Did you turn with me to Exodus
chapter 2? I had a such a good time in Crossville this last
weekend. Lord's blessing the church there
and I had just a wonderful time, but it's wonderful to be back
with you. I know you all had good services. Claire and Annie
are going to have a get together after services this Sunday evening. They're going to be supplying
the sandwiches if you want to bring a Covered dish of some
kind or dessert. I'm sure that'd be OK. People
can watch the Super Bowl there. Exodus chapter 2. I've entitled this message. The
desert years. The desert years. Now there are
three distinct periods in the life of Moses, all of which lasted
40 years. His first 40 years was spent
being raised up in Egypt. As the son of the daughter of
the Pharaoh. And then he spent 40 years and
that's a long time as a shepherd. Working in the back side of the
desert. Out of sight, out of mind. And then he spent the third period
of 40 years leading the children of Israel out of Egypt. He died
according to Deuteronomy chapter 34 verse 7 when he was 120 years
old. Now his first 40 years, you can
remember the first 40 years of your life if you're 40, his first
40 years was spent as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Now hold
your finger there next to chapter 2 and turn to Acts chapter 7. Acts chapter 7. Beginning in verse 21. And he was cast out and Pharaoh's
daughter took him up and nourished him for her own son. And look
at this description of Moses during this first 40 years and
Moses. was learned in all the wisdom
of the Egyptians. Evidently, he had some kind of
education. And he was mighty in words and in deeds. Moses
was somebody in the land of Egypt. He was the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
As a matter of fact, Josephus, I don't know whether this is
true or not, but Josephus said the Pharaoh at that time did
not have a biological son. And Moses was next in line to
be the Pharaoh. Now he was somebody. As the world
would say. Exodus chapter 2 verse 11. You know the story of him fleeing
from Egypt. And it came to pass in those days when Moses was
grown. He was 40 years old. That he
went out unto his brethren. And looked on their burdens.
And he spied an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren,
and he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there
was no man, he slew the Egyptian and he hid him in the sand. And
when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews
strove together, and he said to him that did the wrong, wherefore
smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, who made thee a
prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me if thou
kill'st the Egyptian? And Moses feared. and said, Surely
this thing is known. And that's when he left Egypt.
Now, this begins the next 40 years of his life. And here's
all we read about the next 40 years of his life, his time in
the desert, beginning in verse 15. Now, when Pharaoh heard this
thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face
of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian. And he sat down by
a well. Now, the priest of Midian had
seven daughters. And they came and drew water
and filled their trowels to water their father's flock. And the
shepherds came and drove them away. But Moses stood up and
helped them and watered their flock. And when they came to
Reuel, their father, he said, How is it that you have come
so soon today? And they said, An Egyptian delivered
us out of the hand of the shepherds and also drew water enough for
us and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters,
and where is he? Why is it that you've let the
man call him that he may eat bread? And Moses was content
to dwell with the man. And he gave Moses Zipporah his
daughter, and she bared him a son and called his name Gershom.
For he said, I've been a stranger in a strange land. Now, we get
a look at the character of Moses in this passage of scripture.
Helping those who could not defend themselves. He's a type of the
Lord here, isn't he? He is the one who helps those
who cannot help themselves. You've heard that saying, God
helps those who help themselves. You ever heard that? Where's
that in the Bible? Actually, the opposite is true. Thank God. He helps those who
cannot help themselves. And we get a look at Moses' character
in helping these people. Now, he spends his next 40 years
as a shepherd. He went from being a big shot
in Egypt to a shepherd. Would you turn with me for a
moment to Genesis 46? I want to remind you something about
how the Egyptians viewed shepherds. Genesis 46, the last phrase of
verse 34, the last sentence. Look in verse 34 of Genesis 46.
