Verse 6: Surely Goodness And Mercy Shall Follow Me All The Days Of My Life, And I Shall Dwell In The House Of The Lord Forever
Surely Goodness And Mercy Shall Follow Me
Throughout the study of this Psalm continuous emphasis has been put upon the care exercised by the attentive shepherd. It has been stressed how essential to the welfare of the sheep is the rancher’s diligent effort and labor. All the benefits enjoyed by a flock under skilled and loving management have been drawn in bold lines.
Now, all of this is summed up here by the Psalmist in one brave but simple statement: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
SURELY
In the marginal notes of some translations, the word translated “surely” is “only.”
“Only” goodness and mercy shall follow me.”
Not “only” good and mercy shall follow, the literal translation of “follow is to “pursue and overtake.”
We can read it this way: Only goodness and mercy shall follow, pursue, and overtake me.
How confidently he counts upon the continuance of God’s favors. In verse 1 the said, “I shall not want;” but now he speaks more positively more comprehensively: “Surely (only) goodness and mercy shall follow me, pursue me and overtake me all the days of my life.
What’s following you?
GOODNESS
Psalm 25:7
“Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Thy lovingkindness remember Thou me,
For Thy goodness' sake, O Lord.” (NASB)
Psalm 31:19
“How great is Thy goodness,
Which Thou hast stored up for those who fear Thee,
Which Thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in Thee,
Before the sons of men! “ (NASB)
Psalm 27:13
“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.” (NASB)
Romans 2:4
“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (NASB) Romans 2:4
What is the “goodness” of God?
In contrast to the Greek view of the “the good” as an ideal, the biblical concept focuses on concrete experiences of what God has done and is doing in the lives of His people.
Scripture affirms that God does good. (I Chronicles 16:34)(Psalm 119:68)
The goodness of God is experienced in the goodness of God’s creative work. (Genesis 1:31)
His goodness is also experienced in His saving acts:
The liberation of Israel from captivity. (Exodus 18:9)
The return of the remnant from captivity. (Ezra 7:9)
In personal deliverance. (Psalm 34:8)
In salvation. ((Philippians 1:6)
God’s goodness is extended to His:
Name (Psalm 52:9)
His promises (Joshua 21:45)
His commands (Psalm 119:39)
His gifts (James 1:17)
His providential shaping of events (Genesis 50:20)(Romans 8:28)
Jesus, when asked about being good, said that only God is good.
MERCY
In some translations, the word “lovingkindness” is used but it still expresses the word mercy.
Psalm 25:4-7
“Make me know Thy ways, O Lord;
Teach me Thy paths.
Lead me in Thy truth and teach me,
For Thou art the God of my salvation;
For Thee I wait all the day.
Remember, O Lord, Thy compassion and Thy lovingkindnesses,
For they have been from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Thy lovingkindness remember Thou me,
For Thy goodness' sake, O Lord.” (NASB)
Isaiah 54:10
"For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,"
Says the Lord who has compassion on you. (NASB)
Isaiah 14:1
“When the Lord will have compassion on Jacob, and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.” (NASB)
What is “mercy?”
Mercy is a personal characteristic of care for the needs of others. The biblical concept of mercy always involves help to those who are in need or distress. Such help covers a broad range, from assistance in finding a bride to God’s forgiveness of sins.
It is interesting in the story in the gospel of Luke that when the publican prayed, what did he say? “Be merciful to me, a sinner.”
A wide vocabulary is employed in the original languages to express these concepts, and an even wider vocabulary is found in English translations.
There are three main Hebrew root words that involve the idea of mercy.
The first one is “racham/rachamim/” This word family consistently has the meaning of compassion, or showing mercy, or pity.
Related to the word for womb, it may have the connotation of a mother’s affection or of the bond between siblings. This sense of a mother’s compassion for her child is found in 1 Kings 3:26, and a similar expression describes Joseph’s feeling for his brothers in Genesis 43:30.
Likewise, God’s mercy is often likened to family relationships:
As a father to this children (Jeremiah 31:20)(Psalm 103:13)
A husband to a wife (Isaiah 54:6-8)(Hosea 2:19)
A brother to a brother (Amos 1:11)
Even as a mother toward a nursing child (Isaiah 49:15)
God’s mercy is bound up with His covenant with Israel. He is merciful to them because He chose them. (Exodus 33:19)(2 Kings 13:23)
God’s mercy is never just a feeling but is expressed by His action:
Providing for Israel in the wilderness (Nehemiah 9:19)(Isaiah 49:10)
Delivering Israel from enemies (Psalm 69:16-21)((Psalm 79:8-11)
When Israel turned from God, He showed no pity (Isaiah 9:17)(Jeremiah 13:14)
On the other hand He is a forgiving God and shows mercy to a penitent people (Psalm 25: 4-7)(Lamentations 3:31-33)
He is merciful in restoring the nation (Psalm 102:13)(Ezekiel 39:25)
He is merciful in renewing His friendship with them (Hosea 2:19, 23)
God’s mercy is the very source of His people’s life (Psalm 103:4((Psalm 119:77, 156)
The second Hebrew word for mercy is “hesed.” It is used to describe a variety of human relationships:
A husband and a wife (Genesis 24: 49)
Father and son (Genesis 47:29)
Host and guest (Rahab and the spies; Joshua 2:12-14)
Friends like David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:8, 14-17)
A King and his subjects (2 Samuel 2:5)
Also like “racham,” it expresses itself in action:
Rahab delivered the spies
Jonathan protected David from Saul.
The relationship is always reciprocal. One who experiences the “hesed” of another is to reciprocate when the opportunity presents itself. Thus, the spies promised protection for Rahab, and David pledged to protect the house of Jonathan.
An element of covenantal fidelity was involved. An element of mercy was involved. Each sought to meet the other’s need. Since one can scarcely meet a need of God, this covenantal aspect of mercy was expressed in God’s requirement to show mercy to others. This was often coupled with a command for justice. (Micah 6:8; compare with Hosea 12:6; Zechariah 7:9)
God expects His people to show “hesed” to one another because He shows “hesed” to them, to individuals such as:
Abraham (Genesis 24:12)
Jacob (Genesis 32:10)
David (2 Samuel 7:15)
Job (Job 10:12)
Above all, He was merciful to His chosen people Israel. (Exodus 15:13)(Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31)
The linkage of God’s covenant and His “hesed” is explicit in such phrases as “keeping covenant and showing “hesed.” (1 Kings 8:23)(Deuteronomy 7:9)
A final characteristic of God’s “hesed” is its permanence. (Psalm 25:6)((Psalm 103:17)
This is the Hebrew word used for mercy in Psalm 23:6.
This is often expressed in the set phrase, “for the Lord is good, His mercy (hesed) is everlasting” or “his mercy endureth forever.” (Psalm 100:5)(Ezra 3:11)
The third Hebrew word family involving mercy and pity is “chanan/chen.”
Job used it in appealing for pity and with it the psalmist described one who is generous to the poor. (Job 19:21)(Psalm 37:21; 112:5; compare with Proverbs 14:21-23; 19:17)
The latter examples show how “chanan” involves not only pity but also being gracious. It is in this sense that the word is applied to God, referring to His gracious and generous nature.
It is difficult to draw precise distinction between the various words used in the Old Testament for God’s mercy and grace. All three of the Hebrew words refer to the one gracious, forgiving, loving God who is forever faithful in reaching out to His people in their need.
Nowhere is their interrelatedness more evident than in the recurrent Old Testament liturgy which combines all three:
“God is merciful, (racham) and gracious (chana), slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (hesed) and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6)(Numbers 14:18)(Nehemiah 9:17)(Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 145:8)(Joel 2:13)(Jonah 4:2)
In the New Testament there are three word families that express the idea of mercy.
The first one is “splagchna,” which literally refers to the upper human organ, the heart, liver, and lungs. This usage appears in the grim depiction of Judas’ death in Acts 1:18.
Much like the Hebrew “rachamim,” “splagcha” developed the derived sense of strong emotional feeling, particularly of compassion and affection.
The word is often used of Jesus’ compassion:
For the multitudes (Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 15:32)
For the blind (Matthew 20:34)
For a leper (Mark 1:41)
For a possessed child ((Mark 9:20)
For a widow’s plight (Luke 7:13)
His parables use the term to describe:
The mercy of master on his indebted servant. (Matthew 18:27)
The compassion of a father for his prodigal son (Luke 15:20)
A Samaritan’s pity for a wounded Jew. (Luke 10:33)
With this word Paul urged the Corinthians to renew their affection for him and exhorted the Philippians to mutual love and concern, and played on the sympathy of Philemon. (2 Corinthians 6:12)(Philippians 2:1-2)(Philemon7, 12, 20)
With it, John reminded his readers that one who closes his heart to a brother’s need scarcely has God’s love. (1 John 3:17)
The second word used is “oikirmos” which also means “pity, mercy, compassion” and it is used together with “splagchna” in Colossians 3:12, Philippians 2:1, and James 5:11
It can be used negatively as in Hebrews 10:28 where it describes the merciless justice of the Law. Paul pointed to the positive side of God as “the Father of mercies,” (2 Corinthians 1:3) and he urged the Romans to sacrificial service based on God’s mercy. (Romans 12:1)
Christian mercy is rooted in God’s mercy, a principle already given by Jesus. (Luke 6:36)
The third word is “eleos.” It is the most common word in the New Testament for mercy. In secular Greek, the word was often viewed as a sign of weakness, a sentimental inclination to be overly lenient. The New Testament does not share in this assessment, having more in common with the Old Testament perspective on God’s mercy.
To be sure, the negative aspect appears. Drawing on Exodus 33:19, Paul showed how God in His sovereign purposes can withdraw His mercies. (Romans 9:15-16, 18, 23)
The total New Testament picture is much brighter. Jesus brought the good news of a merciful, forgiving God. He embodied that good news in Himself, and everywhere cries and expectation for mercy met him:
From two blind men (Matthew 9:27)
A woman with a possessed daughter (Matthew 15:22)
The father of an epileptic boy (Matthew 17:15)
Ten lepers (Luke 17:13)
It can be used negatively as in Hebrews 10:28 where it describes the merciless justice of the Law. Paul pointed to the positive side of God as “the Father of mercies,” (2 Corinthians 1:3) and he urged the Romans to sacrificial service based on God’s mercy. (Romans 12:1)
Christian mercy is rooted in God’s mercy, a principle already given by Jesus. (Luke 6:36)
The third word is “eleos.” It is the most common word in the New Testament for mercy. In secular Greek, the word was often viewed as a sign of weakness, a sentimental inclination to be overly lenient. The New Testament does not share in this assessment, having more in common with the Old Testament perspective on God’s mercy.
To be sure, the negative aspect appears. Drawing on Exodus 33:19, Paul showed how God in His sovereign purposes can withdraw His mercies. (Romans 9:15-16, 18, 23)
The total New Testament picture is much brighter. Jesus brought the good news of a merciful, forgiving God. He embodied that good news in Himself, and everywhere cries and expectation for mercy met him:
From two blind men (Matthew 9:27)
A woman with a possessed daughter (Matthew 15:22)
The father of an epileptic boy (Matthew 17:15)
Ten lepers (Luke 17:13)
In this life the mercy of God is always available for those who approach His throne. (Hebrews 4:16)
The Christian life is lived under this assurance of God’s mercy. This is why mercy is often an element in New Testament greeting and benedictions. (1 timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Galatians 6:16; 2 John 3; Jude 2)
Those who experience God’s mercy are themselves to be merciful. God not desire the external trappings of religiosity but deeds of mercy to others. (Matthew 9:13; 12:7; 23; 23)
One who shows no mercy to others cannot expect God’s mercy. (Matthew 18:33-34)(James 2:13)
Mercy is a mark of discipleship. (Matthew 5:7)
Disciples show deeds of mercy to a neighbor and perform them cheerfully. (Luke 10:36-37)(Romans 12:8)
God is mercy, and one who shares in God’s wisdom shares His mercy. (James 3:17)
As with the Old Testament, the New Testament treatment of God’s mercy cannot be separated from His love, His grace, and His faithfulness. They are all part of the same fabric.
The difference, of course, is that the New Testament writers had come to see the mercy of God in a much brighter light in the face of Jesus Christ.
He was, and still is, the ultimate manifestation of God’s mercy, the assurance of that mercy for believers, and the basis of their own mercy in the relationships with others.
Wow! Is that what is following you all the days of your life?
Observe:
WHAT HE PROMISES HIMSELF:
Goodness and mercy, all the streams of mercy flowing from the fountain, pardoning mercy, protecting mercy, sustaining mercy, supplying mercy.
THE MANNER OF THE CONVEYANCE:
It shall follow me, as the water out of the rock followed the camp of Israel through the wilderness; it shall follow into all places and all conditions, shall be always ready.
THE CONTINUANCE OF IT:
It shall follow me all my life long even to the last; for whom God loves He loves to the end.
THE CONSTANCY OF IT:
All the days of my life, as duly as the day comes it shall be new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) like the manna that was given to the Israelites daily.
THE CERTAINTY OF IT:
Surely it shall.
It is as sure as the promise of God of truth can make it; and we know whom we have believed.
Here is a prospect of the perfection of bliss in the future state.
So some take the latter clause: “Goodness and mercy having followed me all the days of my life on this earth, when it is ended I shall remove to a better world, to dwell in the house of the lord forever, in our Father’s house above, where there are many mansions.”
With what I have I am pleased much; with what I hope for I am pleased more.”
All this and heaven too! We serve a good Master.
The sheep with such a shepherd knows of a surety that this is a privileged position. No matter what comes, at least and always he can be perfectly sure that goodness and mercy will be in the picture. He reassures himself that he is ever under sound, sympathetic, intelligent ownership.
What more need he care about?
Goodness and mercy will the treatment he receives from his masters’ expert, loving hands. Not only is this a bold statement, but it is somewhat of a boast, an exclamation of implicit confidence in the One who controls his career and destiny.
How many Christians actually feel this way about Christ?
How many of us are truly concerned that no matter what occurs in our lives we are being followed by goodness and mercy?
Of course it is very simple to speak this way when things are going well. If my health is excellent; my income flourishing; my family is well; and my friends are fond of me it is not hard to say, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
But what about when one’s body breaks down?
What do I say when I stand by helpless, as I have had to do, and watch a life partner die by degrees under appalling pain?
What is my reaction when my job folds up and there is no money to meet bills?
What happens if my children can’t make their grades in school or get caught running with the wrong gang?
What do I say when suddenly, without good grounds, friends prove false and turn against me?
