Maddening Dogs And Madding Sheep
The story of "Far from the Madding Crowd" was written by Thomas
Hardy. It was first published in 1874. The novel was Thomas's fourth
book but his first major literary success.
The setting of the story was in rural southwest England. Against the
backdrop of a Victorian farming community, the tales of love,
respect and faithfulness were unfolded and told, describing the life
of Bathsheba Everdene, and her relationships with a faithful
shepherd Gabriel Oak, a lonely but rich neighbour William Boldwood,
and a thriftless and debt-ridden soldier Sergeant Troy.
The story has a long-lasting legacy. Widely read throughout the
years, it still ranks among the greatest love stories of all time.
It has also been adapted and made into movies several times,
outstandingly in the Oscar-nominated 1967 film directed by John
Schlesinger.
Should the title be "madding crowd" or "maddening crowd"? Though
"maddening crowd" would make more sense, but "madding crowd" was
used. And there is a significant difference between the two.
"Maddening" means that the crowd is driving others insane, while
"madding" means that the crowd ownself is insane.
Not long after Bathsheba Everdene rejected Gabriel Oak's proposal
for marriage, she went away to another place. He was heartbroken as
he still loved her deeply even though she had gone away. Lying down
in bed, the shepherd was both weary and tired. But a very tragic
event happened that night.
Gabriel had two sheepdogs. One was named George who was old,
experienced and trustworthy. The other was the son of George, who
was inexperienced and overly zealous, and was still learning how to
take good care of the sheep.
That particular night was one of the rare occasions when Gabriel
went to sleep in his own bed instead of out in the fields. The old
shepherd dog was lying on the floor in the house, accompanying its
master.
In the middle of the night, the shepherd was awoken by the sounds of
sheep bells clanging uncontrollably. He went outside, tracing the
footprints of his sheep in the dark. And he came to the edge of a
cliff. To his great horror, he witnessed hundreds of sheep bleeding
and dying, and mangling among others who were already dead. The
younger dog in his zealous efforts had unintentionally chased the
sheep over the cliff. Regretfully and sorrowfully, the shepherd shot
the dog.
The maddening dog was barking loudly and continuously even when
there was no clear danger! And it drove the madding sheep to become more
insane, doing something very foolish! And a tragedy occurred!
Isaiah 56:10-12
10 His watchmen are blind,
They are all ignorant;
They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are greedy dogs
Which never have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink;
Tomorrow will be as today,
And much more abundant.”
The Lord’s watchmen are supposed to be the leaders of His people.
They are called to be good shepherds. They are called to be faithful
and trustworthy, taking good care of His sheep. On the contrary,
many of them are not. They are all blind to every danger. They are
ignorant and unconcerned. When danger comes, they give no warnings
to the sheep.
They love to lie there. They love to sleep and dream. And they are
as greedy as dogs, never satisfied. They are selfish shepherds who
have no understanding. They also have no love and concern for
others. They only look after their own interests, each trying to get
as much as he can for himself from every possible situation and source.
They will encourage others to join them in their evil deeds. They
will consume intoxicating wine, and have a great party. Enjoying life,
getting drunk, having fun without end, and dreaming to carry on
living carelessly and enjoying even more the next day!
Some pastors and church leaders are weary and tired of
serving the Lord. They have lost heart in doing good and helping
others. And many of the sheep have gone astray, and become madding.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have
itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned
aside to fables.
We are now living in a time when people won’t listen to the truth
but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what
they want to hear. They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will
carelessly follow their own misguided thoughts and unguarded
desires. As such, false apostles, prophets and teachers continue to
abound more and more inside and outside the churches!
Today, we have maddening dogs who are filled with relentless and
uncontrolled zeal, and they are not experienced in taking care of
the sheep. They are not true shepherds. And overzealous dogs can
cause lots of harm especially when the sheep are already alarmed! They will bark and bark
continually, unleashing and releasing fake news and fraudulent
conspiracy theories without end! As the sheep did not evaluate and
debunk the fake news and false conspiracy theories in the past, they will also not
be prudent and do so in the present.
Thus they
continue to fall deeper into more deception and disorder! As a
result, many sheep have become more insane, and many are now in deep
dilemma and danger!
John 10:11-16
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life
for the sheep.
12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own
the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and
the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not
care about the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My
own.
15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down
My life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I
must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there
will be one flock and one shepherd.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. And He lays down His
life for His sheep. A hired man will run when he sees a wolf coming.
And he will leave the sheep, for they aren’t his, and he isn’t their
shepherd. And so the wolf leaps on them, and scatters the flock. The
hired man runs because he is hired, and has no real love and concern
for the sheep.
Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd and know My own sheep, and they
know Me, just as My Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay
down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, in another
fold. I must bring them also, and they will heed My voice; and there
will be one flock with one Shepherd."
As His sheep, we must learn how to listen to His voice, and take
heed to what He says! We must not become insane in the midst of
troubles and tribulations. We must trust and obey His voice, and not
other tempting and seducing voices!
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads 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 You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs 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
Forever.
Because the Lord is our Shepherd, we have everything we need!
Though we may sometimes be restless and reckless, He will make us to
rest in the green meadows. Even at times there are many noises and
other voices, He will lead us beside the quiet streams.
We only need to be still and know Him, and hear His voice! He will
give us new strength. He will help us to do what honors Him the most
by walking with Him in the paths of righteousness. Even when treading
through dark valleys and deadly routes, we will not be afraid,
because the Lord is near us, guarding and guiding us all the way.
Our Shepherd will provide delicious food for us even in the presence
of unpleasant circumstances and dangerous situations. The Lord will
bless and keep us with His blessings overflowing! The goodness and
unfailing love of the Lord will be with us throughout our life
journeys. And we will follow the Lord, and remain in Him now and
forevermore.
Thus, with many maddening dogs barking around us, we can still remain safe, sane
and sound in the Lord!
Written on 13 November 2021