For every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. Every single
one of them. The Egyptians look at a shepherd
as low as you can go. They're an abomination to the
Egyptians. Now, Moses was brought up with
that thought. A shepherd is an abomination
to the Egyptians. So Moses went, humanly speaking,
if I can use that phrase, Moses went from the top to the bottom,
didn't he? He went from being a mighty man
in words and deeds, an important man, an influential man. He was
somebody in the world's eyes. Now you know that that doesn't
mean anything, but he thought it did. At the time, he was raised
these 40 years in Egypt. He went from being a somebody
to a nobody. He was actually an abomination
to the Egyptians. Out of sight, out of mind. Now that's how he spent the next
40 years of his life as a shepherd. Look in chapter 3, verse 1. Now
Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law. That's what
he did. He was just a shepherd. Moses kept the flock of Jethro,
his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock
to the backside of the desert. Now, that's basically where he
spent 40 years. The backside of the desert. You
reckon he thought much about Egypt and his past life? I wonder. I don't know what all
was going through his mind, but I know this. Verse 21 points
this out about Moses. Chapter 2, verse 21. And Moses
was content. He was satisfied. He was pleased to be a shepherd. Now, this word content is a very
interesting word, and it's used in a variety of ways in the Old
Testament, all of which help us in understanding what it means.
This word content here, it carries with it the idea of being satisfied
and happy to dwell with him. I mean, he was satisfied to be
a shepherd. He was pleased to be a shepherd.
He was happy with this. But it also carries with it the
idea of determination and resolve and desire. It was a willingness
to dwell with him as a shepherd. It's not merely a resignation
to it. Well, this is the cards that I've been dealt. There's
nothing I can do about it. Therefore, I'll make the best of it. It
wasn't that at all. It wasn't just a resignation.
This is what I got. No, it was he was pleased. He was happy. He was glad it
was this way. Now, let me show you some different
ways this word is used, this word content. Bear with me in
Genesis chapter 18. I want to show you three scriptures
in the Old Testament. This will give us some idea what
this means, this contentment that he experienced. Verse 27 of Genesis chapter 18,
And Abraham answered and said, Behold, now I have taken upon
me to speak unto the Lord. Now that word taken upon me is
the exact same word that's translated content in our text. In other
words, he took this upon himself. This is something he wanted to
do. This is something he desired
to do. He wanted to be this shepherd. Turn to Judges chapter one. Book
of Judges chapter one. Verse 27. Neither did Manasseh drive out
the inhabitants of Beth-she-an and her towns, Judges 1, 27,
nor Tayanak and her towns, nor the children of Dor and her towns,
nor the inhabitants of Ablam and her towns, nor the inhabitants
of Megiddo and her towns, but the Canaanites These people that
they couldn't drive out, it says they would dwell in the land. Now, Israel was commanded to
drive them out, but they couldn't do it. They would drive. That
word would is the exact same word translated content in our
text. It has with it the idea of resolve. They've made this their resolve.
They've dug their heels in. I'm not going to be driven out.
Now, Moses made this his resolve. I'm going to be content right
here. I'm going to be completely satisfied
right here. First Samuel 12, 22. First Samuel 12, 22. This is
a scripture I'm sure most of us are familiar with. Verse 22.
