Sermonette: The Shepherd of Israel
Between The Cherubim
#1487s
David C. Grabbe
Given 11-May-19; 18 minutes
description: (hide) Marcionism taught that the God of the Old Testament was inferior to Christ, the God of the New Testament, a teaching echoed in some Protestant thought to this day. Comparing the names of God as they appear in the Old Testament with the way the writers of the New use them, we can learn much about the nature and roles of the Father and the Son, while at the same time proving both gnostic Marcionism and Protestant thought to be in error. Some names, such as Elohim and Theos and Lord, are general, and can refer to either the Father or Son. Others are more specific. Comparing references to the title Shepherd in the Old Testament with references in the New, it is clear that Christ is the Shepherd of Israel. Additionally, other Old and New Testament references show that the Rock and Stone of the Old Testament refer unambiguously to Christ in the New, and others equate the Rock and Stone with the Shepherd. The Rock, Stone and Shepherd of Israel is Christ. Additionally, Psalm 80 shows that the Shepherd of Israel sat between the Cherubim on the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies, an indisputable indication that the Shepherd of Israel (Christ) is the God of the Old Testament. Through the work of Christ, we have access to the Father, a privilege not bestowed on those living under the Old Covenant.