These are the sort of times that test a person’s confidence in the care of Christ. These are the occasions during which the chips are down and life is more that a list of pious platitudes.
When my little world is falling apart and the dream castles of my ambitions and hopes crumble into ruins can I honestly declare: “Surely, yes, surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”?
Or is this sheer humbug and a maddening mockery?
In looking back over your own life, can you see His compassion and concern for you in His management of your affairs?
Were there events which at the time seemed like utter calamities?
Were there paths which He led you that appeared like blind alleys?
Were there days He took you through that seemed black as night itself?
But all in the end turned out for your benefit and your well being. With our limited understanding as finite human beings we can not always comprehend His management executed in infinite wisdom. With our natural tendencies to fear, worry and ask “why”, it is not always simple to assume that He really does know what He is doing with us.
Were there times you were tempted to bolt and to leave His care?
Did you have this strange notion that you could survive better on your own?
Despite our perverse behavior, aren’t you glad He did not give up on you?
Are you grateful He did follow us in goodness and mercy?
The only possible motivation was His own love, His care and concern for me as one of His sheep. Despite our doubts and misgivings about His management of our affairs, He has picked us up and borne you back again in great tenderness. The one who is truly in Christ’s care, no difficulty can arise, no dilemma emerge, no deeming disaster descend on the life without eventual good coming out of the chaos. This is to see the goodness and mercy of my Master in my life.
It is the great foundation of faith and confidence in Him.
I love Him because He first loved me. (I John 4:19)
His goodness and mercy and compassion to me are new every day.
My assurance is lodged in these aspects of His character.
My trust is in His love for me as His own.
My serenity has at its basis an implicit, unshakable reliance on His ability to do the right thing, the best thing in any given situation.
This is the supreme portrait of my Shepherd.
Continually there flows out to me His goodness and His mercy, which, even though I do not deserve them, come unremittingly from their source of supply, His own great heart of love. Herein is the essence of all that has gone before in this Psalm.
All the care, all the work, all the alert watchfulness, all the skill, all the concern, all the self-sacrifice are born of His love, the love of One who loves His sheep, loves His work, loves His role as a Shepherd.
“I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep” (John 10:10)
“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us.” (I John 3:16)
With all this in view it is then proper to ask: “Is this outflow of goodness and mercy for me to stop and stagnate in my life?”
“Is there not a way in which it can pass on through me to benefit others?”
Yes, there is a way.
And this aspect is one which eludes many of us.
There is a positive, practical aspect in which my life in turn should be one whereby goodness and mercy follow in my footsteps for the well being of others. Just as God’s goodness and mercy flow to me all the days of my life, so goodness and mercy should follow me, should be left behind me, as a legacy to others, wherever I go.
Sheep can, under mismanagement, be the most destructive livestock. In short order they can ruin and ravage land almost beyond remedy. But in bold contrast they can be the most beneficial of all livestock is properly managed:
Their manure is the best balanced of any produced by domestic stock.
When scattered efficiently over the pastures it proves of enormous benefit to the soil.
The sheep’s habit of seeking the highest rise of ground on which to rest insures that the fertility from the rich low land is re-deposited on the less productive higher ground.
No other livestock consumes a s wide a variety of herbage.
Sheep eat all sorts of weeds and other undesirable plants which might otherwise invade a field.
In a few years a flock of well-managed sheep will clean up and restore a piece of ravaged land as no other creature can do.
In other words, goodness and mercy had followed the sheep. They left behind something worthwhile, productive, beautiful and beneficial to both themselves and others.
Where they had walked there followed fertility and weed-free land.
Where they had lived there remained beauty and abundance.
The question now comes to me pointedly; “Is this true of my life?”
Do I leave a blessing and benediction behind me?
Is this the way people feel about me, that I left behind a blessing?
Do I leave a trail of sadness or of gladness behind?
Is my memory, in other people’s minds, entwined with mercy and goodness, or would they rather forget me altogether?
Do I deposit a blessing behind me or am I a bane to others?
Is my life a pleasure to people or a pain?
Sir Alfred Tennyson wrote in one of his great classic poems, “The good men do lives after them.”
Sometimes it is profitable to ask ourselves such simple questions as:
Do I leave behind peace in lives, or turmoil?
Do I leave behind forgiveness, or bitterness?
Do I leave behind contentment, or conflict?
Do I leave behind flowers of joy, or frustration?
Do I leave behind love, or rancor?
Some people leave such a sorry mess behind them wherever the go that they prefer to cover their tracks.
For the true child of God, the one under the Shepherd’s care, there should never be any sense of shame or fear in going back to where they lived or been before.
Why?
Because there they have left a legacy of uplift, encouragement and inspiration to others.
The life of Jesus Christ can be summed up in the simple, verse, but deeply profound statement; “He went about, doing good!”
His good and kindly acts were always co-mingled with mercy. Where so often other human beings were rude and harsh and vindictive of one another, His compassion and tenderness was always apparent. Even the most flagrant sinners found forgiveness with Him, whereas at the hands of their fellow me they knew only condemnation, censure, and cruel criticism.
Is this my attitude to other people?
Do I sit up on my pedestal of self-pride and look with contempt upon my contemporaries, or do I get down and identify myself with them in their dilemma and there extend a small measure of the goodness and mercy given to me by my Master?
Do I see sinners with the compassion of Christ or with the critical eye of censure?
Am I willing to overlook faults and weaknesses in others and extend forgiveness as God has forgiven me in my failings?
The only real, practical measure of my appreciation for the goodness and mercy of God to me is the extent to which I am, in turn, prepared to show goodness and mercy to others.
If I am unable to forgive and extend friendship to fallen men and women, then it is quite certain I know little or nothing in a practical sense of Christ’s forgiveness and mercy to me.
It is this lack of love amongst Christians, which today makes the church an insipid, lukewarm institution. People come to find affection and are turned off by our tepidity.
But the man or woman who knows firsthand about the goodness and mercy of God in his life, will be warm and affectionate with goodness and mercy to others.
This is to be a benefit to them, but equally important, it is to be a blessing to God.
Yes, a blessing to God!
Most of us think only God can bring a blessing to us.
The Christian life is a two-way proposition.
Most of us forget that our Shepherd is looking for some satisfaction.
This is the benefit we can bring to Him.
He looks upon my life in tenderness for He loves me deeply.
He sees the long years during which His goodness and mercy followed me without slackening.
He longs to see some measure of that same goodness and mercy not only passed on to others by me but also passed back to Him in joy.
He longs for love, my love.
And I love Him, only because He first loved me.
Then He is satisfied.
All the Days of My Life
It is interesting to note that the psalmist said “all” the days of my life.
Not some days when things are going right. Not most of the time. Not only on Fridays.
Not almost all the time.
David, after being anointed by Samuel, spent a good part of his life running from Saul who wanted to kill him. He was chased, hunted like an animal, and wondered aloud in the other Psalms what was going on. But wherever he went, goodness and mercy were following him, pursuing him and overtaking him.
Did David feel like goodness and mercy were following him when his son Absalom took over the throne and David had to flee? It may not seem like it, but they were.
No matter what Bible dictionary you use, the word translated “all” means “all.”
I Shall Dwell In The House Of the Lord Forever
This Psalm opened with the proud, joyous statement; “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Here is a sheep so utterly satisfied with its lot in life, so fully contented with the care it receives, so much “at home” with the shepherd that here is not s shred of desire for change. Stated in simple, direct, rather rough ranch language it would be put like this, “Nothing will ever make me leave this outfit, it’s great!”
Conversely on the shepherd’s side there has developed a great affection and devotions to his flock. He would never think of parting with such sheep. Healthy, contented, productive sheep are his delight and profit. So strong, now, are the bonds between them that it is in very truth, forever.
The word “house” used here in the Psalm has a wider meaning than most people could attach to it. Normally we speak of the house of the Lord as the sanctuary or church or meeting place of God’s people. In one sense David may have had this in mind. And, of course, it is pleasant to think that one would always delight to be found in the Lord’s house.
But it must be kept in mind always, that the Psalmist, writing from the standpoint of a sheep, is reflecting on the recounting the full round of the year’s activities for the flock.
Actually what is referred to by “house” is the family of household or flock of the Good Shepherd.
The sheep is so deeply satisfied with the flock to which it belongs, with the ownership of this particular shepherd that it has no wish to change whatever. It is as if it had finally come home again and was now standing at the fence, bragging to its less fortunate neighbors on the other side. It boasts about the wonderful year it has had and its complete confidence in its owner.
Sometimes I feel we Christians should be much more like this. We should be proud to belong to Christ.
Why shouldn’t we feel free to boast to others of how good our Shepherd is?
How glad we should be to look back and recall all the amazing ways in which He has provided for our welfare.
We should delight to describe, in detail, the hard experiences through which He has brought us.
We should be eager and quick to tell of our confidence in Christ. We should be bold to state fearlessly that we are so glad we are His. By the contentment and serenity of our lives we should show what a distinct advantage it is to be a member of His “household,” of His flock.
What a comparison to the sheep who are not well cared for. Like wise with those apart from Christ. The world is a pretty wretched ranch and Satan is a heartless owner. He cares not a wit for men’s souls or welfare. Under his tyranny there are hundreds of hungry, discontented hearts who long to enter in the household of God, who ache for His care and concern.
Yet there is only one way into this fold. That way is through the owner, Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd.
He boldly declared, “ I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9)
Every day we are literally rubbing shoulders with men and women “on the other side of the fence.”
What is my impact on them?
Is my life so serene, so satisfying, so radiant because I walk and talk and live with God, that they become envious?
Do they see in me the benefits of being under Christ’s control?
So they see something of Him reflected in my conduct and character?
Does my life and conversation lead them to Him, and thus into life everlasting?
If so, then I may be sure some of them will also long to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. And there is no reason why this cannot happen if they come under His proper ownership.
There is one other beautiful and final sense in which the psalmist was speaking as a sheep. It is brought out in the Amplified Old Testament where the meaning of the last phrase is; ”I will dwell in the ‘presence’ of the Lord forever.”
It is probable the most significance sentiment that David had in his heart as he ended this hymn of praise to the Lord. Not only do we get the idea of an ever present Shepherd on the scene, but also the concept that the sheep wants to be in full view of his owner at all times.
This theme has run all through our study of this Psalm.
It is the alertness, the awareness, the diligence of a never tiring master which alone assures the sheep of excellent care. And from the sheep’s standpoint it is knowing that the shepherd is there; it is the constant awareness of this presence nearby that automatically eliminates most of the difficulties and dangers while at the same time providing a sense of security and serenity.
It is the sheep’s owner’s presence that guarantees there:
Will be abundant green pastures.
Will be still, clean waters.
New paths into fresh fields.
Safe summers on the high tablelands.
Freedom from fear.
Antidotes for flies and disease and parasites.
Quietness and contentment.
In our Christian lives and experience precisely the same idea and principles applies.
For when all is said and done on the subject of a successful Christian walk, it can be summed up in one sentence: “Live ever aware of God’s presence.”
There is the “ inner” consciousness, which can be very distinct and very real, of Christ’s presence in my life, made evident by His gracious Holy Spirit. It is He who speaks to us in distinct and definite ways about our behavior. For our part is a case of being sensitive and responsive to that inner voice.
There can be a habitual awareness of Christ within me, empowering me to live a noble and richly rewarding life in cooperation with Him. As I respond to Him and move in harmony with His wishes, I discover life becomes satisfying and worthwhile. It acquires great serenity and is made an exciting adventure of fulfillment as I progress in it. This is made possible as I allow His gracious Spirit to control, manage and direct my daily decisions.
I should deliberately ask for His direction even in minute details. Then there is the wider but equally thrilling awareness of God all around me. I live surrounded by His presence.
I am an open person, open individual, and living life open to His scrutiny.
He is conscious of every circumstance I encounter.
He attends me with care and concern because I belong to Him.
And this will continue through eternity.
What an assurance!
I shall dwell in the presence (in the care of) the Lord, YAHWEH, forever.
CONCLUSION
“THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD”
That is not only the first statement of this song, it is its inclusive statement.
Everything that follows interprets the glory and sufficiency of the fact thus declared.
When this is said, all is said. Whatever may be added, is only to help us to understand the fullness of this great truth.
An adequate interpretation of this affirmation demands recognition of the fact that in all Eastern thought, and very definitely in Biblical literature, a king is a shepherd.
This is the supreme song of the Psalter concerning the Kingship of God in its application to the individual soul.
Other songs set forth the wonders of His Kingship of the nation, and over all peoples.
There are only two persons in this Psalm, YAHWEH and the singer, save where enemies are referred to.
The personal note is immediately struck, “YAHWEH is my Shepherd!” This eternal King, ruling over all the universe, is also the direct, personal, immediate King of every individual soul.
When this is recognized, the glory of the song is discovered. It is a revelation of the nature and method of the Divine government of the individual life.
Pondered in this way, the Psalm becomes a beautiful interpretation of that wonder phrase of Paul, “The good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Under His sway there is no lack. Our peaceful days He creates. If we wander, we are not abandoned. In the darkest hours He is still with us. He upholds us and delivers us in conflict.
He entertains us on the pilgrimage, and receives us into His house forever.
All the uttermost of value in this song has been interpreted to us through Him Who said of Himself, “I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD.”
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Psalm 23 Verse 5
Verse 5: You Prepare A Table Before Me In The Presence Of My Enemies, You Anoint My Head With Oil, My Cup Overflows
You Prepare A Table Before Me
The antecedent of “You” is “Yahweh,” but it no longer seems to be Yahweh-Shepherd, since a shepherd does not prepare a table for his sheep. The image seems to have changed to that of a host. This implies that the Psalmist is Yahweh’s honored guest.
There is a series of two prepositional phrases used to indicate the “location” of the table’s preparation.
The first one is “before me” which indicates that the table prepared in the presence of the Psalmist.
The second prepositional phrase is “in the presence of my enemies.” Not only is the table prepared before him, but what is more amazing is that it is also prepared in the presence of the Psalmist’s enemies.
What is involved in a host’s preparing a table?
The Hebrew word for table is “shulhan.” It describes the physical table itself. More frequently it describes the table spread with food. Here the emphasis is on the meal rather than on the table itself. This is true of the table of shewbread also. From this the metaphorical use derives easily God’s provision for man’s needs. An important use of the word is to evoke the picture of the fellowship shared by those seated around the table.