This is Samuel speaking and he says, For the Lord will not forsake
his people for his great namesake, because it hath pleased the Lord. to make you his people. That
word pleased is the same word translated content. It has pleased
the Lord to make you his people. Now Moses undertook to be content
to dwell with the man. He made it his resolve to be
content to dwell with the man and he was pleased. It was actually
his pleasure to dwell with this man as a shepherd. Now he went
from what the world would consider the top to the bottom and that's
what he was actually pleased with. Now that's what I want
you to think about. It's not so much that he just fled out
and he didn't want this to be. Scripture points out he was pleased
with this. This is what he wanted. This
is what he made his resolve. To dwell with the man Moses did
not want to be anywhere else. Now question. Why Was Moses content
to dwell with Jethro? I mean, I can see where he'd
be pretty dissatisfied with that after what he'd experienced in
Egypt. Why was he content to dwell with Jethro? It wasn't
because he preferred the lifestyle of a shepherd over the lifestyle
of being a big shot in Egypt. I guarantee that's not what it
was. This is given to teach us something about being content
and satisfied to dwell in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the
purpose of this story. Now would you turn with me for
a moment to 1 John chapter 2. Are you happy? Not necessarily. Sometimes I
am. Sometimes. Sometimes, no. I'm very unhappy. Sometimes. Are you content? Yes, I am. Yes, I am. Look in verse 28 of
1 John chapter 2, verse 28. And now little children abide
dwell with, be content to stay with, be satisfied with, stay
right here, don't leave, remain, continue, endure, and now, little
children, abide in Him. That when He shall appear, we
may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him and is coming
now he tells us to abide in the lord jesus christ what was that
how do you go about abiding in the lord jesus christ and talk
about a place now little children abide in him he's talking about
a place and he's talking about a person now abide in him what
is this all about how does one go about abiding in the lord
jesus christ in christ all of God's salvation, all of
God's blessing, all of God's mercy, everything that God has
for the sinner, and I mean everything, it is all in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what that means? That
means it's not anywhere else. If it's all in Christ, It's not
anywhere else. Listen to this scripture. Ephesians
1 verse 3 says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ who hath blessed us. Everybody is blessed. Everybody
is blessed. He hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Did you notice
the word all? All spiritual blessings. He hath
blessed us. That means if I'm blessed, if
I am blessed, I've got every blessing. Every single one of
them. 1 Corinthians 1.30 But of Him,
of God, are you in Christ Jesus? Now here's the place I want to
be, in the Lord Jesus Christ, who of God is made in us. Wisdom. You're looking right
now at somebody before you who God would call a wise man. God would call me that. You know
why? Because I am wise. Well, that sounds awful arrogant.
That sounds awful conceited. What makes you think you're wise?
Because Jesus Christ is my wisdom. I'm looking at some truly wise
men and women. The world may not call you wise,
but God does. He's made unto us righteousness. In Christ, I'm righteous so that
when God sees me, all He sees, right now while I'm talking to
you, all He sees is righteousness. You know why? Because that's
all that's there. Christ is made unto me righteousness. He is my righteousness before
God. And that gives me such confidence. That gives me such assurance. I'm the very righteousness of
God in Jesus Christ. That's my righteousness. He's
made unto me sanctification. That word sanctification means
holiness. You are looking at a holy individual. It's hard to say that because
when I think Do you feel holy? No, no. But are you holy? Yes, I am. In Christ Jesus, I
have perfect holiness. I'm as holy as Christ because
Christ is my holiness. That's why I'm as holy as Christ.
Christ himself is my holiness. Christ is my redemption. Christ is my sin payment. Christ
is my deliverance. Now, every blessing that God
has is in the Lord Jesus Christ If I'm in Christ, I have them
all. Every single one of them. Romans 8, verse 39 says, I'm
persuaded that nothing shall separate us from the love of
God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, if all of God's
salvation, if all of God's blessing and love is in Christ, that means
none of God's salvation, none of God's blessing, none of God's
love is anywhere else. Now, abide in Him. Abide in Him. Dwell in Him. Remain in Him.
Stand in Him. Continue in Him. Endure in Him.
That's exactly why Paul said this. Now look in Philippians
chapter 3 with me. I want you to read this with me. Philippians chapter 3. Paul said
in verse 8, Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I've suffered the loss of all things and do count them
but done, that I may win Christ and be found in him. Now there's one place I want
to be found and only one place. I want to be found in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now when God sent that rain down
and the flood that came up and covered the world in a flood,
where was the one place of safety? In the ark. Was there safety
anywhere else? Not at all. Only in him. When
God passed through Egypt, and destroyed the firstborn. Where
was the one place of safety? In the house with the blood over
the door. That's the only place of safety.
There was no other place of safety. Now, in Christ is the only place
of safety and security. It's the only place of salvation.
