Isaiah 40:11: “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms.”

The word for flock and shepherd are the same words. One is used as a noun and the other as a verb. It is up to the translator to apply the application so it makes some sense.  The word used for shepherd in the Hebrew here is ra’ah.  It can mean shepherd but in its Semitic root it is the word RA and is the prime word for evil. There are many words in Hebrew which begins with RA (Resh Ayin).  Each word would reflect a different type of evil. Ra’ah  has the idea of a consuming passion. A consuming passion can be evil if that passion is drugs, alcohol or even sex.  We would use the word ra’ah today to describe an addiction.  A drug addict will sacrifice his job, resources, family and friends to satisfy his passion for drugs.  In such a case that consuming passion is evil. Yet a consuming passion is some cases is good.  Shepherds are consumed with their sheep as they spend their lives leading them to green pastures, cool waters and protecting them. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, hence the word ra’ah is used for a Shepherd.  A true friend is one who is consumed with love for his friends. As Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friend (John 15:13).” Hence the word ra’ah is often rendered as a friend. From a friendship one is feed pleasure, comfort and delight. You are nourished emotionally from a friendship. Thus the word ra’ah is also used to express feeding, just as a shepherd will feed his sheep.

You see this whole verse is a picture.  God is not a literal shepherd, we are not sheep, we are humans and He is God.  But we are getting a picture of our relationship to God. Thus, God is not a master, dictator or tyrant, He is a friend.  He is one who has a consuming passion for us as we would have for Him.  Christianity and Judaism are the only religions in the world were its followers do not follow their God out of fear that this god will withhold the necessities of life if we do not honor him.  Unfortunately, many Christians tend to behave in this fashion and they treat Christianity as if it were any other pagan worship or worldly religion.  Only in Christianity and Judaism, who worship the same God, do we serve our God because we love Him, only in Christianity and Judaism do we experience a personal relationship with our God. Only the God Jehovah is a God who will call Himself a ra’ah, a consuming passion or a friend.

Yet, here is the most wonderful thing about this passage.  The word for lamb is tela’.  It is used only once in Scripture and it is found here and means lamb. There are about nine other words in the Hebrew that are used for lamb.  The most common is kebes which is simply a yearling sheep or lamb.  There is one for ewe lamb, another for a sacrificial lamb and another for a lamb without blemish or spot.

So what is this particular lamb that the Good Shepherd (friend) gathers in his arms?  It is the tela’.   Since it is used only once I had to go to extra Biblical sources, Hebrew writings outside of Scripture, to see how tela is used.  Tela actually means to be blemished, spotted or wounded.  The lamb that the Good Shepherd is carrying is one that is not perfect, it is flawed, or has been wounded and can not walk or feed on its own nor keep up with the rest of the flock.  This is the one who has been honored to rest in the Shepherds arms and be carried.  The Shepherd takes care of His whole flock and feeds them by leading them to pastures and cool waters, but it is the wounded lamb, the tela that he not only takes care of but carries, feeds with his own hand and lets the tela drink the water from the palm of His hand.

The Talmud teaches that the rich man only needs to depend upon God once for his wealth.  Each day he then turns to his wealth to be feed.  But for a poor man, God must feed him every day and thus every day he must depend upon God.  Why did God send manna to the children of Israel every day and if they collected more than was necessary for one day the manna would rot?  It is because He wanted Israel to wake up every morning depending on God for their next meal.

Maybe you feel you are a tela, a wounded lamb, a little lamb that cannot keep up with the rest of the flock.  If you are that little wounded lamb then you are the lucky one. You are the one that gets to be carried by the Good Shepherd, the ra’ah, the one who has a consuming passion for you. You get to be feed from His hand and drink from the palm of His hand.  Although He loves His entire flock, you, the little tela, the wounded lamb, gets that special attention because you need that special attention.