Why do we invite friends over to our homes for dinner? Think about that for a moment. It is time to enjoy good food, but that is not the real reason. We invite people to our homes to fellowship with them. The meal provides the opportunity. If you have just met someone, what a way to get to know him or her. You go all out to prepare a feast and you and your guest enjoy to the opportunity to fellowship. It makes the guest feel special because you took the time and effort to have him or her over to your house for dinner.
The Psalmist who wrote Psalm 78:19 had this to say: “Then they spoke against God; they said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? This was written about the Israelites who roamed the wilderness for 40 years. Did God provide for them? Yes He did. I found out what the logistics would have been for provision for the wandering Israelites. It is amazing. If you would like a copy of it, send me an email requesting the Logistics of the Exodus.
Lastly, the word is used to describe the altar of sacrifice. To share in a god’s table was an act of worship. (Isaiah 65:11)(1 Corinthians 10:21)
What is signified by Yahweh’s preparing a table for the Psalmist?
Specifically, how is this accomplished?
In what sense is it true that Yahweh is Host and the Psalmist His honored guest?
What are the wider implications of this Host-Guest relationship?
In thinking about this statement it is well to bear in mind that the sheep are approaching the high mountain country of the summer ranges. These are known as alp lands or table lands.
The high plateau of the sheep ranges are always referred to as “mesa” the Spanish word for “tables”. It may be seen that David referred to as a table was actually the entire high summer range. Though this “mesa” may have been remote and hard to reach, the energetic and aggressive sheep owner takes the time and trouble to ready them for the arrival of his flocks.
Early in the season, even before all the snow has been melted by spring sunshine, he will go ahead and make preliminary survey trips into this rough, wild country. He will look over with great care, keeping ever in mind its best use for his flock during the coming season.
Then just before the sheep arrive he will make another expedition or two to prepare the tableland for them. He takes along a supply of salt and minerals to be distributed over the range at strategic spots for the benefit of the sheep during the summer. The intelligent, careful manager will also decide well ahead of time where his camps will be located so the sheep have the best bed grounds. He goes over the range carefully to determine how vigorous the grass and upland vegetation is. At this time he decides whether some glades and basins can be used only lightly where as other slopes and meadows may be grazed more heavily. He will check to see if there are poisonous weeds appearing, and if so, he will plan his grazing program to avoid them, or take drastic steps to eradicate them.
The parallel in the Christian life is clear. Like sheep, and especially lambs, we somehow feel that we have to try everything that comes our way. We have to taste this thing and that, sampling everything just to see what it’s like. We may very well know that some things are deadly. They can do us no good. They can be most destructive. Still somehow we give them a whirl anyway.
To forestall our getting into grief of this sort, we need to remember our Master has been there ahead of us coping with every situation, which would otherwise undo us. A classic example of this was the incident when Jesus warned Peter that Satan desired to tempt him and sift him like wheat. But Christ pointed out that He had prayed that Peter’s faith might not fail during the desperate difficulty he would encounter. And so it is even today. Our great Good Shepherd is going ahead of us in every situation, anticipating what danger we may encounter, and praying for us that in it we might not succumb.
Another task the attentive shepherd takes on in the summer is to keep an eye out for predators.
He will look for signs of wolves, coyotes, cougars and bears. If these raid or molest the sheep he will have to hunt them down or go to great pains to trap them so that his flock can rest in peace.
Often what actually happens is that these crafty ones are up on the rimrock watching every movement the sheep make, hoping for a chance to make a swift, sneaking attack that will stampede the sheep. Then one or other of the flock is bound to fall easy prey to the attacker’s fierce teeth and claws. Only the alertness of the sheepman who tends his flock on the tableland in full view of possible enemies can prevent them from falling prey to attack. It is only his preparations for such an eventuality that can possible save the sheep from being slaughtered and panicked by their predators.
I can’t remember when or on what TV channel I saw this, but when a herd of elephants is attacked by a lion or other animal, the first thing they do is to get the baby elephants huddled together in the middle of the adults and then form a circle around them to protect them from the attack.
Another time I was watching a large flock of Canadian geese with young ones. Even without young ones, I noticed that all around where the others were feeding, it like there were posted sentries watching. They were on the alert for a possible attack. A lot of other animals do this also.
We have a Shepherd who knows our enemy and is well aware of his attempts to get to us. If we will listen to Him, He will tell what the devil is up to and how to avoid his attacks. Since God knows everything, even what the devil is up to, it’s like have a spy in the middle of the enemy’s camp. If we will listen to the Holy Spirit, He will warn us so we can avoid the trap that is set for us.
Again we are given a sublime picture of our Savior who knows every wile, every trick, every treachery of our enemy Satan and his companions. Always we are in danger of attack. Scripture refers to him as “a roaring lion” who goes about seeking whom he may devour. (I Peter 5:8) It is interesting to watch a group of lions go after a herd of animals. They look for the stragglers, the young one and the sickly ones. These make easy prey. But they will attack a strong animal.
At all times we would be wise to walk a little closer to Christ. This is one sure place of safety.
It was always the distant sheep, the roamers, and the wanderers, which were picked off by the predators in an unsuspecting moment. Some sheep are utterly dumb with fear under attack; they will not even give a plaintive bleat before their blood is spilled.
The same is true of Christians. Many of us get into deep difficulty beyond ourselves; we are stricken dumb with apprehension, unable even to call or cry out for help; we just crumble under our adversary’s attack.
But Christ is too concerned about us to allow this to happen. Our Shepherd wants to forestall such a calamity. He wants our sojourn to be in peace. Our Lord wants our mountaintop times to be tranquil interludes. And they will be if we just have the common sense to stay near Him where He can protect us. Read His Word each day. Spend some time talking to Him. We should give Him opportunity to converse with us by His Spirit as we contemplate His life and work for us as our Shepherd.
There is another chore, which the sheepman takes care of on the tableland. He clears out the water holes, springs and drinking places for his flock. He has to clean out the accumulated debris of leaves, twigs, stones and soil that may have fallen into the water source during the autumn and winter. He may need to repair small earth dams he has made to hold water. He will open the springs that may have become overgrown with grass and brush and weeds. It is all his work, his preparation of the table for his own sheep in summer.
The parallel in the Christian life is that Christ, our great Good Shepherd has Himself already gone before us into every situation and every extremity that we might encounter. We are told emphatically that He was tempted in all points like as we are. (Hebrews 4:14-15) We know He entered full and completely and very intimately into life of men upon this earth. He has known our sufferings, experienced our sorrows, and endured our struggles in this life. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53) Because of this He “understands” us, He has totally “identified Himself with humanity. He has, therefore, a care and compassion for us beyond our ability to grasp.
No wonder He makes every possible provision to insure that when have to cope with Satan, sin, or self, the contest will not be one-sided. Rather, we can be sure He has been in that situation before; He is in it now again with us and because of this the prospects of our preservation are excellent. It is this attitude of rest in Him, of confidence in His care, of relaxation as we realize His presence in the picture that can make the Christian’s life one of calm and quiet confidence.
The Christian walk can thus become a mountaintop experience; a tableland trip, simply because we are in the care and control of Christ who has been over all this territory before us and prepared the “table” for us in plain view of our enemies who would demoralize and destroy us if they could.
It is encouraging to know that just as in any other aspect of life where there are lights and shadows, so in the Christian life there are valleys and mountaintops. Too many people assume that once one becomes a Christian, automatically life becomes a glorious garden of delight. We think that the Lord has promised us a rose garden. This is simply not the case. It may well become a garden of sorrow just as our Savior went through the garden of Gethsemane.
As was pointed out previously, you do not have mountains without valleys, and even on the mountaintop there can be some tough experiences. Just because the shepherd has gone ahead and made every possible provision for the safety and welfare of his sheep while they are on the summer range does not mean they will not have problems there.
Predators can still attack; poisonous weeds can still grow; storms and gales can still come swirling up over the peaks; and a dozen other hazards can haunt the high country. Yet, in His care and concern for us Christ still insures that we will have some gladness with our sadness; some delightful days as well as dark days; some sunshine as well as shadows. It is not always apparent to us what tremendous personal cost it has been for Christ to prepare the table for His own.
Just as the lonely, personal privation of the sheepman who prepares the summer range for his flock entails a sacrifice, so the lonely agony of Gethsemane, of Pilate’s hall, of Calvary, have cost my Master much.
When I come to the Lord’s Table and partake of the communion service, which is a feast of thanksgiving for His love and care, do I fully appreciate what it has cost Him to prepare this table for me?
Here we commemorate the greatest and deepest demonstration of “true love” the world has ever known.
For God looked down upon sorrow, struggling, sinning humanity and was moved with compassion for the contrary, sheep-like creatures He had made. In spite of the tremendous personal cost it would entail to Himself to deliver them from their dilemma, He chose deliberately to descend and live among them that He might deliver them. This meant laying aside His splendor, His position, and His prerogatives as the perfect and faultless One. He knew He would be exposed to terrible privation, to ridicule, to false accusations, to rumors, gossip and malicious charges that branded Him as a glutton, drunkard, friend of sinners and even an imposter.
It entailed losing His reputation.
It would involve physical suffering, mental anguish and spiritual agony.
In short, His coming to earth as the Christ, as Jesus of Nazareth, was a straightforward case of utter self-sacrifice that culminated in the cross of Calvary.
The laid-down life, the poured-out blood were the supreme symbols of total selflessness.
This was love.
This was God.
This was divinity in action, delivering men from their own utter selfishness, their own stupidity; their own suicidal instincts as lost sheep unable t help themselves. In all of this there is an amazing mystery. No man will ever be able fully to fathom its implications. It is bound up inexorably with the concept of God’s divine love of self-sacrifice, which is so foreign to most of us who are self-centered.
At best we can only grasp feebly the incredible concept of a perfect person, a sinless one being willing actually to be made sin that we who are so full of faults, selfish self assertion and suspicion might be set free form sin and self to live a new, free, fresh, abundant life of righteousness.
Jesus told us Himself, that He had come that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
Just as the sheepman is thrilled beyond words to see his sheep thriving on the high, rich summer range, so my Shepherd is immensely pleased then He sees me flourish on the tablelands of a noble, lofty life that He has made possible for me. Part of the mystery and wonder of Calvary, of Gods’ love to us in Christ, is bound up too with deep desire of His heart to have me live on a higher plane. He longs to see me living above the mundane level of common humanity.
He is so pleased when I walk in the ways of holiness, of selflessness, of serene contentment in His care, aware of His presence and enjoying the intimacy of His companionship.
To live thus is to live richly.
To walk here is to walk with quiet assurance.
To feed here is to be replete with good things.
To find this tableland is to have found something of my Shepherd’s love for me.
Several years ago I was sitting in church when the pastor came to the pulpit and said that he was going to preach a sermon that he had preached some time ago. When he started, I knew exactly what he was going to talk about, so I closed my Bible and notebook. After receiving this revelation I now keep my notebook open.
As he was preaching, I don’t remember what he said, but I began to receive revelation about the table in this psalm.
Here is what that was revealed to me.
Image a long table, and this table is covered with a purple tablecloth with gold fringe. At the end of the table are two large purple chairs with gold trim.
On this table are the following items each with its symbolic meaning:
The first item is a large menorah, holding seven candles that are lit. This represents Jesus as the Light of the World.
There is a big picture of milk representing the sincere milk of the Word in Hebrews
There is also a huge piece of meat representing the strong meat of the Word in Hebrews
The next item is a large loaf of bread, representing Jesus as the Bread of Life.
On this table is also a large vial of oil, representing the Holy Spirit; the oil of joy, the oil of gladness, the oil of healing, the anointing.
There are nine large bowls overflowing with different kinds of fruit, each one representing the nine fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.
We will also find on this table a large pitcher of water, presenting the Word of God.
Next we find a gold cup of wine and a loaf of broken bread, representing the Lord’s Supper, our communion with Him.
The Lord is standing behind the large purple chair reserved for His guest, waiting to seat you at His table. He bids each one of us to come and partake of His table.
What do you need from Him today?
You can find what you need by just coming to His table.
In the Presence of My Enemies
Who are the Psalmist’s “enemies?”
Why should the Psalmist have enemies?
What is meant by Yahweh’s preparing a table for the Psalmist in the presence of his enemies?
Why does the Psalmist suggest that Yahweh would do such a thing?
I like what Webster’s Dictionary says about an enemy:
An enemy is person who hates, opposes, or fosters harmful designs against another.
An adversary, foe, or hater.
It can refer to an individual opponent or to a hostile force, either a nation or an army.
There are several Hebrew words are rendered “enemy” in the Old Testament:
“Tsar” means an “adversary, foe, oppressor, or enemy.” It comes from the verb “tsarar”, which means “to show hostility toward.”
An “’ohev” is “one who is hostile, an enemy or foe.”
The term “sane’” means, “one who hates.”
“Zur” is a “stranger, foreigner, or alien.”
One Greek term, “echthros”, is used for each of the Hebrew words in the New Testament. Its basic definition is simply “enemy.”
Enemy is also used to speak of one’s personal foes. This is especially true in the Psalms. David asked for help against his enemies on a number of occasions (Psalm 25:2; Psalm 25:19). Other poets in the Psalter often sought this same protection (Psalm 119:84; Psalm 119:86).
Satan is also called “the enemy” (1 Tim. 5:14-15). He has revealed himself as such throughout history by seeking to hurt men and women, leading them away from God.
The greatest and final enemy is death itself (1 Cor. 15:24). It is feared by all because of its finality and unknown nature. But the Bible teaches that Jesus has “abolished” death once for all (2 Tim. 1:10). Those who have trusted Christ for the salvation He freely gives need not fear death.
If you are a Christian, you have enemies. Satan hates you, opposes you, and fosters harmful designs against you. All the demons in hell hate you. The world system hates you.
People that hate you are just being used by Satan and his demons to express their hatred for you. Remember that in 2 Corinthians 10 that is says we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. They truly don’t know what is going on. James says that to love this world is to become and enemy of God.
Yet in the midst of our enemies surrounding us, God prepares a table before us in their presence.
Can you imagine a table like one I described above being prepared, this huge spread, and you are seated with the Lord at the table, and all around you your enemies are standing off in the distance watching this?
I wonder what they would be thinking! It probably wouldn’t be nice.
You Anoint My Head With Oil
This seems to contain another action of Yahweh. Not only does Yahweh prepare a table, but He also has anointed the Psalmist’s head with oil.“ Prepares” is in the present tense, whereas “hast anointed” is in the present perfect.
What is meant by “anointed?”
It describes the procedure of rubbing or smearing a person or thing, usually with oil, for the purpose of healing, setting apart, or embalming.
A person can anoint himself, be anointed, or anoint another person or thing.
