The "Good" Shepherd Disciplines His Own

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.
-- David, The Shepherd-boy King's Words in Psalm 119:67 (NIV)

(5b) “My child, don’t make light of the LORD’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you. (6) For the LORD disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.” (7) As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? (8) If God doesn’t discipline you as He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children at all. -- Hebrews 12:5b-8 (NLT)

Roy Gustafson, who has led many parties to The Holy Land, tells in his book "In His Hand" (p.46) that on one of his visits, on the road down from Jerusalem through the Judean wilderness to Jericho, they met a shepherd carrying one of his sheep with a splint and a bandage on its leg. Said their guide, who'd lived nearly fifty years in that area, "The shepherd broke that sheep's leg himself."

And it was true! It was explained that this was a sheep that was always wandering off, and in the process leading other sheep astray. Membership in the flock carries certain responsibilities, and as much as the shepherd feels a real affection for his animals, discipline is the only thing that will keep them together, as they must be kept together for their well-being and their safety. So to cure this sheep of its self-willed ways, the shepherd had broken its leg, and then hand fed and carried it till the bone was mended ... and (hopefully) its waywardness.

The Twenty-Third Psalm (KJV)
(1) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
(2) He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
(3) He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
(4) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
(5) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
(6) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Baa. Baa.
Grateful