Shepherd Stories: The Bear
Rippling waters flowed melodically downstream. A cool breeze was blowing from the west. At the base of the Welcome Creek Wilderness area the river flows its way towards the ocean 500 miles away. Huge rocks, trees, grasses, berry bushes cover the area. The mountains at this point are almost strait up for 3000 feet. The rugged serenity of the afternoon was sublime and comforting. Being in the mountains of Montana is comforting and beautiful and dangerous. Suddenly across the creek there stood a grizzly bear. With the wind direction and the dancing waters he had not yet seen or heard us. Standing still, with the hair on the back of my neck also standing still, we waited, motionless.
Several minutes passed by as the grizzly came down to the creek and took a long drink of the clear cool waters of Rock Creek. Still, he had not noticed us as we were frozen in our tracks. Just 75 feet away from where we stood the terror of the Rocky Mountains lapped up water. It seemed like an eternity but the bear finally began to move back up the mountain side away from us and the creek. Quietly, carefully we began a strategic retreat downriver to move away from the grizzly bear. It was then he saw us. Again, what little hair is left on the back of my neck stood up. For the next several minutes Mr. Grizzly bear flanked us on his side of the river for about 300 yards. He was watching and deciding if the two of us were worth the effort. Then as suddenly as we had seen him, he scampered up the side of the mountain and quickly out of our view.
Bears are interesting creations of God. Knowing how bears react in the wild can save one’s life. A bear may “bluff charge” or “aggressively charge” what it considers to be a challenge or a foe. There are also “predatory” bears. Beware of predatory bears as they are on the hunt and are willing to fight and kill for their food.
The young lad David was shepherd to his family’s flock of sheep. A tireless and thankless job where the shepherd nurtures and protects the sheep in the wilderness. Goliath, the giant of the Philistines, when challenged by the young teenager David, cursed Israel by his gods. Earlier that day, David had gone to King Saul and with the pure faith of a youth in love with the God of Israel he informed the king, “ But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.’” (I Sam. 17:34-36 [NKJV]).
Goliath exhibited the aggressive predatory nature of the grizzly bear. Like the grizzly bear, he was large and used to easily dispatching his prey. Like a grizzly bear he was supreme in his own power and strength. David’s faith and skill as a shepherd overcame the size and power of the enemy giant. Do we have this faith when confronted with those who claim their god is superior to The God, our God, Jesus Christ? Do we have the faith of David to overcome the bear we face every day in life?
Bears are powerful and can easily devastate a flock of sheep. For David to have singlehandedly fought and killed the bear while a young lad tending his sheep says much about his character. He did not flee at the first sign of trouble. He did not flinch during the attack. He acted in faith and God gave him the victory over the bear just like God gave him the victory over the giant predatorial Goliath.
How powerful are bears? The young men who belittled the prophet Elisha found out the hard way. After being ridiculed and disrespected, Elisha “looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.” (II Kings 2:24). 42 to two and the bears won.
Shepherding is not easy. For all the goodness and cuteness of baby lambs there are the days of trial and attacks on the flock. The shepherd must always be ready to defend those in his charge. Evil is lurking and waiting for an opportunity to destroy the flock. As a shepherd of over 30 years, I have learned to be ever vigilant as David was. Even so, a human shepherd must sleep and cannot always be with the flock. Thus, The LORD is our shepherd and we will not want. He is our good shepherd. (John 10:11).
The afternoon hike along the creek by the wilderness area turned out well. Knowing how to react to the threat from the grizzly bear made a difference. The grizzly went his way and we went ours. Whether hiking in the woods or living our life, we should all keep our vigilance up for danger. Wild animals stalk and wait for their moment to snatch away lambs from the fold. Satan and his demons stalk and wait for their moment to snatch us away from God. We should all be the diligent shepherd David was.
Mike Wallace