What is oil?
Generally, it is olive oil whether pure or prepared for various uses such as perfume or ointment.
Oil is one of the symbols for the Anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Oil was used in a variety of ways in biblical times in the Ancient Near East.
Most often oil was use in the preparation of food, taking the place of animal fat. Oil was used with meal in the preparation of cakes, with honey, flour, and wine. (Numbers 11:8)(1 Kings 17:12-16)(Ezekiel 16:13)(Leviticus 2:1-4)(Revelation 6:6)
Oil was used as fuel for lamps, both in homes and in the Tabernacle and Temple. ((Matthew 25:3)(Exodus 25:6)
Oil was extensively used in religious ceremonies. The morning and evening sacrifices required, in addition to the lambs, a tenth of measure of fine flour and fourth of a hin of beaten oil. This oil, called “beaten oil”, was lighter and considered the best oil. Other cereal offering also required oil.
Oil was used during the offerings of purification from leprosy.
In the New Testament, oil was used to anoint a body in preparation for burial. (Matthew 26:12)
Since olive trees were found in abundance in Palestine, olive oil was also used as a commodity of trade. (1 Kings 5:11)(Ezekiel 27:17)
Oil was regarded as a symbol of honor, while virtue was compared to perfumed oil. (Song of Solomon 1:3)(Ecclesiastes 7:1)
The abundance of oil was a demonstration of blessing and prosperity. (Job 29:6)(Joel 2:24)
However, as a symbol of affluence, oil was also associated with the arrogance of the rich.
(Hebrew: “valley of oil”; KJV: “fat valley,” Isaiah 28:1, 4)
Oil was a symbol of joy and gladness (Psalm 45:7), and in time of sorrow, anointing with oil was not practiced. (2Samuel 14:2)
Several persons in the Old Testament we anointed with oil:
Kings: (1 Samuel 10:1)(1 Samuel 16:13)
Priests: (Leviticus 8:30)
Prophets: (1 Kings 19:16)
Some objects were also anointed in dedication to God; the tabernacle, and all its furnishings (Exodus 40:9-11); the shields of soldiers (2 Samuel 1:21; Isaiah 21:5); altars (Leviticus 8:10-11), and pillars (Genesis 35:14)
As medicine, oil or ointment was used in the treatment of wounds (Isaiah 1:6)(Luke 10:34).
Oil was used cosmetically as protection against the scorching sun or the dryness of the desert. (Ruth 3:3)(Ecclesiastes 9:8)
Why does Yahweh “anoint?”
The Hebrew word “mashach (noun, messiah) and the Greek verb “chrio (noun, christos) are translated “to anoint.”
From ancient times the priests and kings were ceremonially anointed as a sign of God’s power upon them. The act was imbued with an element of awe. This was done by pouring a horned filled with oil over the person’s head. Psalm 133 gives a picture of this. This was not like we do today. We usually put a dab of oil on our finger and touch the person’s forehead. The whole horn of oil is literally poured out on the person's head.
Even today we talk about people being “anointed by God “ for ministry. God anoints every Christian for a specific purpose. The gifts of Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 require an anointing by the Lord.
Why does He “anoint the head with oil?
Literally the head is the upper most part of the body considered to be the seat of life, but not the intellect and figuratively for first, top, or chief.
There are various uses of the word “head” that we will not get into. Check it out for yourself.
Because the head was the seat of life, value was placed on it. Injury to it was a chief form of defeating an enemy. Defeated warriors were often beheaded.
Conversely, blessing comes upon the head and therefore hands are laid on it. (Genesis 48:17; 49:26)
Anointing the head with oil symbolized prosperity and joy. (Psalm 23:5; Hebrews 1:9)
In the service of ordination of priests and dedication of priestly service, the head of the high priest was anointed with oil. (Exodus 29:7; Leviticus 16:32)
It is difficult for those living in a temperate climate to appreciate, but it was customary in hot climates to anoint the body with oil to protect it from excessive perspiration. When mixed with perfume, the oil imparted a delightfully refreshing an invigorating sensation. Athletes anointed their bodies as a matter of course before running a race. As the body, therefore, anointed with oil was refreshed, invigorated and better fitted for action, so the Lord would anoint His sheep with the Holy Spirit, Whom oil symbolizes, to fit them to engage more freely in His service and run in the way He directs, in heavenly fellowship with Him.
Here now the sheep are in a sublime setting on the high meadows; where there are clear running springs; where the forage is fresh and tender, where here is the intimate close contact with the shepherd; suddenly we find “a fly in the ointment,” so to speak. For in the terminology of the sheepman, “summertime is fly time.”
By this, reference is made to the hordes of insects that emerge with the advent of warm weather.
Only those people who have kept livestock or studied wildlife habits are aware of the serious problems for animal presented by insects in the summer.
To name a few parasites that trouble stock and make their lives a misery:
warble flies
bot flies
heel flies
nose (nasal) flies
deer flies
black flies
mosquitoes
gnats
Their attacks on animals can readily turn the golden summer months into a time of torture for sheep and drive them almost to distraction.
Sheep are especially troubled by the nose fly, or nasal fly. These flies buzz about the sheep’s head, attempting to deposit their eggs on the damp, mucous membranes of the sheep’s nose. It they are successful the eggs will hatch in a few days to form small, slender, worm-like larvae.
They work their way to the nasal passages into the sheep’s head; they burrow into the flesh and there set up an intense irritation accompanied by severe inflammation.
For relief from this agonizing annoyance sheep will deliberately beat their heads against trees, rocks, posts, or brush. They will rub them in the soil and thrash around against woody growth.
In extreme cases of intense infestation a sheep may even kill itself in a frenzied endeavor to gain relief from the aggravation. Often advanced stages of infection from these flies will lead to blindness.
Because of all this, when the nose flies hover around the flock, some of the sheep become frantic with fear and panic in their attempt to escape their tormentors. They will stamp their feet erratically and flee from place to place in the pasture trying desperately to elude the flies. Some may run so much they will drop from sheer exhaustion. Others may toss their heads up and down for hours. They will hide in any bush or woodland that offers shelter. On some occasions they may refuse to graze in the open at all.
All this excitement and distraction has a devastating effect on the entire flock. Ewes and lambs rapidly lose condition and begin to drop in weight. Ewes will go off milking and their lambs will stop growing gainfully. Some sheep will be injured in their headlong rushes of panic. Others may be blinded. Some may even be killed outright.
Only the strictest attention to the behavior of the sheep by the shepherd can forestall the difficulties of “fly time.” At the very first sign of flies among the flock he will apply an antidote to their heads.
What an incredible transformation this makes among the sheep. Once the oil had been applied to the sheep’s head there is an immediate change in behavior. Gone is the aggravation, gone the frenzy; gone the irritability and the restlessness. Instead the sheep will start to feed quietly again, and soon lie down in peaceful contentment.
This is the exact picture of irritations in our own lives. How easy it is for there to be a fly in the ointment of even our most lofty spiritual experience. So often it is the small, petty annoyances that ruin our repose. It is the nagging distractions that become burning issues that can well nigh drive us round the bend or up the wall. At times some tiny, tantalizing thing torments us to the point where we feel we are just beating our brains out.
Our behavior as a child of God degenerates to a most disgraceful sort of frustrated tirade.
I was in a grocery store one time at the check line and there was this child, I would say about two years standing with his mother just throwing a temper tantrum. He was yelling, crying, and demanding that this mother get him this particular thing he wanted. As I was watching this, the Lord spoke to me and said this is how some of my children act, including me. If you think about it for a moment, we do. We throw a fit with the Lord because He won’t give us what we want or we don’t get out own way. How do react when someone irritates us?
There was an individual I worked with several years that I could not stand to be around. It seemed like his purpose in life was to irritate me. He would do things, on purpose, that would irritate the sap out of me. I would go into the back of the shipping container where I was working and tell the Lord that I really felt like taking my fist and shoving it down his throat. It wasn’t until I read this section about the irriations of the sheep that he was my “nasal fly.” That’s what I started calling him to myself. Everytime I saw him, I would just start laughing to myself. Over a period of time, I noticed that no matter what he did, my irritation with him was decreasing. It got to the point where no matter what he did; it did not irritate me like it use to.
Just as with the sheep there must be continuous and renewed application of oil to forestall the “flies” in our lives, there must be a continuous anointing of God’s gracious Spirit to counteract the ever-present aggravations of personality conflicts. It is a process that has to be repeated.
There are those who contend that in the Christian life one need only have a single, initial anointing of God’s Spirit. Yet the frustrations of daily dilemmas demonstrate that one must have Him come continuously to the troubled mind and heart to counteract the attacks of one’s tormentors. It is both a logical and legitimate desire for us to have the daily anointing of God’s gracious Spirit upon our minds.
God alone can form in us the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit alone can give to us the attitudes of Christ. He alone makes it possible for us to respond to aggravations and annoyances with quietness and calmness. When people or circumstances or events beyond our control tend to “bug” us, it is possible to be content and serene when these “outside” forces are counteracted by the presence of God’s Spirit. It is something that is not going to happen overnight. It takes a conscious awareness of what is going on and then making a conscious decision to respond and not react.
Several years ago I was driving on the interstate and somebody cut right in front of me and when he did I did not bless him. The Lord got on me about this and told me that I needed to change from reacting in anger to blessing people. My question was to Him, How do you do it? He gave me a passage of Scripture from Numbers 6:24-26 and I was to use that to bless others on the road. Well, the next time I got cut off, I spouted off the Scripture passage in anger, and I told the Lord that You know that I didn’t mean it. As I continued to pray this passage of Scripture, it eventually became my response instead of an angry reaction. I used this when working as a prayer counselor at CBN. People would curse at you and slam the phone down in your ear. So every time this happened I responded with this prayer of blessing regardless of whether they received it or not. Another prayer counselor beside me asked me what I was doing and I explained to her what the Lord told me to do, so she started doing it. Sometimes I slip up, but when I do, I make it a point to be extra aware of what is going on and pray this passage over people.
It is this daily anointing of God’s gracious Spirit upon our minds which produces in our lives such personality traits as joy, contentment, love, patience, gentleness, and peace. What a contrast this is to the tempers, frustration, and irritableness, which mar the daily conduct of so many of God’s children. What I do in any given situation is to expose it to my Master, my Owner, Christ Jesus, and simply ask for His help.
Summertime for the sheep is more that just fly time. It is also “scab-time.” Scab is an irritating and highly contagious disease common among sheep the world over. Sheep love to rub heads in an affectionate and friendly manner. When two sheep rub together the infection spreads readily from one to another.
In the Christian life, most of our contamination by the world, by sin, by that which would defile and disease us spiritually comes through our minds. It is a case of mind meeting mind to transmit ideas, concepts and attitudes that may be damaging.
Often it is when we “get our heads together” with someone else who may not necessarily have the mind of Christ, that we come away imbued with concepts that are not Christian. Our thoughts, our ideas, our emotions, our choices, our impulses, drives and desires are all shaped and molded through the exposure of our minds to others people’s, minds. One cannot be exposed to such contacts without coming away contaminated. I have been come into contact with a few of these and have “butted heads” with them.
The only possible, practical path to attaining such a mind free of the world’s contamination is to be conscious daily, hourly of the purging presence of God’s Holy Spirit to our minds. There are those who seem unable to realize His control of their minds and thoughts. It is a simple matter of faith and acceptance.
Just as one asks Christ to come into the life initially to assure complete control of one’s conscious and subconscious mind to monitor one’s thought-life. After believing, accepting with thanks the anointing of His gracious Spirit upon our minds, we simply proceed to live and act and think as He directs us.
The difficulty is that some of us are not in dead earnest about it. Like stubborn sheep we will struggle, kick, and protest when the Master puts His hand upon us for this purpose. Even if it is for our own good, we still rebel and refuse to have Him help us when we need it so desperately.
In a sense we are a stiff-necked lot and were it not for Christ’s continuing compassion and concern for us, most of us would be beyond hope or help. Sometimes I am quite sure Christ comes to us and applies the oil of His own Spirit to our minds in spite of our own objections.
Were this not so, where would most of us be?
As summer moves into autumn, there are subtle changes in the flock.
This is the season or the rut, of mating, of great battles between the rams for possession of the ewes. They strut proudly across the pastures and fight furiously for the favor of the ewes.
The shepherd knows all about this. He knows that some of the sheep will can actually kill, injure and main each other in these deadly combats. At this season of the year he will catch his rams and smear their heads with grease. The lubricant will make them glance off each other.
Among God’s people there is a considerable amount of knocking each other. Somehow if we don’t see eye to eye with the other person, we persist in trying to assert ourselves and become “top sheep.” A good many become badly bruised and hurt this way. Much of the grief, the wounds, the hurts, the ill will, the unforgiving things in people’s lives can usually be traced back to old rivalries or jealousies or battles that had broken out between believers. Scores of skeptical souls will never enter a church simply because way back into their experience someone had battered them badly.
To forestall and prevent this sort of thing from happening among His people our Shepherd loves to apply the precious ointment of the presence of His gracious Spirit to our lives. It will be recalled that just before His crucifixion, our Lord in dealing with His twelve disciples, who, even then, were caught up in jealous bickering and rivalry for prestige, told of the coming of the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth.
He said, they would know peace. He went on to say that His people would be known everywhere for their love for one another.
But too often this simply is not true among God’s own people. They hammer and knock each other, stiff-necked with pride and self-assertion. They are intolerant, dogmatic and uncharitable with other Christians. Yet when the gracious Holy Spirit invades a man or woman, when He enters that life and is in control of the personality, the attributes of peace, joy, longsuffering and generosity become apparent.
It is then that suddenly one becomes aware of how ridiculous are all the petty jealousies, rivalries, and animosities which formerly motivated their absurd assertions. This is to come to a place of contentment in the Shepherd’s care. It is then the cup of contentment that becomes real in the life.
MY CUP OVERFLOWS
The cup was a drinking vessel made of pottery or various metals such as gold, silver, or bronze. During biblical times cups came in two different forms. Some resembled their modern counterparts. However, most ancient cups were shallow bowls which were produced in a multitude of sizes.
In addition, the term cup was used to designate the receptacles for holding lamps on the lampstand of the tabernacle.
In the Bible, the word “cup” frequently is used in a figurative sense. The contents of the cup are accentuated, since symbolically God serves the drink.
Thus the cup might represent blessings or prosperity for a righteous person. (Psalm 16:5; 23:5; 116:13)
Likewise, it portrayed the totality of divine judgment on the wicked. ((Psalm 16:5; 75:8)(Isaiah 51:17, 22)
Jesus voluntarily drank the cup of suffering. (Matthew 20:22)(Matthew 26:39, 42) For Jesus that cup was His death and everything that it involved.
