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SHEPHERDS AND JOY
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Luke 2:8-20
December 13, 2009
Before reading this sermon please go to “youtube” and watch the video – Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs, Cow Poo checker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9BaUwR4O5k
OK. Cow poo checker qualifies as a bad job, don’t you think? I’m not saying it isn’t an important job. Those of us who eat beef should probably be grateful to the cow poo checker for making sure that the cow’s diet is continually adjusted to produce the highest quality meat. Still, just because the job is important doesn’t mean it is pleasant. Cow poo checker is a bad job.
Throughout history there have always been bad jobs. In fact, in Jesus’ day there were official lists of bad jobs, or despised trades, which you should never teach your son. Some of the bad jobs make perfect sense, and some of them are a little surprising. In any event, if you took one of these jobs your life was forever changed in a negative way; either you were no longer trusted, or you were deliberately shunned.
The first two jobs on the list were Dung Collector and Tanner. The dung collector picked up sheep and cattle dung in baskets, and brought it back into the city so it could be burned as fuel for fire (there are very few trees, and no coal near Jerusalem – so if you wanted a constant fire to make pottery or bake bread, you were forced to burn dung). The tanner worked with animal skins preparing them for use as fabric. Both of these jobs were on the list because of the terrible smell associated with them. Interestingly, these were the only two jobs where a wife could file for divorce.
In first century Palestine a man could divorce his wife at the drop of a hat for just about any arbitrary reason (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). Women were never permitted to divorce their husbands; unless they were a dung collector or a tanner. Before the marriage a prenuptial agreement was drawn up, where the woman promised to do her best to stay married to the man. A large sum of money was put aside in an escrow account. At any time the wife could approach the husband and tell him, “I thought I could endure it, but now I cannot endure it.” She was granted an immediate divorce and was given the escrow money to help her get by.
The next occupation might surprise you a little; physicians were on the list of despised trades. The reason is because patients were not treated on the basis of the severity of their illness. They were treated based solely on their ability to pay. If you were rich you had immediate access to a doctor, no matter how minor your problem. If you were poor you might wait several days to see the doctor, no matter how severe your injury. Many poor people died before the doctor ever made it to their home. This is so morally wrong that religious authorities placed physician on the list of bad jobs.
The next set of bad jobs are listed because they were considered immoral. These are jobs where you worked closely with women. In the mind of the first century Rabbi there is only one reason why a man would take a job where he worked day in and day out with women – he was trying to seduce them. On this list you find Goldsmith, Weaver, Tailor, Barber, and Bath attendant. These are jobs where you either oversaw a workforce of women, or your clients were primarily women. No man who worked in one of these jobs could ever be King, or High Priest. These jobs were viewed very much like the modern day pornographer.
Some jobs were on the list because you had to have a predatory personality to work in these fields. This list includes: Men who Gamble professionally, Loan Sharks, Tax Collectors, and Publicans. These are jobs where you did not earn you wages by hard work, but by preying on the labor of others. You’ve probably heard that a tax collector and a publican were the same thing; almost but not quite. The tax collector came to you once a year and charged you a fee just for being alive, just for breathing. He was a hated man because he generally charged you two or three times the legal amount – and yet, there was nothing you could do about it.
Publicans also collected taxes, but for specific events or uses. For example, there were toll roads in Jesus’ day and the man who collected the toll was a publican, not a tax collector. If you needed a fishing license you paid the publican, not the tax collector. Publican’s rarely overcharged. However, with time, they began to charge fees on things that really should be free – like filing a police report after your home had been robbed. The men on this list (gambler, loan shark, tax collector, publican) were so hated it was illegal to take a donation to charity from them. Once they had touched money, the money was considered despicable.
The last list contained the most despised trades. These were jobs that encouraged and taught embezzlement and thievery. On this list were: Sailor, Donkey Driver, Camel Driver, and Shepherd. Sailors, Donkey and Camel drivers were hated because they tended to steal a lot of the merchandise they were transporting. The modern day equivalent would be a UPS driver who opened his packages and stole from each of them. You can see why that would make people so angry.
Shepherds were despised because they intentionally led their sheep onto other people’s land, and let them eat grass that didn’t belong to them. Shepherds would pilfer from the flock. When lambs were born they would pick out the very best and hide them, then sell them later on the black market. It was expressly forbidden to buy wool, milk, or lambs directly from the shepherd. The shepherd was the equivalent of a shadowy figure standing in a dark alley saying, “Psst. Buddy, want to buy a watch?” If a shepherd wasn’t doing his job, and lost one of his sheep, he would sneak out at night and steal a sheep from someone else’s flock.
Shepherds were considered to be of such low character that they could never be appointed as a judge. In fact, they were not allowed to give testimony and serve as a witness in a trial. The presumption was that a shepherd would always lie. There was some hypocrisy involved here. You can’t leave the sheep alone to watch themselves on the Sabbath, the shepherd must stay with the sheep. This meant shepherds were ceremonially unclean and couldn’t come to Temple or worship, because they didn’t keep the Sabbath. Yet, sheep were necessary as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people. So, the Temple required a large supply of sheep, but the shepherds couldn’t have their sins forgiven.
Now that you know this isn’t it amazing that God chose David, a shepherd boy to be the king of Israel (1 Samuel 9:1-2, 15). David was the youngest of eight sons, the least important, the most expendable, and the one that really doesn’t matter. He is not a significant child; let him work as our shepherd. And yet, God bypasses the tall, handsome, charismatic Saul; and replaces him with a shepherd boy.
Even more astounding, even more shocking, even more unbelievable is this; on the night that the Savior of all mankind was born the first ones chosen to hear the story, and the ones entrusted to be witnesses – were shepherds. The very men who were considered to be the least valuable, the least reliable, and the least trustworthy were given the awesome responsibility of being the very first evangelists. The most insignificant men of that day were given the most precious message to share.
And, make no mistake; this message of a new king was a political bombshell. This message, combined with the arrival of the wise men, would cause King Herod to slaughter innocent babies (Matthew 2:16). This message, combined with a fear of failing influence, would cause the San Hedrin to decide Jesus must die (John 11:50). This message, combined with fear of Roman anger, caused Pilate to kill a man he considered to be innocent (John 19:1-16). Two thousand years later this message still infuriates Muslim nations. And, it was trusted to shepherds.
If you read the Bible it seems to have a fairly high opinion of Shepherds, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). You need to know that the Bible is the only document written in its day that portrays shepherds positively, every other document is highly disdainful of them. Jesus’ positive affirmation of shepherds is singularly unique.
But, that’s how our God works isn’t it? Our God seeks out the lost, the lonely, and the unimportant. Our God values the least valuable among us. Our God loves the most unlovable. No one is too insignificant to be loved by God. Our God’s amazing power is displayed the most effectively when the least capable and the least worthy are his witnesses. The Apostles were taken from the worst men for the job. No other Rabbi would ever have considered using them. And yet, two thousand years later their church still thrives – which proves it’s not the men, it’s the God. Paul writes, “But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
It doesn’t matter what other people think of you. It doesn’t matter whether other people value you or not. It doesn’t matter whether you have a glamorous job, or the most beautiful wife, or if you went to the very best college. God did not send his Son just to save the King, or the Priest, or the Rabbi. God sent his Son to die so that every Tanner, and Physician, and Weaver, and Tax Collector, and Sailor, and Shepherd, and Cow Poo Checker might have eternal life and eternal joy. This is how you know his love for you is real. He sent the lowest of the low to tell the Christmas story.
Kenneth L. Barker & John R. Kohlenberger III. Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, volume 2: New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 219.