen Hope Church, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Among his books are Respect the Image: Reflecting Human Worth in How We Listen and Talk; 30/30 Hindsight: 30 Reflections on a 30-Year Headache; and his recently released, award-winning An ABC Prayer to Jesus: Praise for Hearts Both Young and Old. To find out more, visit timothyshorey.com.