The cup had a prominent place in the liturgy of the Jewish Passover meal, and so, subsequently, in the Lord’s Supper. In the Christian ordinance the cup is a symbolic reminder of the atoning death of Jesus. (Matthew 26:27-28)(Mark 14:23-24)
As the children of God, the sheep in the Divine Shepherd’s care, we should be known as the most contented people on earth.
A quiet, restful contentment should be the hallmark of those who call Christ their Master. If He is the One who has all the knowledge and wisdom and understanding of my affairs and management; If He is able to cope with every situation, good or bad, that I encounter, then surely I should be satisfied with His care.
In a wonderful way my cup, or my lot in life, is a happy one that overflows with benefits of all sorts. The trouble is most of us don’t see if this way. Especially when troubles or disappointments come along, we are apt to feel forgotten by our Shepherd. We act as though He had fallen down on the job.
Actually He is never asleep.
He is never lax or careless.
He is never indifferent to our well being.
Our Shepherd always has our best interests in mind. Because of this we are actually under obligation to be a thankful, grateful, appreciative people. The New Testament instructs us clearly to grasp the idea that the cup of our life is full and overflowing with good, with the life of Christ Himself and with the presence of His gracious Spirit.
Because of this we should be joyous, grateful, and serene.
This is the overcoming Christian life.
It is the life in which a Christian can be content with whatever comes his way, even trouble.
Most of us are glad when things go well.
How many of us can give thanks when things go wrong?
Several years ago I was on my way to another state where we going to do a short term missions trip. As my friend and I were driving down the interstate, we were just enjoying the ride. Eventually we stopped at a gas station and noticed that my luggage on back of the truck was missing. Somewhere the suitcase had slipped out of the ropes that tied to the material we were carrying. After few moments, and deciding not to backtrack to try and find it, we continued on our way. I turned to my friend and, “You know, in 1 Thessalonians 5 if says to give thanks in everything. So Lord I thank you.” When we arrived to where we were going I shared with the others there what had happened. When we took a break from the Vacation Bible School we were doing, one of the parents came up to me and ask me to tell him what happened. I explained to him that somewhere the suitcase slipped out of the ropes, and that I thanked the Lord. He went away shaking his head and said that if that had happened to him he would have been mad.
Looking again at the round of the year through which the sheep pass in the shepherd’s care, we see summer moving into autumn. The autumn days can be golden under Indian summer weather. The sheep have respite now from flies and insects and scab. No other season finds them so fit and well and strong.
No wonder David wrote, “My cup runneth over.”
There is another aspect of the meaning of a cup that overflows.
There is in every life a cup of suffering.
Jesus Christ referred to His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and at Calvary as His cup. Had it not overflowed with His life poured out for men, we would have perished.
What a picture of my Master, sharing the wine, the very life blood of His own suffering from His overflowing cup poured out at Calvary for me.
He is there with me in every storm.
My Shepherd is alert to every approaching disaster that threatens His people.
He has been through the storms of suffering before.
He bore our sorrows and was acquainted with our grief. (Isaiah 53)
No matter what storms I face, His very life and strength and vitality is poured into mine.
It overflows so the cup of my life runs over with His life, often with great blessing and benefit to others who see me stand up so well in the midst of trials and suffering.
What about you?
You Prepare A Table Before Me
The antecedent of “You” is “Yahweh,” but it no longer seems to be Yahweh-Shepherd, since a shepherd does not prepare a table for his sheep. The image seems to have changed to that of a host. This implies that the Psalmist is Yahweh’s honored guest.
There is a series of two prepositional phrases used to indicate the “location” of the table’s preparation.
The first one is “before me” which indicates that the table prepared in the presence of the Psalmist.
The second prepositional phrase is “in the presence of my enemies.” Not only is the table prepared before him, but what is more amazing is that it is also prepared in the presence of the Psalmist’s enemies.
What is involved in a host’s preparing a table?
The Hebrew word for table is “shulhan.” It describes the physical table itself. More frequently it describes the table spread with food. Here the emphasis is on the meal rather than on the table itself. This is true of the table of shewbread also. From this the metaphorical use derives easily God’s provision for man’s needs. An important use of the word is to evoke the picture of the fellowship shared by those seated around the table.
Why do we invite friends over to our homes for dinner? Think about that for a moment. It is time to enjoy good food, but that is not the real reason. We invite people to our homes to fellowship with them. The meal provides the opportunity. If you have just met someone, what a way to get to know him or her. You go all out to prepare a feast and you and your guest enjoy to the opportunity to fellowship. It makes the guest feel special because you took the time and effort to have him or her over to your house for dinner.
The Psalmist who wrote Psalm 78:19 had this to say: “Then they spoke against God; they said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? This was written about the Israelites who roamed the wilderness for 40 years. Did God provide for them? Yes He did. I found out what the logistics would have been for provision for the wandering Israelites. It is amazing. If you would like a copy of it, send me an email requesting the Logistics of the Exodus.
Lastly, the word is used to describe the altar of sacrifice. To share in a god’s table was an act of worship. (Isaiah 65:11)(1 Corinthians 10:21)
What is signified by Yahweh’s preparing a table for the Psalmist?
Specifically, how is this accomplished?
In what sense is it true that Yahweh is Host and the Psalmist His honored guest?
What are the wider implications of this Host-Guest relationship?
In thinking about this statement it is well to bear in mind that the sheep are approaching the high mountain country of the summer ranges. These are known as alp lands or table lands.
The high plateau of the sheep ranges are always referred to as “mesa” the Spanish word for “tables”. It may be seen that David referred to as a table was actually the entire high summer range. Though this “mesa” may have been remote and hard to reach, the energetic and aggressive sheep owner takes the time and trouble to ready them for the arrival of his flocks.
Early in the season, even before all the snow has been melted by spring sunshine, he will go ahead and make preliminary survey trips into this rough, wild country. He will look over with great care, keeping ever in mind its best use for his flock during the coming season.
Then just before the sheep arrive he will make another expedition or two to prepare the tableland for them. He takes along a supply of salt and minerals to be distributed over the range at strategic spots for the benefit of the sheep during the summer. The intelligent, careful manager will also decide well ahead of time where his camps will be located so the sheep have the best bed grounds. He goes over the range carefully to determine how vigorous the grass and upland vegetation is. At this time he decides whether some glades and basins can be used only lightly where as other slopes and meadows may be grazed more heavily. He will check to see if there are poisonous weeds appearing, and if so, he will plan his grazing program to avoid them, or take drastic steps to eradicate them.
The parallel in the Christian life is clear. Like sheep, and especially lambs, we somehow feel that we have to try everything that comes our way. We have to taste this thing and that, sampling everything just to see what it’s like. We may very well know that some things are deadly. They can do us no good. They can be most destructive. Still somehow we give them a whirl anyway.
To forestall our getting into grief of this sort, we need to remember our Master has been there ahead of us coping with every situation, which would otherwise undo us. A classic example of this was the incident when Jesus warned Peter that Satan desired to tempt him and sift him like wheat. But Christ pointed out that He had prayed that Peter’s faith might not fail during the desperate difficulty he would encounter. And so it is even today. Our great Good Shepherd is going ahead of us in every situation, anticipating what danger we may encounter, and praying for us that in it we might not succumb.
Another task the attentive shepherd takes on in the summer is to keep an eye out for predators.
He will look for signs of wolves, coyotes, cougars and bears. If these raid or molest the sheep he will have to hunt them down or go to great pains to trap them so that his flock can rest in peace.
Often what actually happens is that these crafty ones are up on the rimrock watching every movement the sheep make, hoping for a chance to make a swift, sneaking attack that will stampede the sheep. Then one or other of the flock is bound to fall easy prey to the attacker’s fierce teeth and claws. Only the alertness of the sheepman who tends his flock on the tableland in full view of possible enemies can prevent them from falling prey to attack. It is only his preparations for such an eventuality that can possible save the sheep from being slaughtered and panicked by their predators.
I can’t remember when or on what TV channel I saw this, but when a herd of elephants is attacked by a lion or other animal, the first thing they do is to get the baby elephants huddled together in the middle of the adults and then form a circle around them to protect them from the attack.
Another time I was watching a large flock of Canadian geese with young ones. Even without young ones, I noticed that all around where the others were feeding, it like there were posted sentries watching. They were on the alert for a possible attack. A lot of other animals do this also.
We have a Shepherd who knows our enemy and is well aware of his attempts to get to us. If we will listen to Him, He will tell what the devil is up to and how to avoid his attacks. Since God knows everything, even what the devil is up to, it’s like have a spy in the middle of the enemy’s camp. If we will listen to the Holy Spirit, He will warn us so we can avoid the trap that is set for us.
Again we are given a sublime picture of our Savior who knows every wile, every trick, every treachery of our enemy Satan and his companions. Always we are in danger of attack. Scripture refers to him as “a roaring lion” who goes about seeking whom he may devour. (I Peter 5:8) It is interesting to watch a group of lions go after a herd of animals. They look for the stragglers, the young one and the sickly ones. These make easy prey. But they will attack a strong animal.
At all times we would be wise to walk a little closer to Christ. This is one sure place of safety.
It was always the distant sheep, the roamers, and the wanderers, which were picked off by the predators in an unsuspecting moment. Some sheep are utterly dumb with fear under attack; they will not even give a plaintive bleat before their blood is spilled.
The same is true of Christians. Many of us get into deep difficulty beyond ourselves; we are stricken dumb with apprehension, unable even to call or cry out for help; we just crumble under our adversary’s attack.
But Christ is too concerned about us to allow this to happen. Our Shepherd wants to forestall such a calamity. He wants our sojourn to be in peace. Our Lord wants our mountaintop times to be tranquil interludes. And they will be if we just have the common sense to stay near Him where He can protect us. Read His Word each day. Spend some time talking to Him. We should give Him opportunity to converse with us by His Spirit as we contemplate His life and work for us as our Shepherd.
There is another chore, which the sheepman takes care of on the tableland. He clears out the water holes, springs and drinking places for his flock. He has to clean out the accumulated debris of leaves, twigs, stones and soil that may have fallen into the water source during the autumn and winter. He may need to repair small earth dams he has made to hold water. He will open the springs that may have become overgrown with grass and brush and weeds. It is all his work, his preparation of the table for his own sheep in summer.
The parallel in the Christian life is that Christ, our great Good Shepherd has Himself already gone before us into every situation and every extremity that we might encounter. We are told emphatically that He was tempted in all points like as we are. (Hebrews 4:14-15) We know He entered full and completely and very intimately into life of men upon this earth. He has known our sufferings, experienced our sorrows, and endured our struggles in this life. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53) Because of this He “understands” us, He has totally “identified Himself with humanity. He has, therefore, a care and compassion for us beyond our ability to grasp.
No wonder He makes every possible provision to insure that when have to cope with Satan, sin, or self, the contest will not be one-sided. Rather, we can be sure He has been in that situation before; He is in it now again with us and because of this the prospects of our preservation are excellent. It is this attitude of rest in Him, of confidence in His care, of relaxation as we realize His presence in the picture that can make the Christian’s life one of calm and quiet confidence.
The Christian walk can thus become a mountaintop experience; a tableland trip, simply because we are in the care and control of Christ who has been over all this territory before us and prepared the “table” for us in plain view of our enemies who would demoralize and destroy us if they could.
It is encouraging to know that just as in any other aspect of life where there are lights and shadows, so in the Christian life there are valleys and mountaintops. Too many people assume that once one becomes a Christian, automatically life becomes a glorious garden of delight. We think that the Lord has promised us a rose garden. This is simply not the case. It may well become a garden of sorrow just as our Savior went through the garden of Gethsemane.
As was pointed out previously, you do not have mountains without valleys, and even on the mountaintop there can be some tough experiences. Just because the shepherd has gone ahead and made every possible provision for the safety and welfare of his sheep while they are on the summer range does not mean they will not have problems there.
Predators can still attack; poisonous weeds can still grow; storms and gales can still come swirling up over the peaks; and a dozen other hazards can haunt the high country. Yet, in His care and concern for us Christ still insures that we will have some gladness with our sadness; some delightful days as well as dark days; some sunshine as well as shadows. It is not always apparent to us what tremendous personal cost it has been for Christ to prepare the table for His own.
Just as the lonely, personal privation of the sheepman who prepares the summer range for his flock entails a sacrifice, so the lonely agony of Gethsemane, of Pilate’s hall, of Calvary, have cost my Master much.
When I come to the Lord’s Table and partake of the communion service, which is a feast of thanksgiving for His love and care, do I fully appreciate what it has cost Him to prepare this table for me?
Here we commemorate the greatest and deepest demonstration of “true love” the world has ever known.
For God looked down upon sorrow, struggling, sinning humanity and was moved with compassion for the contrary, sheep-like creatures He had made. In spite of the tremendous personal cost it would entail to Himself to deliver them from their dilemma, He chose deliberately to descend and live among them that He might deliver them. This meant laying aside His splendor, His position, and His prerogatives as the perfect and faultless One. He knew He would be exposed to terrible privation, to ridicule, to false accusations, to rumors, gossip and malicious charges that branded Him as a glutton, drunkard, friend of sinners and even an imposter.
It entailed losing His reputation.
It would involve physical suffering, mental anguish and spiritual agony.
In short, His coming to earth as the Christ, as Jesus of Nazareth, was a straightforward case of utter self-sacrifice that culminated in the cross of Calvary.
The laid-down life, the poured-out blood were the supreme symbols of total selflessness.
This was love.
This was God.
This was divinity in action, delivering men from their own utter selfishness, their own stupidity; their own suicidal instincts as lost sheep unable t help themselves. In all of this there is an amazing mystery. No man will ever be able fully to fathom its implications. It is bound up inexorably with the concept of God’s divine love of self-sacrifice, which is so foreign to most of us who are self-centered.
At best we can only grasp feebly the incredible concept of a perfect person, a sinless one being willing actually to be made sin that we who are so full of faults, selfish self assertion and suspicion might be set free form sin and self to live a new, free, fresh, abundant life of righteousness.
Jesus told us Himself, that He had come that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
Just as the sheepman is thrilled beyond words to see his sheep thriving on the high, rich summer range, so my Shepherd is immensely pleased then He sees me flourish on the tablelands of a noble, lofty life that He has made possible for me. Part of the mystery and wonder of Calvary, of Gods’ love to us in Christ, is bound up too with deep desire of His heart to have me live on a higher plane. He longs to see me living above the mundane level of common humanity.
