Rustled cattle

While we may not hear as much about in this day and time, rustling cattle is a serious offense. The rustlers are stealing valuable property. In olden days a man's worth was determined not by how much gold and silver he had but by how many cattle he owned. To protect his cattle he would brand the cows with a mark that stood for his name. A rustler might try to re-brand the cattle or change the brand so he could claim it was his.
Would you note with me that here God is calling His people cattle. It is almost as if He was saying the more people who have been saved by His grace the wealthier God becomes. He certainly has branded those who have been truly saved as His own. But would you also see that while He still has ownership, some of those cows have been rustled, they have backslidden. God's ownership over them hasn't changed but Satan and sin have rode off with them.