Sheep and goats have existed for thousands of years, and have been very important in
the lives of people going back to ancient times.
Evidence of these domestic animals is found in some of the oldest known records, such
as this Babylonian artifact called the Standard of Ur--Ur being the Sumerian city-state of
ancient Mesopotamia, a land located in what is Iraq today.
The Standard of Ur is a long, hollow wooden box that is inlaid with shell, limestone,
and lapis lazuli.
On side B of this ancient box, which they claim dates to around 2600 B.C.E., we see
a man driving a sheep forward, and in front of him another man driving what appears to
be goats.
Sheep and goats were important to our ancestors as well, and Israelites themselves, as well
as other nations at large, were compared to sheep and goats.
In Matthew chapter 25, Yehsua gives us a parable about sheep and goats:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the heavenly messengers with him,
then he will sit on his glorious throne.
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’
In his parable Yeshua says, “He will separate
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
We know that in this sense he is referring to separating righteous people from sinful
people, but why did shepherds separate sheep from goats in the past and still do today?
In other words, what else does this action of separating sheep from goats represent?
The first thing we need to understand is that, while sheep and goats are very similar, being
classed in the same Caprinae subfamily, they are also very different.
And those differences are very important and even prophetic.
These differences can also help us to understand what spiritual characteristics we are supposed
to have being servants of the Most High Yah.
And it will also define the characteristics of those who rebel against the will and ways of Yah.
So let’s explore these spiritual differences and see what Yah is trying to tell us through
the unique characteristics of sheep and goats.
In Yeshua’s time, and in the region where
he lived, which is truly North Africa--despite what you’ll read in geography books--shepherds
often grazed their sheep and goats in mixed flocks.
Therefore, the sheep and goats in Asia and Africa are often similar in appearance.
Those of us who are not shepherds will find it difficult to distinguish sheep from goats
in those regions, but the shepherds who live and work there know the difference and can
easily separate them.
But in our Western culture, here in America, and even in Europe and other Western regions,
it is not difficult to tell sheep from goats, because they are often bred for their wool,
including mohair and cashmere.
This essentially makes sheep and goats in these Western regions look quite different
from one another.
So spiritually speaking, appearance is not always going to allow you to tell the righteous
from the unrighteous, just as it is sometimes difficult to distinguish physical sheep from
goats, depending on the region of the world you’re in.
To our eyes, certain breeds of goats will look like sheep, and many sheep will look
like goats.
This will force us to use characteristics other than outward appearance to tell sheep
and goats apart, both the spiritual and physical kind.
One important additional characteristic to look for as far as differences in sheep and
goats regards their behavior: sheep tend to follow; goats go their own way.
Yeshua made this point very clear in John 10 verse 27 when he said his spiritual sheep follow him,
but that verse also gives us a reason why they do follow.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
While goats tend to follow a head goat within
the goat herd, sheep follow a trusted shepherd, whose voice they know well.
In fact, by voice alone, a shepherd can separate a flock of sheep and goats by calling out the sheep.
With a herd of about 400 sheep and goats, watch the nomads of Kalap do just that, separating
a large herd of sheep and goats in just minutes using only voice signals.
(By the way, Kalap is a village nestled high in the Himalayan Mountains of India.)
In separating the sheep from the goats, note
that the shepherds are using their voices, which the sheep and goats recognize.
Mere grunts and other voice signals are effective in commanding the animals to move, just as
Yeshua’s voice is heard by his spiritual sheep and they move according to his word.
But sheep generally do not listen to the voice of strangers.
Let’s see if a stranger’s voice will get sheep to respond and move.
Stranger number one only gets one sheep to
look up, while the rest do not even notice him.
Stranger number two also gets one sheep to look up.
But stranger number three is completely ignored.
Now, let’s see how they respond to their shepherd, whose voice they know.
Just as we are to do as Yeshua’s spiritual sheep, these sheep all respond to the shepherd’s
voice and come to him when he calls.