He is so pleased when I walk in the ways of holiness, of selflessness, of serene contentment in His care, aware of His presence and enjoying the intimacy of His companionship.
To live thus is to live richly.
To walk here is to walk with quiet assurance.
To feed here is to be replete with good things.
To find this tableland is to have found something of my Shepherd’s love for me.
Several years ago I was sitting in church when the pastor came to the pulpit and said that he was going to preach a sermon that he had preached some time ago. When he started, I knew exactly what he was going to talk about, so I closed my Bible and notebook. After receiving this revelation I now keep my notebook open.
As he was preaching, I don’t remember what he said, but I began to receive revelation about the table in this psalm.
Here is what that was revealed to me.
Image a long table, and this table is covered with a purple tablecloth with gold fringe. At the end of the table are two large purple chairs with gold trim.
On this table are the following items each with its symbolic meaning:
The first item is a large menorah, holding seven candles that are lit. This represents Jesus as the Light of the World.
There is a big picture of milk representing the sincere milk of the Word in Hebrews
There is also a huge piece of meat representing the strong meat of the Word in Hebrews
The next item is a large loaf of bread, representing Jesus as the Bread of Life.
On this table is also a large vial of oil, representing the Holy Spirit; the oil of joy, the oil of gladness, the oil of healing, the anointing.
There are nine large bowls overflowing with different kinds of fruit, each one representing the nine fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.
We will also find on this table a large pitcher of water, presenting the Word of God.
Next we find a gold cup of wine and a loaf of broken bread, representing the Lord’s Supper, our communion with Him.
The Lord is standing behind the large purple chair reserved for His guest, waiting to seat you at His table. He bids each one of us to come and partake of His table.
What do you need from Him today?
You can find what you need by just coming to His table.
In the Presence of My Enemies
Who are the Psalmist’s “enemies?”
Why should the Psalmist have enemies?
What is meant by Yahweh’s preparing a table for the Psalmist in the presence of his enemies?
Why does the Psalmist suggest that Yahweh would do such a thing?
I like what Webster’s Dictionary says about an enemy:
An enemy is person who hates, opposes, or fosters harmful designs against another.
An adversary, foe, or hater.
It can refer to an individual opponent or to a hostile force, either a nation or an army.
There are several Hebrew words are rendered “enemy” in the Old Testament:
“Tsar” means an “adversary, foe, oppressor, or enemy.” It comes from the verb “tsarar”, which means “to show hostility toward.”
An “’ohev” is “one who is hostile, an enemy or foe.”
The term “sane’” means, “one who hates.”
“Zur” is a “stranger, foreigner, or alien.”
One Greek term, “echthros”, is used for each of the Hebrew words in the New Testament. Its basic definition is simply “enemy.”
Enemy is also used to speak of one’s personal foes. This is especially true in the Psalms. David asked for help against his enemies on a number of occasions (Psalm 25:2; Psalm 25:19). Other poets in the Psalter often sought this same protection (Psalm 119:84; Psalm 119:86).
Satan is also called “the enemy” (1 Tim. 5:14-15). He has revealed himself as such throughout history by seeking to hurt men and women, leading them away from God.
The greatest and final enemy is death itself (1 Cor. 15:24). It is feared by all because of its finality and unknown nature. But the Bible teaches that Jesus has “abolished” death once for all (2 Tim. 1:10). Those who have trusted Christ for the salvation He freely gives need not fear death.
If you are a Christian, you have enemies. Satan hates you, opposes you, and fosters harmful designs against you. All the demons in hell hate you. The world system hates you.
People that hate you are just being used by Satan and his demons to express their hatred for you. Remember that in 2 Corinthians 10 that is says we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places. They truly don’t know what is going on. James says that to love this world is to become and enemy of God.
Yet in the midst of our enemies surrounding us, God prepares a table before us in their presence.
Can you imagine a table like one I described above being prepared, this huge spread, and you are seated with the Lord at the table, and all around you your enemies are standing off in the distance watching this?
I wonder what they would be thinking! It probably wouldn’t be nice.
You Anoint My Head With Oil
This seems to contain another action of Yahweh. Not only does Yahweh prepare a table, but He also has anointed the Psalmist’s head with oil.“ Prepares” is in the present tense, whereas “hast anointed” is in the present perfect.
What is meant by “anointed?”
It describes the procedure of rubbing or smearing a person or thing, usually with oil, for the purpose of healing, setting apart, or embalming.
A person can anoint himself, be anointed, or anoint another person or thing.
What is oil?
Generally, it is olive oil whether pure or prepared for various uses such as perfume or ointment.
Oil is one of the symbols for the Anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Oil was used in a variety of ways in biblical times in the Ancient Near East.
Most often oil was use in the preparation of food, taking the place of animal fat. Oil was used with meal in the preparation of cakes, with honey, flour, and wine. (Numbers 11:8)(1 Kings 17:12-16)(Ezekiel 16:13)(Leviticus 2:1-4)(Revelation 6:6)
Oil was used as fuel for lamps, both in homes and in the Tabernacle and Temple. ((Matthew 25:3)(Exodus 25:6)
Oil was extensively used in religious ceremonies. The morning and evening sacrifices required, in addition to the lambs, a tenth of measure of fine flour and fourth of a hin of beaten oil. This oil, called “beaten oil”, was lighter and considered the best oil. Other cereal offering also required oil.
Oil was used during the offerings of purification from leprosy.
In the New Testament, oil was used to anoint a body in preparation for burial. (Matthew 26:12)
Since olive trees were found in abundance in Palestine, olive oil was also used as a commodity of trade. (1 Kings 5:11)(Ezekiel 27:17)
Oil was regarded as a symbol of honor, while virtue was compared to perfumed oil. (Song of Solomon 1:3)(Ecclesiastes 7:1)
The abundance of oil was a demonstration of blessing and prosperity. (Job 29:6)(Joel 2:24)
However, as a symbol of affluence, oil was also associated with the arrogance of the rich.
(Hebrew: “valley of oil”; KJV: “fat valley,” Isaiah 28:1, 4)
Oil was a symbol of joy and gladness (Psalm 45:7), and in time of sorrow, anointing with oil was not practiced. (2Samuel 14:2)
Several persons in the Old Testament we anointed with oil:
Kings: (1 Samuel 10:1)(1 Samuel 16:13)
Priests: (Leviticus 8:30)
Prophets: (1 Kings 19:16)
Some objects were also anointed in dedication to God; the tabernacle, and all its furnishings (Exodus 40:9-11); the shields of soldiers (2 Samuel 1:21; Isaiah 21:5); altars (Leviticus 8:10-11), and pillars (Genesis 35:14)
As medicine, oil or ointment was used in the treatment of wounds (Isaiah 1:6)(Luke 10:34).
Oil was used cosmetically as protection against the scorching sun or the dryness of the desert. (Ruth 3:3)(Ecclesiastes 9:8)
Why does Yahweh “anoint?”
The Hebrew word “mashach (noun, messiah) and the Greek verb “chrio (noun, christos) are translated “to anoint.”
From ancient times the priests and kings were ceremonially anointed as a sign of God’s power upon them. The act was imbued with an element of awe. This was done by pouring a horned filled with oil over the person’s head. Psalm 133 gives a picture of this. This was not like we do today. We usually put a dab of oil on our finger and touch the person’s forehead. The whole horn of oil is literally poured out on the person's head.
Even today we talk about people being “anointed by God “ for ministry. God anoints every Christian for a specific purpose. The gifts of Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 require an anointing by the Lord.
Why does He “anoint the head with oil?
Literally the head is the upper most part of the body considered to be the seat of life, but not the intellect and figuratively for first, top, or chief.
There are various uses of the word “head” that we will not get into. Check it out for yourself.
Because the head was the seat of life, value was placed on it. Injury to it was a chief form of defeating an enemy. Defeated warriors were often beheaded.
Conversely, blessing comes upon the head and therefore hands are laid on it. (Genesis 48:17; 49:26)
Anointing the head with oil symbolized prosperity and joy. (Psalm 23:5; Hebrews 1:9)
In the service of ordination of priests and dedication of priestly service, the head of the high priest was anointed with oil. (Exodus 29:7; Leviticus 16:32)
It is difficult for those living in a temperate climate to appreciate, but it was customary in hot climates to anoint the body with oil to protect it from excessive perspiration. When mixed with perfume, the oil imparted a delightfully refreshing an invigorating sensation. Athletes anointed their bodies as a matter of course before running a race. As the body, therefore, anointed with oil was refreshed, invigorated and better fitted for action, so the Lord would anoint His sheep with the Holy Spirit, Whom oil symbolizes, to fit them to engage more freely in His service and run in the way He directs, in heavenly fellowship with Him.
Here now the sheep are in a sublime setting on the high meadows; where there are clear running springs; where the forage is fresh and tender, where here is the intimate close contact with the shepherd; suddenly we find “a fly in the ointment,” so to speak. For in the terminology of the sheepman, “summertime is fly time.”
By this, reference is made to the hordes of insects that emerge with the advent of warm weather.
Only those people who have kept livestock or studied wildlife habits are aware of the serious problems for animal presented by insects in the summer.
To name a few parasites that trouble stock and make their lives a misery:
warble flies
bot flies
heel flies
nose (nasal) flies
deer flies
black flies
mosquitoes
gnats
Their attacks on animals can readily turn the golden summer months into a time of torture for sheep and drive them almost to distraction.
Sheep are especially troubled by the nose fly, or nasal fly. These flies buzz about the sheep’s head, attempting to deposit their eggs on the damp, mucous membranes of the sheep’s nose. It they are successful the eggs will hatch in a few days to form small, slender, worm-like larvae.
They work their way to the nasal passages into the sheep’s head; they burrow into the flesh and there set up an intense irritation accompanied by severe inflammation.
For relief from this agonizing annoyance sheep will deliberately beat their heads against trees, rocks, posts, or brush. They will rub them in the soil and thrash around against woody growth.
In extreme cases of intense infestation a sheep may even kill itself in a frenzied endeavor to gain relief from the aggravation. Often advanced stages of infection from these flies will lead to blindness.
Because of all this, when the nose flies hover around the flock, some of the sheep become frantic with fear and panic in their attempt to escape their tormentors. They will stamp their feet erratically and flee from place to place in the pasture trying desperately to elude the flies. Some may run so much they will drop from sheer exhaustion. Others may toss their heads up and down for hours. They will hide in any bush or woodland that offers shelter. On some occasions they may refuse to graze in the open at all.
All this excitement and distraction has a devastating effect on the entire flock. Ewes and lambs rapidly lose condition and begin to drop in weight. Ewes will go off milking and their lambs will stop growing gainfully. Some sheep will be injured in their headlong rushes of panic. Others may be blinded. Some may even be killed outright.
Only the strictest attention to the behavior of the sheep by the shepherd can forestall the difficulties of “fly time.” At the very first sign of flies among the flock he will apply an antidote to their heads.
What an incredible transformation this makes among the sheep. Once the oil had been applied to the sheep’s head there is an immediate change in behavior. Gone is the aggravation, gone the frenzy; gone the irritability and the restlessness. Instead the sheep will start to feed quietly again, and soon lie down in peaceful contentment.
This is the exact picture of irritations in our own lives. How easy it is for there to be a fly in the ointment of even our most lofty spiritual experience. So often it is the small, petty annoyances that ruin our repose. It is the nagging distractions that become burning issues that can well nigh drive us round the bend or up the wall. At times some tiny, tantalizing thing torments us to the point where we feel we are just beating our brains out.
Our behavior as a child of God degenerates to a most disgraceful sort of frustrated tirade.
I was in a grocery store one time at the check line and there was this child, I would say about two years standing with his mother just throwing a temper tantrum. He was yelling, crying, and demanding that this mother get him this particular thing he wanted. As I was watching this, the Lord spoke to me and said this is how some of my children act, including me. If you think about it for a moment, we do. We throw a fit with the Lord because He won’t give us what we want or we don’t get out own way. How do react when someone irritates us?
There was an individual I worked with several years that I could not stand to be around. It seemed like his purpose in life was to irritate me. He would do things, on purpose, that would irritate the sap out of me. I would go into the back of the shipping container where I was working and tell the Lord that I really felt like taking my fist and shoving it down his throat. It wasn’t until I read this section about the irriations of the sheep that he was my “nasal fly.” That’s what I started calling him to myself. Everytime I saw him, I would just start laughing to myself. Over a period of time, I noticed that no matter what he did, my irritation with him was decreasing. It got to the point where no matter what he did; it did not irritate me like it use to.
Just as with the sheep there must be continuous and renewed application of oil to forestall the “flies” in our lives, there must be a continuous anointing of God’s gracious Spirit to counteract the ever-present aggravations of personality conflicts. It is a process that has to be repeated.
There are those who contend that in the Christian life one need only have a single, initial anointing of God’s Spirit. Yet the frustrations of daily dilemmas demonstrate that one must have Him come continuously to the troubled mind and heart to counteract the attacks of one’s tormentors. It is both a logical and legitimate desire for us to have the daily anointing of God’s gracious Spirit upon our minds.
God alone can form in us the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit alone can give to us the attitudes of Christ. He alone makes it possible for us to respond to aggravations and annoyances with quietness and calmness. When people or circumstances or events beyond our control tend to “bug” us, it is possible to be content and serene when these “outside” forces are counteracted by the presence of God’s Spirit. It is something that is not going to happen overnight. It takes a conscious awareness of what is going on and then making a conscious decision to respond and not react.
Several years ago I was driving on the interstate and somebody cut right in front of me and when he did I did not bless him. The Lord got on me about this and told me that I needed to change from reacting in anger to blessing people. My question was to Him, How do you do it? He gave me a passage of Scripture from Numbers 6:24-26 and I was to use that to bless others on the road. Well, the next time I got cut off, I spouted off the Scripture passage in anger, and I told the Lord that You know that I didn’t mean it. As I continued to pray this passage of Scripture, it eventually became my response instead of an angry reaction. I used this when working as a prayer counselor at CBN. People would curse at you and slam the phone down in your ear. So every time this happened I responded with this prayer of blessing regardless of whether they received it or not. Another prayer counselor beside me asked me what I was doing and I explained to her what the Lord told me to do, so she started doing it. Sometimes I slip up, but when I do, I make it a point to be extra aware of what is going on and pray this passage over people.