And when I stand before God, I must simply be found in Him
so that when God sees me, All he sees is Jesus Christ. That's it. I don't want him to
see me as a preacher. I don't want him to see me as
anything else. Only one way I want to be seen,
in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why John said little children
abide in him. Don't go anywhere else. Don't
want to be found anywhere else except in the Lord Jesus Christ. The last half of 1 John 2, 28
says, and now little children abide in him. Look at it with
me again, if you would please. 1 John 2, 28. And now little children abide
in him that when he shall appear, we may have confidence. and not
be ashamed before him it is coming. That is only one way I'm going
to have confidence. There's only one way I'm not going to be ashamed
before him it is coming. That's simply by being found
in him. David put it this way in Psalm
27, for one thing if I desired of the Lord and that will I seek
after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord. all the days
of my life. Now he's not talking about hanging
out in a temple or he's not talking about hanging out in a church.
He's not talking about wanting to be in a building. Christ Jesus
is the house of the Lord. One thing that I desire of the
Lord, this is it. And I'm saying this from, I hope
it's depth of conviction, I think it is. One thing that I desire
of the Lord, and this is what I'm seeking after, that I may
dwell, that I may remain, that I might not be found anywhere
else. that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire into
his temple." Now Moses was content to dwell with the man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. I reckon he was content with
Christ. And I want us to look at three
scriptures from the New Testament that deal with this thing of
being content, being satisfied with Christ. And remember, it's
not just a resignation to where you're at. You've got no choice.
I mean, it's just the way it is. I've got to go ahead and resign
myself to it. No, this is where I want to be.
This is where I resolve to be. This is where I want to be found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Three
scriptures. Hebrews 13. Verse 5, let your conversation, your conduct,
your life be without covetousness. Now what is covetousness? It's
desiring what you don't have. You ever coveted something? Sure
you have. You know, covetousness is the
last of the Ten Commandments, and it really summarizes breaking
all of them. I remember that rich young ruler. He said, all
these have I kept from my youth up, but the Lord is going to
point out to him, you haven't kept any of them because you've
coveted. You've coveted. Covetousness. Have you coveted
anything? Yet, the writer of the Hebrew
says to every believer, let your conversation be without covetousness,
without desiring that which does not belong to you. Well, how are we going to go
about doing that? Let's go on reading verse five. Let your
conversation be without covetousness and be content, be satisfied
with such things as you have. What do you have? Here's another way to ask that
question. What do you not have? You have the forgiveness of sins. You have perfect righteousness
before God. You have the grace of God. You
have God the Holy Spirit in you. You've got a new holy nature. You've got the promise that He'll
never leave you nor forsake you. You have all that God has for
the sinner. Do you know your standing, your
state, not just your standing, but your state before God can't
get any better than what it is right now. In Christ you have
all things. Now the only way, somebody says,
well how in the world can we not covet? The only way you can
not covet is if there's nothing to covet. Do you believe there's
nothing to covet? Do you believe really what more
could you? In Christ, is there anything above Him? Is there
anything beyond Him? There's nothing to covet. There's
nothing to desire. Be content with such things as
you have. Well, in Christ I have all things. Look at this promise. For He
has said, I'll never leave thee, nor forsake thee. And you know
in the original, there's five negatives there. It reads like
this. I will never, never, never, no,
never, never, Leave thee nor forsake thee. Now, is that enough
to make you content? Is that enough to say, well,
if it's not. If it's not, it's just because
you don't know the Lord, because if you know the Lord, that by
itself is enough to make you content simply being found in
him so that we may boldly say, verse six, we can with confidence
say the Lord's my helper. And I'm not fear what man shall
do unto me. Turn to first Timothy chapter six. That's the passage
of scripture that I opened the service with. First Timothy chapter
six. Let's begin reading verse three. If any man teach otherwise. And
consent not to wholesome words. What are wholesome words? Even
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you give consent to his words?
You know anything he says? I agree. I say amen to everything
he says. If he says it, I say amen to
it, whether I understand it or not. I give consent to it. These are wholesome words, aren't
they? The words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if any man consent not to
wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
to the doctrine which is according to godliness, his doctrine is
always according to godliness. Well, here's what his problem
is. If he doesn't consent to these wholesome words, he's proud.
That's the only thing that keeps somebody from consenting to his
words, pride. And in reality, he knows nothing.
