If you wanted to be “somebody” in the ancient world, you went to Egypt. Egypt had the power, the armies, the buildings, the organization and the fame. It was the place people pointed to and said, “That is success.”
It also had a clear list of what it looked down on. Right at the top of that list were shepherds.
Genesis 46:34, “…for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.”
To an Egyptian, shepherding was low, dirty work. An “abomination.” Something you turned your nose up at.
But when you read your Bible, you find a God who keeps walking past the palaces and into the fields. He goes right to the people the world despised and says, “I will use them.”
Egypt was proud and polished. They built monuments to their own names. They made sure no one forgot their power and we even look up to their pyramids 5000 years later.
Shepherds were the opposite.
They lived outside the city. They slept near sheep. They did not build pyramids, they built altars. They did not command soldiers, they led stubborn animals. On paper, it looked like a small life.
Here is the part that cuts our pride. God did not go search for a Pharaoh to lead His people. He kept reaching for shepherds.
• Abraham moved with his herds, pitching tents and building altars.
• Moses was on the backside of the desert, keeping sheep, when God called him from the bush.
• David was pulled from the sheepfold to become king. A kid his own father did not even bother to bring in at first.
God’s pattern of choosing what men reject
The New Testament spells out what you already see in Genesis and Exodus.
1 Corinthians 1:27–28, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise;
and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen…”
God is so settled on this that He takes “shepherd” as His own title.
While Egypt is calling shepherds an abomination, David is writing,
Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
The very job the world spits on, God uses as His picture of how He cares for you.
I see a small taste of this every week.
A bus worker who loads kids into a church bus, a nursery worker who wipes noses, a Sunday school teacher who picks people up for church, a class helper who cleans up spills, a driver who loads a wheelchair van, a pastor who’s preparing a message and praying for God to help move people’s hearts. The world doesn’t even notice these things and maybe even looks down at them as a waste of time. However, God calls that shepherd work.
A lady who spends her Saturday in a rest home, pushing wheelchairs, listening to the same story five times, singing a hymn to a room that barely responds. No spotlight or title. But the Lord sees a shepherd with His sheep.
While Egypt would not write those people into their history books, God writes them into His reward.
The system that looks strong but is already decaying
Egypt felt permanent. Strong walls, sharp soldiers, gold everywhere. If you lived back then and had to pick which looked more secure, a shepherd’s tent or Pharaoh’s throne, most people would pick the throne.
Yet Egypt fell under God’s judgment. The system that mocked shepherds ended up drowned in a sea it thought it could control.
1 John 2:16–17, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
If you build your worth on what Egypt loves, you are tying yourself to something that is already passing away. Status, image, the approval of “important” people, it all rots.
Moses made that choice on purpose.
Hebrews 11:25, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.”
He walked away from palace life to stand with slaves, because he saw farther than Egypt.
What this means for us:
A few straight lessons drop right on our lap.
Do not measure your worth by what the world praises. If your job, your calling, your ministry looks “small” to Egypt, that might be a good sign. Abraham’s tent, David’s pasture, and a dirty stable in Bethlehem did not impress the world either.
Aim for God’s favor, not man’s approval. A shepherd with God is in a better place than a Pharaoh under judgment. Egypt had the gold. The shepherds had God.
Lean into your weakness instead of hiding it.
2 Corinthians 12:9, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
When you feel small, overlooked, or “ordinary,” you are right where God often does His best work. He is not hunting for the most polished resume. He is looking for someone He can lead and someone He can trust with sheep.
What the world despises, God often blesses. So if your life feels more like a field than a throne room, do not be ashamed of that. Work your route, teach your class, love your family, visit your shut ins, and stay close to the Shepherd who chose you.