It is this daily anointing of God’s gracious Spirit upon our minds which produces in our lives such personality traits as joy, contentment, love, patience, gentleness, and peace. What a contrast this is to the tempers, frustration, and irritableness, which mar the daily conduct of so many of God’s children. What I do in any given situation is to expose it to my Master, my Owner, Christ Jesus, and simply ask for His help.
Summertime for the sheep is more that just fly time. It is also “scab-time.” Scab is an irritating and highly contagious disease common among sheep the world over. Sheep love to rub heads in an affectionate and friendly manner. When two sheep rub together the infection spreads readily from one to another.
In the Christian life, most of our contamination by the world, by sin, by that which would defile and disease us spiritually comes through our minds. It is a case of mind meeting mind to transmit ideas, concepts and attitudes that may be damaging.
Often it is when we “get our heads together” with someone else who may not necessarily have the mind of Christ, that we come away imbued with concepts that are not Christian. Our thoughts, our ideas, our emotions, our choices, our impulses, drives and desires are all shaped and molded through the exposure of our minds to others people’s, minds. One cannot be exposed to such contacts without coming away contaminated. I have been come into contact with a few of these and have “butted heads” with them.
The only possible, practical path to attaining such a mind free of the world’s contamination is to be conscious daily, hourly of the purging presence of God’s Holy Spirit to our minds. There are those who seem unable to realize His control of their minds and thoughts. It is a simple matter of faith and acceptance.
Just as one asks Christ to come into the life initially to assure complete control of one’s conscious and subconscious mind to monitor one’s thought-life. After believing, accepting with thanks the anointing of His gracious Spirit upon our minds, we simply proceed to live and act and think as He directs us.
The difficulty is that some of us are not in dead earnest about it. Like stubborn sheep we will struggle, kick, and protest when the Master puts His hand upon us for this purpose. Even if it is for our own good, we still rebel and refuse to have Him help us when we need it so desperately.
In a sense we are a stiff-necked lot and were it not for Christ’s continuing compassion and concern for us, most of us would be beyond hope or help. Sometimes I am quite sure Christ comes to us and applies the oil of His own Spirit to our minds in spite of our own objections.
Were this not so, where would most of us be?
As summer moves into autumn, there are subtle changes in the flock.
This is the season or the rut, of mating, of great battles between the rams for possession of the ewes. They strut proudly across the pastures and fight furiously for the favor of the ewes.
The shepherd knows all about this. He knows that some of the sheep will can actually kill, injure and main each other in these deadly combats. At this season of the year he will catch his rams and smear their heads with grease. The lubricant will make them glance off each other.
Among God’s people there is a considerable amount of knocking each other. Somehow if we don’t see eye to eye with the other person, we persist in trying to assert ourselves and become “top sheep.” A good many become badly bruised and hurt this way. Much of the grief, the wounds, the hurts, the ill will, the unforgiving things in people’s lives can usually be traced back to old rivalries or jealousies or battles that had broken out between believers. Scores of skeptical souls will never enter a church simply because way back into their experience someone had battered them badly.
To forestall and prevent this sort of thing from happening among His people our Shepherd loves to apply the precious ointment of the presence of His gracious Spirit to our lives. It will be recalled that just before His crucifixion, our Lord in dealing with His twelve disciples, who, even then, were caught up in jealous bickering and rivalry for prestige, told of the coming of the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth.
He said, they would know peace. He went on to say that His people would be known everywhere for their love for one another.
But too often this simply is not true among God’s own people. They hammer and knock each other, stiff-necked with pride and self-assertion. They are intolerant, dogmatic and uncharitable with other Christians. Yet when the gracious Holy Spirit invades a man or woman, when He enters that life and is in control of the personality, the attributes of peace, joy, longsuffering and generosity become apparent.
It is then that suddenly one becomes aware of how ridiculous are all the petty jealousies, rivalries, and animosities which formerly motivated their absurd assertions. This is to come to a place of contentment in the Shepherd’s care. It is then the cup of contentment that becomes real in the life.
MY CUP OVERFLOWS
The cup was a drinking vessel made of pottery or various metals such as gold, silver, or bronze. During biblical times cups came in two different forms. Some resembled their modern counterparts. However, most ancient cups were shallow bowls which were produced in a multitude of sizes.
In addition, the term cup was used to designate the receptacles for holding lamps on the lampstand of the tabernacle.
In the Bible, the word “cup” frequently is used in a figurative sense. The contents of the cup are accentuated, since symbolically God serves the drink.
Thus the cup might represent blessings or prosperity for a righteous person. (Psalm 16:5; 23:5; 116:13)
Likewise, it portrayed the totality of divine judgment on the wicked. ((Psalm 16:5; 75:8)(Isaiah 51:17, 22)
Jesus voluntarily drank the cup of suffering. (Matthew 20:22)(Matthew 26:39, 42) For Jesus that cup was His death and everything that it involved.
The cup had a prominent place in the liturgy of the Jewish Passover meal, and so, subsequently, in the Lord’s Supper. In the Christian ordinance the cup is a symbolic reminder of the atoning death of Jesus. (Matthew 26:27-28)(Mark 14:23-24)
As the children of God, the sheep in the Divine Shepherd’s care, we should be known as the most contented people on earth.
A quiet, restful contentment should be the hallmark of those who call Christ their Master. If He is the One who has all the knowledge and wisdom and understanding of my affairs and management; If He is able to cope with every situation, good or bad, that I encounter, then surely I should be satisfied with His care.
In a wonderful way my cup, or my lot in life, is a happy one that overflows with benefits of all sorts. The trouble is most of us don’t see if this way. Especially when troubles or disappointments come along, we are apt to feel forgotten by our Shepherd. We act as though He had fallen down on the job.
Actually He is never asleep.
He is never lax or careless.
He is never indifferent to our well being.
Our Shepherd always has our best interests in mind. Because of this we are actually under obligation to be a thankful, grateful, appreciative people. The New Testament instructs us clearly to grasp the idea that the cup of our life is full and overflowing with good, with the life of Christ Himself and with the presence of His gracious Spirit.
Because of this we should be joyous, grateful, and serene.
This is the overcoming Christian life.
It is the life in which a Christian can be content with whatever comes his way, even trouble.
Most of us are glad when things go well.
How many of us can give thanks when things go wrong?
Several years ago I was on my way to another state where we going to do a short term missions trip. As my friend and I were driving down the interstate, we were just enjoying the ride. Eventually we stopped at a gas station and noticed that my luggage on back of the truck was missing. Somewhere the suitcase had slipped out of the ropes that tied to the material we were carrying. After few moments, and deciding not to backtrack to try and find it, we continued on our way. I turned to my friend and, “You know, in 1 Thessalonians 5 if says to give thanks in everything. So Lord I thank you.” When we arrived to where we were going I shared with the others there what had happened. When we took a break from the Vacation Bible School we were doing, one of the parents came up to me and ask me to tell him what happened. I explained to him that somewhere the suitcase slipped out of the ropes, and that I thanked the Lord. He went away shaking his head and said that if that had happened to him he would have been mad.
Looking again at the round of the year through which the sheep pass in the shepherd’s care, we see summer moving into autumn. The autumn days can be golden under Indian summer weather. The sheep have respite now from flies and insects and scab. No other season finds them so fit and well and strong.
No wonder David wrote, “My cup runneth over.”
There is another aspect of the meaning of a cup that overflows.
There is in every life a cup of suffering.
Jesus Christ referred to His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and at Calvary as His cup. Had it not overflowed with His life poured out for men, we would have perished.
What a picture of my Master, sharing the wine, the very life blood of His own suffering from His overflowing cup poured out at Calvary for me.
He is there with me in every storm.
My Shepherd is alert to every approaching disaster that threatens His people.
He has been through the storms of suffering before.
He bore our sorrows and was acquainted with our grief. (Isaiah 53)
No matter what storms I face, His very life and strength and vitality is poured into mine.
It overflows so the cup of my life runs over with His life, often with great blessing and benefit to others who see me stand up so well in the midst of trials and suffering.
What about you?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Psalm 23 Verse 4
Yea, Though I Walk Through The Valley
It is at this point that we are half way through the Psalm. We have finished the “He” section which describes the way the Shepherd cares for His sheep.
He has done everything for us; we are not required to do anything but follow. He protects and provides for us as we stay close to Him. So we see that the theme for these first three verses implies relationship:
He is my Shepherd and Lord and I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
The second half of the Psalm is the “I” section. Because the Shepherd has done everything for me, I am now responsible to follow Him closely so He can provide for me and protect me.
What does this mean for me as His sheep?
I can walk through a valley of death
I will fear no evil.
I will have Him with me always.
I will be comforted by His rod and staff.
I will eat from a prepared table.
I will have my head anointed with oil.
I will have a cup that will overflow.
I will have goodness and mercy follow and overtake me the rest of my life.
I will live in His house for all eternity.
It is as though up to this point the sheep has been boasting to its unfortunate neighbor across the fence about the excellent care it received from its owner on the “home” ranch throughout the winter and spring. Have you ever worked for someone who was really a great person to work for, and then go home and tell your neighbor what a wonderful boss you have only to find out his boss is the worst person in the world to work for?
Now it turns to address the shepherd directly. The personal pronouns “I” and “Thou” enter the conversation. It becomes a most intimate discourse of deep affection. This is natural and normal.
Yea, Though I Walk Through The Valley Of The Shadow of Death
It is interesting to note that the intensive connective “yea” is used to begin the statement. This is the first connective utilized to relate clauses. The absence of expressed connectives at the beginning of preceding clauses make this stand out by contrast.
“Walk” describes incomplete action and may refer both to the present and future tense. This is true of some of the other verbs of verse 4.
A series of 3 prepositional phrase is used to describe “walk.”
The local adverbial phrase “through the valley,” indicating the direction or place of the walk.
The adjectival phrase, “of the shadow,” qualifies the term “valley.”
The adjectival phrase, “of death,” qualifies the term “shadow”
In the marginal reading of some translations, “the valley of the shadow of death” is rendered “the valley of deep darkness.”
During the time the flock is entirely alone with the shepherd during the long treks of the summer and fall, they are entirely alone with the shepherd. They are under his most personal attention day and night. That is why these last verses are couched in such intimate first person language.
It is well to remember that all of this is done against a dramatic background of wild mountains, rushing rivers, alpine meadows and high rangelands.
David, the psalmist, of course knew this type of terrain first hand. He knew from firsthand experience about the difficulties and dangers, as well as the delights of the treks into high country. He knew this wild but wonderful country like the palm of his hand. Never did he take his flock where he had not already been before. Always he had gone ahead to look over the country with care.
All the dangers of rampaging rivers in flood; avalanches; rock slides; poisonous plants; the ravages of predators that raid the flock or the awesome storms of sleet and hail and snow were familiar to him.
He had handled his sheep and managed them with care under all these adverse conditions.
Nothing took him by surprise. He was fully prepared to safeguard his flock and tend them with skill under every circumstance. All of this is brought out in the beautiful simplicity of the last verses. Here is grandeur, a quietness, and an assurance sets the soul at rest.
THOUGH I WALK THROUGH
Why is “through” used instead of another preposition, such as “in?”
There is the idea of coming out on the other end of what you are walking through. There is the idea in Luke 6 of Jesus walking through the crowd of angry people to come out and go on.
The word “in” means to indicate inclusion, within space, a place, or limits. The psalmist is not staying there but going to the other side.
We need to keep two things in mind:
ONE: HE IS LEADING.
Verse 3b says “He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
If He is leading, that means that He is out front. I can see where He is going, so I follow Him.
Some of the paths to righteousness will be through valleys. He is the one who knows the paths even though we don’t know where He is going. He knows where He is going.
TWO: HE IS LEADING US THROUGH.
Note the word “through.” If we are going through, that means we must be coming out on the other side. I have heard it put this way: we don’t take up residence there in the valley. Some us do. We stay in the valley and never come out to the other side. Some of the paths we take on our journey to righteousness go through valleys. The idea is of “passing through.” When traveling to a specific destination, we “pass through” towns and cities, but we don’t stop there. We keep on going until we reach our destination. We are “passing through.” I don’t know if you have ever considered this, that we are “passing through” in this life. Heaven is our final destination. When we go “through” things it is not permanent. The Shepherd has also said that He would be with us as we go “through.” Consider these passages of Scripture:
Job 10:21-22
Before I go-- and I shall not return--
To the land of darkness and deep shadow;
The land of utter gloom as darkness itself,
Of deep shadow without order,
And which shines as the darkness." (NASB)
Psalm 84:6
Passing through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring,
The early rain also covers it with blessings. (NASB)
Psalm 107:14
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their bands apart. (NASB)
Isaiah 43:2-3
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
"For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place. (NASB)
I want to give you an illustration that I hope will solidify what I am saying here.
On my way to the library I passed through a small shopping center. I almost ran over a mother duck and her chicks. There were about 7 or 8 of them. What really caught my eye and made me stop to observe them for a little while was the fact that wherever the mother duck went, the chicks were closely behind her. When she stopped, they all came around to the front of her and huddled together. It was as though they were waiting for what she was going to do next. When she moved, they all moved right behind her. I didn’t see a chick stop and ask his mother where she was going nor did I see any of them wandering off from her. This went on for several minutes. The chicks stuck to her like glue. That’s the way we need to stick to the Lord when He is leading us. In the wilderness, whenever the cloud of the pillar of fire moved, the Israelites moved. When it stopped, they stopped. The Lord was leading them. I got the thinking about this later and it was amazing. Those little duck chicks were following their mother in a very dangerous place for them. Being in a shopping center, they could have easily all be run over by cars. It didn’t seem to matter to them, and I doubt very seriously if they were aware of it, but their only concern was following their mother wherever she went. Can we say that?
REVELATION:
If the Shepherd is leading, where is He?
He is up front, leading.
If I am a sheep, where am I?
I am behind the Shepherd following where He is leading me.
If He is leading me, and I am following Him, He will lead me to the green pastures and still waters and in the paths of righteousness that go through the valley of the shadow of death, or the valley of deep darkness.
He has not left me. He is still there. Somehow we get the impression that the Shepherd has taken off somewhere when we start walking through the valley. That is not true.
We get into trouble when we leave the Shepherd and decide to go our own way. We look around and wonder where the Shepherd went. He is exactly where you left Him. He hasn’t moved; you are the one who has moved.
I have to go through the valley of the shadow of death, or the valley of deep darkness. I walk through, not stop or stay there. I am passing through.
The Shepherd is never threatened by the deep darkness because He has been there and knows how to get through.
No matter how dark a place is, the Shepherd will lead His people through so that they fear no evil, because He is there to protect them, and they are comforted by his weapons.