He thinks he knows a lot, but he knows nothing, but noting
about questions and strife of words, whereof cometh envy, and
strife, railings, and evil surmisings, and perverse disputings of men
of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that
gain is godliness. Well, if I'm living right, God's
really going to bless me. I'm going to have more money
in the bank. I'm going to have health. I'm going to have wealth. Supposing
that gain is godliness, from such withdraw thyself. Just stay
away from them. But godliness with contentment
is great gain. Now, what is godliness? What
is godliness? You know, in the word godliness,
the way the translators translate it, the word God actually is
not even in the original word. That's the way the translators
have translated it. All it means is piety, devotion to God. That's godliness, devotion to
God. Now, godliness, devotion to God
with contentment, with satisfaction. It's great game, isn't it? What
more could you want? Let's go on reading. Paul says,
for we brought nothing into this world, and it's certain we can
carry nothing out. You know, think about all the
stuff we get, our stuff, the things we want and so on. We
didn't bring anything here, and it's all staying here. It's just
none of it's very important, is it? We brought nothing into
this world, and it's certain we can carry nothing out. And
having, verse 8, Having food and clothing, let us be there
with content. Literally, literally, literally. Having clothes on your back and
something to eat. What more could you want? What
more could you ask for? To know the Lord and have food
and clothing? What a blessing! You have all
things in Christ Jesus and food and clothing? Be satisfied with
that. You don't really need anything
else. But more than that, this means, it's talking about this
food and clothing. It's not just talking about these
clothes and the food I had for supper. Christ Jesus Himself
is my food. Except you eat the flesh of the
Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in Whoso eateth
my flesh and drinketh my blood liveth in me. Now, I eat to live. I'll die
if I don't eat. I've got to have something to
eat. Christ Jesus is my food before God, believing on Him. Eating Christ is believing on
Him. He's my food. He's my clothing. He's my covering. His righteousness is my covering
before God. Now, having Christ to eat and
having Christ to put on, Can you be content with that? You
can be content with that, can't you? As a matter of fact, you
find complete contentment in that. And you're not looking
for anything else. You don't even desire anything else. Simply
to be found in Him. Verse 9. But they that will be
rich. They're covetous. They want more
than Christ. They don't really believe He's
all. They have a desire to have more. They that will be rich
fall into temptation and to snare and into many foolish and hurtful
lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition for the love of
money. And that word sometimes translated
covetousness. It's not money that's the root
of all evil, but the love of money is the root of all evil.
And don't you see that in this life? Don't you see what the
love of money does to people? The love of money is the root
of all evil. which while some coveted after,
that's what they desired, they've erred from the faith and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. And I couldn't help
but thinking about, while I was reading that, I was thinking
about coveting after the love of money and so on. What happens
to the... You know, I feel this way now. I hope it stays this way. I don't
care if I never have another dime. If I have Christ, what
else, what else do I need? I really believe that. This is
real. This is real. Jesus Christ is my all. If I have Him, there's nothing
to covet. There's nothing to desire. What
other scripture? Philippians 4. Verse 11. Paul says, not that I speak in
respect of want. You know. When he's saying that,
he says, I don't have much, you know, there's a you know, he
told Timothy when he was writing, he said, bring bring the coat.
I'm cold. Bring me my books. I need them.
He didn't have a whole lot materially. And he realized that he was a
very poor man. But look what he says, not that I speak in
respect of want or lack or need, for I've learned. What a valuable
lesson this is. I've learned in whatsoever state
I am therewith to be what? Content. Satisfied. I don't care what
the state is. I'm to be content. Now he goes
on to expound this. He says in verse 12. I know both
how to be abased And I know how to abound. I know how to be brought
low. I know how to be shown that I'm
absolutely nothing. That means leveled to the dust,
brought down to where I am nothing, where I have nothing. Do you
know that when you are nothing, it is so easy to trust Jesus
Christ as your all? When you have absolutely no righteousness,
and you really believe that, it's not just a doctrine to you,
you really believe it. You have no righteousness before God.