But they did not respond to any of the strangers’ voices.
Now, one of the main reasons why sheep and goats are to be separated relates to their diet.
When sheep consume too much copper it can kill them.
They basically get all they need through grazing.
On the other hand, goats do not get everything they need from browsing, therefore they require
a mineral supplement that contains copper.
So when sheep and goats are raised together, separate feeding locations will limit the
risk of sheep receiving too much copper in their diet.
Spiritually, this means that everything we need as the Sheep of Yeshua is provided for
us in a spiritual diet of daily worship and service to the Most High Yah and his Son.
Reading our Scriptures, praying, keeping the laws, doing good works, and exercising faith;
these ingredients are all we need in our daily diet with no need for supplements, such as
outside additions like worldly distractions.
Spiritual goats on the other hand have a limited diet of worldliness
that does not supply all their needs.
From this we see that there is a big difference in the way sheep and goats forage for food.
We just mentioned the two ways they eat as well.
Goats are natural browsers.
Browsing in this sense means to feed on leaves, twigs, or other high-growing vegetation.
Therefore, goats prefer to eat leaves, twigs, vines, and shrubs.
Since they are very agile, often they will stand on their hind legs to reach certain vegetation.
In other words, goats like to eat the tops of plants.
Sheep, however, are grazers.
Grazing means to feed on growing grass.
Therefore, sheep prefer to eat short, tender grasses and clover.
They like to graze close to the soil surface.
Similarly, one of the easiest ways to tell the difference between a sheep and goat is
to look at their tails.
Usually, a goat’s tail goes up, unless it is frightened, sick, or distressed.
A sheep’s tail will normally hang down.
In other words, since goats prefer to eat high, with their heads held that way, and
sheep prefer to eat low, with their heads lowered, this represents pride and humility,
two contrasting traits that are present in the spiritual comparison between sheep and goats.
This is also the reason why goats’ tails point upward, representing pride, and sheep’s
tails point downward, representing humility.
This is not to say that goats and sheep are prideful and humble.
We’re just pointing out the representation in Yeshua’s spiritual sheep and goats; the
characteristics that will be present in those who are his followers, and those who are not.
Marc Silver of NPR conducted a 2014 interview with Cathy Dwyer, a professor at Scotland’s Rural College.
She does research on animal behavior and welfare.
In that interview she said: Because they browse, goats spend a lot of
time investigating things.
They are forever nibbling on and eating things.
So they have more exploratory, investigative behavior because of their feeding style.
They appear to be more interactive with the environment, and they are very engaging animals.
Because of that, I can completely understand why people think they’re more intelligent
or have more personality than sheep.
When you’re a grazing animal, like sheep, you spend a lot of time with your head down
eating grass.
That’s much less interesting to people.
The spiritual meaning behind this is: goats like to explore, just like worldly people do.
They are always interested in strange things.
They can be lured by their senses: sight, taste, smell.
Sheep, on the other hand, keep their eyes on the grass before them,
with their heads lowered.
In other words, their eyes are always on the path in front of them, just as the righteous
are commanded to do in the book of Proverbs.
Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established.
Interestingly enough, the next and final verse
in that chapter commands us to do something very important.
Verse 27 of Proverbs 4 says: Do not turn to the right or to the left;
turn your foot from evil.
Unlike sheep, goats have a tendency of being able to go back to their feral or wild state
when given the chance.
And it has been discovered that the only domestic species of animal that will return to a wild
state as rapidly as a goat is the domestic cat.
So, the trait of a spiritual goat is to turn their foot back to evil, in other words; to
turn right or left and leave the path that Yah has set them on.
This is something that spiritual sheep will never do.
In closing, I hope that you will continue to explore these and other comparisons between
sheep and goats on your own.
But more importantly, I hope that you will strive to be a sheep in Yeshua’s flock by
living up to the characteristics they point to.
[Closed Captioning by Kingdom Preppers]