David My Servant Go Be Dia Shepherd

Sheep wey scatter across di hills inside fog. Some dey limp. Some don fall enter deep valley. Some don waka so far say dem no fit find dia way back. And then one voice call across di mountains: I myself dey come for you.

Ezekiel na priest wey dem carry go exile for Babylon with thousands of other people, about six hundred years before Jesus. E dey live beside one canal wey dem dey call Chebar, far from home. News reach di exiles say Jerusalem don fall finish. For di old world, people dey often call kings and leaders shepherds. Dia work na to protect di people and take care of dem. But di shepherds of Israel don fail. For di first part of dis chapter, God talk against dem. Una chop di fat and una wear di wool, e talk, but una no feed di flock. Una no strengthen di weak ones, una no heal di sick ones, una no tie di ones wey wound, and una no find di ones wey lost. Una rule dem with hard hand. And na so di sheep scatter.

Then God make one promise. Look, I, even I, go find my sheep, and I go search dem out. No be another hired worker. God imself. Like shepherd wey dey go look for im flock for dark and cloudy day, God go rescue im sheep from every place wey dem don scatter go. E go gather dem from di nations, bring dem back to dia own land, and feed dem for di mountains of Israel, near di streams. Dem go lie down for good grazing land, for rich pasture. I go feed my flock, na so di Lord talk, and I go make dem lie down.

And hear how di care of God dey reach every detail. I go find di one wey lost, bring back di one wey dem drive away, tie di one wey break, and strengthen di one wey sick. Every kind of sheep wey di bad shepherds ignore, God go take care of am. But warning dey too. Some of di strong sheep don dey push di weak ones around, dem dey match di grass and dey make di water dirty so di others no fit chop or drink. God talk, I go judge between sheep and sheep. I go save my flock. Nobody go bully dem again.

Then di promise wey surprise pass all. I go set up one shepherd over dem, and e go feed dem, my servant David. E go feed dem, and e go be dia shepherd. And I, di Lord, go be dia God, and my servant David go be prince among dem. But King David don die for more than four hundred years. God mean new David, king from di family of David, wey go shepherd di people of God di way David, di shepherd boy from Bethlehem, take watch im papa sheep before. One shepherd, under God, wey dey take care of one flock.

To call king shepherd na very old thing. Around one thousand seven hundred and fifty years before Christ, King Hammurabi of Babylon make dem carve im laws for one big stone pillar, and for di opening lines e call imself di shepherd, wey di gods choose, wey dey bring well-being to im people. Di people wey dey hear Ezekiel, wey dey live for Babylon, for know say kings dey boast say dem be shepherds. Wetin God complain about na say di shepherds of Israel no live up to dat name.

David My Servant Go Be Dia Shepherd. You go find am for Ezekiel chapter thirty-four, verse eleven to twenty-four. For di first Christmas night, shepherds near Bethlehem, di town of David, na dem first hear about new born son of David. And dat child grow up come talk say, I be di good shepherd, and e tell about shepherd wey leave di ninety-nine go find di one sheep wey lost. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. God promise say e go find im lost sheep by imself. When you don feel say you lost, and how God fit dey look for you?