Following the herd never leads to the freedom you desire.
Isaiah 53 (NIV)
Our focus today will be on v6, but the chapter that surrounds it is too beautiful to left unread!
53 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Canons of Dordt
Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election
Articles 1-9
Article 10: Election Based on God’s Good Pleasure
The cause of this undeserved election is exclusively the good pleasure of God.
This does not involve God’s choosing certain human qualities or actions from among all those possible as a condition of salvation,
but rather involves
adopting certain particular persons
from among the common mass of sinners
as God’s own possession.
Summary
Last week we read about Jesus being our Good Shepherd, and after being reminded of that, it felt pretty good to be a sheep. Today, Isaiah reminds us as to why it is that the Bible so often compares us to sheep, and it's not a complimentary analogy!
Since many of our readers live in rural areas, you likely have had some sort of experience working with sheep, and you immediately understand how we often we reflect their poor decision making capabilities and tendency to always follow the flock/crowd. It's this contradictory tendency - to crave individual freedom while having deep seated herd mentality - that Isaiah captures in v6, writing that we all, like sheep, have gone astray.
Drawing on another famous Biblical sheep metaphor, we were led by our Shepherd to lie down in green pastures and beside quiet waters, but our sinful instinct sent us walking through the darkest valley. Rather than listen to our Shepherd's voice gently calling us back, we continue to follow the herd that's gone astray.
Dig Deeper
It’s easy to blame the herd for your own sin-driven choices. After all, you’re just following the flock, not doing anything all that different from the sheep around you.
But Isaiah’s words cut through that excuse: each of us has turned to our own way. Here’s the irony — those who lead the herd astray, whether in politics, culture, or entertainment, don’t appeal to conformity. They promise individuality, autonomy, and freedom. Yet, in chasing that illusion of independence, people end up marching in lockstep with the herd — unified not by true freedom, but by a shared drift away from the Shepherd who offers it.
But Isaiah doesn't let us wallow too long in our sheep-like guilt before reminding us that our iniquity - that is, the guilt resulting from our sinful wandering - has been laid on him, the one who would become like a sheep for the sheep. Only Jesus wouldn't be like a sheep in the same way we are, He would be the sacrificial Lamb who bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose will prospers in the hand of the Suffering Servant;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will resist following the heard and instead know your Shepherd and listen to His voice;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Hebrews 2
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