THE PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS

Goats at Silwan, Jerusalem (Sept 2003)

Matthew 25

³² and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats (ASV -- in the public domain)

The desert nomad used the goat as a source of milk, cheese, butter, and goat hair for rough cloth or tent fabric.  The desert black goat was able to go further without water than the sheep.  The sheep herder used the sheep for milk, cheese, butter, and wool.  The goat gave more milk than the sheep, yet it was seen doing more damage to the range.  The goat preferred to graze trees and bushes yet turned to eating grass and herbs when the bushes were overgrazed or when convenient.  I watched a Silwan goat pulling grass out of the ground by griping it with its teeth and pulling.  I then knew the saying that the sheep ate the grass but the goat took the grass and the roots.  The goat was seen wasting more energy running around and this consumed more pasture than a sheep was capable of.  Some might prefer sheep and others goats; yet some herders kept mixed flocks.  I read a book written by, Aref Abu-Rabia, The Negev Bedouin and Livestock Rearing (Berg Oxford/Providence) and learned that there was a problem amongst the sheep and goats at the feeding trough: "...the goats ate faster and were more aggressive using their horns to dominate the troughs and push away the sheep."  The herder had to separate the two groups and send one group at a time to the trough to keep the peace and prevent injury.  Jesus taught that God's judgment will separate the violent from the non-violent.

(April 2005 along Rt. 1 between Jerusalem and Jericho)

These sheep were resting about midday.  There was very little movement in the group of sheep and some of them seemed to have laid down for a nap.  Goats were walking around the edges of the group and the shepherd's donkey laid down to rest in the shade.

During this tour I saw that mixed flocks were common and that when grazing the sheep and goats sometimes split into groups.  If there were leafing bushes, the goats preferred to browse there, while the sheep ate the herbs and grasses.  If there were no bushes or low trees for the goats, they ate the herbs and grasses as well. 

DOVES

The meaning of the parable about separating sheep from goats is similar to Jesus' teaching in Matt. 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.  Jesus taught against violence, anger, and murder.  The dove is vegetarian.  A snake had to camouflage itself and was practiced at hiding, remaining motionless, finding hiding places such as rockpiles, brush piles, under layers of sand, and in rodent burrows.  It has no legs but climbed trees.  It was not exceedingly swift, but escaped the raptors, mammals, and other snakes who hunted it.    

Jerusalem, April 2005

Parable of the Mustard Seed
     A Mustard Field Along Highway 87-North Shore of Galilee
     Mustard Seeds in the Palm of a Hand
     A Branching Mustard Plant Near the Jordan River/Bethsaida
     Mustard Field March 1999
     Mustard Flowers
     Chukar Partridges
Upper Most Seats of the Synagogue
The Fig Tree
     Mt of Olives Fig Tree April 12-13, 2005
     Fig and Pomegranate trees below Siloam in Jerusalem
     Israel Photos II fig tree page
     Sycomore Fig Tree
The Good Shepherd
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
     Goat Herder
Camels
Eye of the Needle
Ritual Cleansing
Shechem
     The Olive Harvest of Samaria
     Mt. Ebal
     Olive Tree
Pearl of Great Price
A First Century Synagogue at Gamala
     View from the Vulture Overlook
     Overview of Gamala
     Roman Artillery Replica
A First Century Boat on Display at Kibbutz Ginosaur
     Modern Galilee Fishing Boats
Kursi
     Caves and/or Tombs
     Steep Slope near the Lake
Hippos
Feeding the 5,000
     On the Mountain
     Walking on Water
     Ramot-Zelon area
     Alternate location
Mt. Hermon
The Pool(s) of Bethesda in Jerusalem
     Healing Pools
     Southern Pool
     Crusader Chapel and St. Ann Church
The Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem
     Gihon Spring
     Hezekiah's Tunnel
     Overlook of  Siloam
Tower of Siloam
A Watch Tower in a Vineyard/Olive Grove   
     Grape Vines at Beth Horan
     Towers 
Mt. Precipice
     South Face
     Summit
     Over the edge
     Measuring Line
     View of Nazareth from near Megiddo
Nazareth
     The Basilica of the Annunciation
Capernaum
Healing a Paralytic in Capernaum
Bethsaida      
First Century Artifacts from Qumran and Masada
     Qumran -- 1st century pottery
     Masada -- 1st century glassware
     Masada -- 1st century pottery
     Masada -- 1st century stoneware
Waterskins and Wineskins
The Fish and the Coin
A Denarius
Casting out a demon
The Road to Jericho
     Old Roman Road
     Wilderness Above Jericho
     Old Jericho
Western Wall
Gethsemane and the Cave of  Gethsemane
Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Rolling Stone Tombs - Jerusalem
     Other Rolling Stone Tombs
Tiberias
Solar Power in Israel
Salt of the earth
Chorazin
 
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