The God Who Rescues
Beneath the rugged cliffs of Brora, Scotland, a sheep needed rescue. Trapped at the base of a cliff, surrounded by steep and unyielding rock on one side and the vast ocean on the other, the sheep had been on its own for two long years. Despite several rescue attempts, no one could reach her until a determined farmer named Cammy Wilson and four friends successfully executed a risky rescue mission. Three members of the team carefully descended nearly 820 feet down the cliff to get her, using a winch and a lot of courage to lift her out of her predicament.
The determined and sympathetic farmer and team reflect the compassion of our loving Father as depicted in Jeremiah 23:1-3. The prophet denounced Judah’s sinful leaders as shepherds who were “destroying and scattering the sheep of [God’s] pasture!” (v. 1). God declared through Jeremiah that—due to the ruthless way they treated His helpless people—He’d “bestow punishment” on them (v. 2). He saw the plight of His scattered flock and was deeply concerned about them. Not only was God concerned, but He also said He’d lovingly regather His sheep from places of exile and bring them to a place of safety and abundance (v. 3).
When we feel lost, trapped, or isolated, our heavenly Father sees our plight and won’t leave us stranded. He actively seeks to rescue and restore us.
By Marvin Williams - Bread Ministries
Jeremiah 23:1-8
The Righteous Branch
23 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David[a] a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