When you really believe that about yourself, isn't it easy
to trust Him as your righteousness before God? Matter of fact, the
only time you can trust Him as your righteousness is when you
don't have any. But when you don't have any,
it's so easy to trust Him. It is so sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to take Him at His Word. Now, I know how to be abased,
to be brought to nothing, but I also know how to abandon You
know, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. You know,
when everything's going well. You know, sometimes, I tell you
what, I hate thinking this way, but every time it seems like
everything's going well, I start grimacing a little bit. I think,
oh, what's going to happen, you know? But, and you do it too. But even when things are quote,
going well, I know it's grace. I know it's the grace of God.
I know it's not because I didn't live and write or do something
special. It's the free grace of God. I know both how to be
abased And I know how to abound. Let's go on reading verse 12.
He said everywhere in all things I am instructed. Now that word
instructed is a very interesting word. It means literally everywhere
and in all things I am initiated into the mystery. I am initiated into the mystery. You know this is truly a mystery
religion. It's a mystery religion. It's a mystery we will not know
unless God is pleased to make it known to us. I mean, there's
somebody can listen until they're blue in the face and they won't
understand, they won't believe until God makes himself known,
until God initiates them into the mystery. This is a supernatural
thing. The only way you can understand this, the only way I can understand
this is if God initiates us into it and gives us a new heart,
a new nature to believe, to repent, to love. It's a supernatural
thing. Now he says, I'm initiated into
this mystery, and here's what it is. Verse 12, both to be full
and to be hungry. Now, I'm to be both full and
hungry. Now this is a mystery, isn't
it? A natural man can't understand this. I'm full. You know what
that means? If this water, this glass is all the way up full
to the brim, That means if you had one other drop to it, it'd
fall out. It won't hold anymore. It is
full. Every believer is full in Christ
Jesus. You can't get any more saved
than you are right now. You can't get any more loved
by God. You can't get any more pleasing
to God. You can't get any more accepted by God. You are complete
right now in the Lord Jesus Christ. It can't get any better. You believe that? That's something, isn't it? It
can't get any better. I'm full in Christ, and yet I'm
hungry. Now, when you're hungry, it's
because there's something that's not there that you feel like
you need. Your stomach's empty and you need something to take
its place. When you're hungry, blessed are
they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall
be filled. You feel like you need more.
Now I'm full and I'm hungry at the same time. I'm perfect in
Christ, holy in Christ, yet I'm nothing but a sinner saved by
grace. Both at the same time. Look what he says next. Both to abound and to suffer
need. Grace is always abounding. And
it is. Grace is abounding toward me
when I know it and when I don't know it. It's always in the streams
of mercy, never ceasing. Call for songs of loudest praise. Grace is always abounding with
every believer. You know, it's joyous when we
know it and rejoice in it. Oh, it's so wonderful. And sometimes
we're not aware of it, but it's still abounding. I'm abounding
all the time. But look what he says next. I'm
also always suffering need. I'm always poor and needy. That's
what David's description of himself. I'm poor. He said that ten times.
David, the man after God's own heart, said ten times, I'm poor.
And I'm needy. And I'm poor before God. And I'm needy at all times. Now I know both how to be abased
and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things
I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry. Both to abound
and to suffer need. I can do all things. I can be
poor and hungry at the same time. I can abound and suffer need
at the same time. Through Christ which strengthens
me. Now that's a mighty positive,
optimistic statement. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthens me. Be pleased. Undertake. Be resolved. Be content to simply
dwell with Him. I love that song, content with
beholding His face. My all to His pleasure resigned. No changes of season or place
can make any change in my mind. When blessed with a sense of
his love, a palace, a toy would appear. And prisons would palaces
prove if Jesus would dwell with be there. Now, I do believe that
those 40 years in the desert were probably the best years
of Moses' life. If you would ask him, what were
the best years of your life? The first 40, the second 40,
the third 40. When he was trying to deal with Israel, I guarantee
he was miserable most of the time. I mean, he was. The best
years of his life were when he was content to simply dwell as
an abomination to the Egyptians, but a shepherd. Let's pray together.