Darkness represents the unknown and ignorance about something. I used to be ignorant about computers. I didn’t even know how to turn one on. Have you ever been “in the dark” about something? You don’t know why the adverse things that are happening to you are going on. We have all used the expression; “I’m in the dark.”
Light represents understanding and revelation. We have all used the expression, “I’ve seen the light” when we get an understanding of something. We have also seen in cartoons and in the comics a person with a light bulb over his head indicating the light being turned on about something. Now that I have some understanding about computers I am not in the dark about them. There are still some things about computers I don’t know, but as l learn more and more how to use a computer, my understanding increases.
Let’s look at this passage of Scripture:
Psalm 30:5
"For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning." (NASB)
It says that “weeping may last for the night. It’s dark at night right. When circumstances are pressing in on us, things seem like “there is no light at the end of the tunnel,” or it’s our “darkest hour,” we cry out. There is an experience I have read about that has happened to other Christians called “the dark night of the soul.” From what I have read about it, it’s a time when the Lord seems far away for a period of time. The people report that they really don’t know what is going on and are totally confused as to what is happening.
“But a shout of joy comes in the morning.” When it is morning, there is light. We come to the light at the end of the tunnel. The people who experience the “dark night of the soul” report that it’s like the morning light has broken in their lives and they experience fresh and vibrant fellowship with the Lord. There is joy.
We have to trust the Shepherd who is leading us through the unknown.
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH
What is a “valley?”
A valley is a depression between mountains, a broad plain or plateau, a narrow ravine, or a low terrain.
It used figuratively of an obstacle that must be overcome. (Isaiah 40:4)
It is used figuratively of a grave danger, which one might experience.
It is often used to symbolize and refer to the difficulties of life
Why is “valley” used in this connection?
The path to the higher ground, the path to the higher walk in God, goes through the valley.
In the Christian life we often speak of wanting “to move onto higher ground with God.”
How we long to live above the lowlands of life. We want to get beyond the common crowd, to enter into a more intimate walk with God. We speak of mountaintop experiences and we envy those who have ascended the heights and entered into this more sublime sort of life.
Often we get an erroneous idea about how this takes place. It is as though we imagined we could be “air lifted” onto higher ground. On the rough trail of the Christian life this is not so.
As with ordinary sheep management, so with God’s people, one only gains higher ground by climbing up through the valleys. Every mountain has its valleys which are scarred by deep ravines, gulches, and draws.
Why does the shepherd leads this sheep through the valleys:
The first reason is that the best route to the top is always along the valleys.
Any sheep man familiar with the high country knows this.
It should be notices that the verse states, ”Yea, though I “walk through” the valley of the shadow of death.” It does not say I die there, stop there, go around it, or go under it, but rather “I walk through.”
It is customary to use this verse as a consolation to those who are passing through the dark valley of death. But even here, for the child of God, death is not an end but merely the door into a higher and more exalted life of intimate contact with the Good Shepherd Himself. Death is but the dark valley opening out into an eternity of delight with God. It is not something to fear, but an experience through which one passes on the path to a more perfect life. Unless the lord returns soon and we are caught up in the air to meet Him, we all will go through this valley.
The Good Shepherd knows this, for He passed through this valley Himself. It is one reason why He has told us, “Lo, I am with you always,” even in the valley of death. What a comfort and what a cheer to know this.
For those of us who remain on earth, there is still a life to live here and now. There are still valleys to walk through during our remaining days. These need not be “dead end” streets.
The disappointments; the frustrations; the discouragements; the dilemmas; the difficult days, though they may be shadowed valleys, need not be disasters. They can be the roads to the higher ground in our walk with God. After all, when we pause to think about it a moment, we must realize that even our modern mountain highways follow the valleys to reach the summit of the passes they traverse.
Similarly, the ways of God lead upward through the valleys of our lives. To come to this conviction in the Christian life is to have entered into an attitude of quiet acceptance of every adversity to have moved onto the higher ground with God. Knowing Him in this view and intimate manner makes life more bearable than before.
The second reason the sheep are taken to the mountain tops by the way of the valleys is that this is the way of gentlest grades, but also it is the well watered route.
Here one finds refreshing water all along the way. There are rivers, streams, springs and quiet pools in the deep defiles. The sheep are glad for the frequent watering places along the valley route where
As Christians we will sooner or later discover that it is in the valleys of our lives that we find refreshment from the Good Shepherd Himself. It is not until we have walked with Him through some very deep troubles that we discover He can leads us to find our refreshment in Him there in the midst of our difficulty. For the man or woman who walks with the Shepherd through these valleys such real and actual refreshment is available. We are thrilled beyond words when there comes restoration to our soul and spirits from His own gracious Spirit.
Only those who have been through such dark valleys can console, comfort or encourage others in similar situations. Often we pray or sing hymns requesting to be made an inspiration to someone else. We want instinctively to be a channel of blessing to other lives. The simple fact is that just as water can only flow in a ditch or channel or valley, son in the Christian’s life, the life of God can only flow in blessing through the valleys that have been carved out and cut into our own lives by excruciating experiences. It is only then that you can understand the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.”
If you do a word study of the word “comfort” it is translated in the Greek “encouragement.”
Re-read this passage and every where the word “comfort” appears, substitute it with “encourage/encouragement.”
It is only the person who has experienced the valleys in their own lives that can truly comfort and encourage another person who is traveling the same valley.
Most of us do not want valleys in our lives. We shrink from them with a sense of fear and foreboding. Yet in spite or our worst misgivings the Shepherd can bring great benefit and lasting benediction to others through these valleys.
Let us not try to avoid the dark things, the distressing days. They may well prove to be the way of greatest refreshment to ourselves and those around us.
A third reason why the rancher chooses to take his flock into the high country by way of the valleys is that this is generally where the richest feed and best forage is to be found along the route.
A shepherd wants to be sure there will not only be water but also the best grazing available for the ewes and their lambs. Generally the choices meadows are in these valleys along the stream banks. Naturally these grassy glades are often on the floor of steep wall canyons and gulches.
There may be towering cliffs above them on either side.
The valley floor itself may be in dark shadow with the sun seldom reaching the bottom except for a few hours. The shepherd knows from past experience that predators like coyotes, bears, wolves or cougars can take cover in these broken cliffs and from their vantage points prey on his flock.
The shepherd knows from past experience that predators like coyotes, bears, wolves or cougars can take cover in these broken cliffs and from their vantage points prey on his flock. He knows these valleys can be subject to sudden storms and flash floods that send walls of water rampaging down the slopes.
Our Shepherd knows all of this when He leads us through the valleys with Himself. He knows where we can find strength, sustenance, and gentle grazing despite every threat of disaster about us. It is a most reassuring and re-enforcing experience to the child of God to discover that there is even in the dark valley a source of strength and courage to be found in God. It is when we he or she can look back over life and see how the Shepherd’s hand has guided and sustained him or her in the darkest hours that renewed faith is engendered. Nothing so stimulates faith in our Heavenly Father than to look back and reflect on His faithfulness in every crisis and every chilling circumstance of life. Over and over He has proved His care and concern for our welfare.
All of this multiples our confidence in Him. It is the spiritual as well as emotional and mental exposure to the storms and adversities of life that puts stamina into our very being. Because he has led us through without fear before, He can do it again and again. In this knowledge fear fades and tranquility of heart and mind takes its place.
Let come what may. Can you say that this very minute in the valley you may be experiencing right now?
Storms may break about me, predators may attack, and the rivers of reverses may threaten to inundate me. But because YAHWEH, the Lord my Shepherd, is in the situation with me right now, I shall not fear.
I SHALL NOT FEAR FOR YOU ARE WITH ME.
Because He is in the situation with me, I shall not fear.
17 times in the Bible the Lord says, “I am with you.” He has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us. I think He has made it quite clear to us. We just need to remember it.
To live this is to have taken some very long treks toward the high country of holy, calm, healthy living with God. Only the Christian who learns to live this way is able to encourage and inspire the weaker ones around him.
Too many of us are shaken up, frightened and panicked by the storms of life. Jesus had said to his disciples to get into a boat and we are going to the other side. After He got into the boat, He went to the back and went to sleep. About half way across the lake, a storm came and the panic-stricken disciples cried for Jesus to save them. Two things we need to remember about this story. One, Jesus had said we are going to the other side. We are “passing through” the lake. Jesus knew the storm was coming and you noticed He still took a nap. Second, the disciples had God Himself there in the boat with them. I don’t think that boat would have sunk with Jesus in it. They didn’t heed what He had said. This is a picture of some our lives. We are panic stricken in the middle of a dark valley, and we have the Shepherd living on the inside of us.
We claim to have confidence in Christ but when the first dark shadows sweep over us and the path we tread looks gloomy we go into a deep slump of despair. Sometimes we just feel like lying down and die. Does this sound like you sometimes? This is not as it should be.
The person with a powerful confidence in the Shepherd; the one who has prove by past experience that God is with him in adversity, the one who walks through life’s dark valley without fear with his head held high, is the one who in turn is a tower of strength and a source of inspiration to others.
There are going to be some valleys in life for all of us. No one is exempt. You can be assured that they are coming. You just don’t know when and where. The Good Shepherd Himself has assured us that:
“In this world we shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33)
The basic question is not whether we have many or few valleys. It is not whether those valleys are dark or merely dim with shadows.
The question is do I react to the circumstances or respond to them? There is a difference. When are panicking, you are reacting. When you respond, you are not.
How do I go through them?
How do I cope with the calamities that come my way?
With Christ I face them calmly.
With His gracious Spirit to guide me I face them fearlessly.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He is with me.
I know of a surety that only through them can I possibly travel on to higher ground with God.
In this way not only shall I be blessed but in turn I will become a benediction to others around me who may live in fear.
“Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me”
Here is another good reason to not fear when I go through the valley of the shadow of death.
His rod and His staff comfort me.
His Word and His Spirit comfort me.
THE SHEPHERD’S ROD
When the shepherd is in the field with his flock in the high country, it is customary for him to carry a minimum of equipment.
This was especially true in olden times where the sheepman did not have the benefit of mechanized equipment to transport camp supplies across rough country.
During the hours that he is actually in the field the sheepman caries only a rifle slung over his shoulder and a long slender staff in his hand.
In the Middle East the shepherd carries only a rod and staff.
The rod is an extension of the owner’s own right arm
It stood as a symbol of his strength, his power; his authority in any serious situation.
The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger. It was the instrument he used to discipline and correct any wayward sheep that insisted on wandering away.
There is an interesting sidelight on the word “rod,” which has crept into the colloquial language of the West. Here the slang term “rod” has been applied to handguns, such as pistols and revolvers that were carried by cowboys and other western rangemen.
The connotation is exactly the same as that used in this Psalm.
The sheep asserts that the owner’s rod, his weapon of power, authority and defense, is a continuous comfort to him. For with it the manager or shepherd is able to carry out effective control of his flick in every situation.
The rod speaks of the spoken Word, the expressed intent, the extended activity of God’s mind and will in dealing with men.
It implies the authority of divinity
It carries with it the convicting power and irrefutable impact of “Thus saith the Lord.”
Just as for the sheep of David’s day, there was comfort and consolation is seeing the rod in the shepherd’s skillful hands, so in our day there is great assurance in our own hearts as we contemplate the power, veracity, and potent authority vested in God’s Word. For in it, the Scriptures are His rod. They are the extension of His mind and will and intentions to mortal man.
Living as we do in an era when numerous confused voices and strange philosophies are presented to people, it is reassuring to the child of God to turn to the Word of God and know it to be His Shepherd’s hand of authority. What a comfort to have this authoritative, clear-cut, powerful instrument under which to conduct ourselves. By it we are kept from confusion amid chaos.
This in itself brings into our lives a great sense of quiet serenity, which is precisely what the psalmist meant when he said, “thy rod comforts me.”
There is a second dimension in which the rod is used by the shepherd for the welfare of the sheep-namely that of discipline.
If anything, the rod is used for this purpose perhaps more than any other.
It is the Word of God that comes swiftly to our hearts that comes with surprising suddenness to correct and reprove us when we go astray.
It is the Spirit of the living God, using the living Word that convicts our conscience of right conduct.
In this way we are kept under control by Christ, who wants us to walk in the ways of righteousness.
Another interesting use of the rod in the shepherd’s hand was to examine and count sheep.
In the terminology of the Old Testament this was referred to as passing “under the rod.” (Ezekiel 20:37)
This meant not only coming under the owner’s control and authority, but also to be subject to his most careful, intimate and firsthand examination. A sheep that passed “under the rod” was one that had been counted and looked over with great care to make sure all was well with it.
In caring for his sheep, the good shepherd, the careful manager, will from time to time make a careful examination of each individual sheep.
As each animal comes out of the corral and through the gate it is stopped by the shepherd’s outstretched rod.
He opens the fleece with the rod; he runs his skillful hands over the body; he feels for any sign of trouble; he examines the sheep with care to see that all is well. This is a most searching process entailing every intimate detail. It is, too, a comfort to the sheep for only in this way can its hidden problems be laid bare before the shepherd.
Psalm 139:23-24 reads, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see it there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
It we allow it, if we will submit to it, God by His Word will search us. There will be no “pulling the wool over His eyes.” He will get below the surface, behind the front of our old self-life and expose things that need to be made right.
This is a process from which we need not shrink. It is not something to avoid.
It is done in concern and compassion for our welfare. The Great Shepherd of our souls has our own best interests at heart when He so searches us. What a comfort this should be to the child of God, who can trust in God’s care
Wool in Scripture speaks of the self-life, self-will, and self-assertion, self-pride. God has to get below this and do a deep work in our wills to right the wrongs, which are often bothering us beneath the surface. So often we put on a fine front and brave, bold exterior when really deep down below there needs to be some remedy applied.
Finally the shepherd’s rod is an instrument of protection both for himself and his sheep when they are in danger.
It is used both as a defense and a deterrent against anything that would attack. The skilled shepherd uses his rod to drive off predators. Often it is used to beat the brush discouraging snakes and other creatures from disturbing the flock.
It was the rod of God’s Word that Christ, our Good Shepherd, used in His own encounter with that serpent, Satan, during His desert temptation. It is the same Word of God that we can count on again and again to counter the assaults and attacks of Satan.
There is no substitute for the Scriptures in coping with the complexities of our social order. We live in an evermore involved and difficult milieu. We are part of a world of men and women whose code of conduct is contrary to all that Christ has advocated. To live with such people is to be ever exposed to enormous temptations of all sorts. Some people are very subtle, very smooth, very sophisticated. Others are capable of outright, violent, vituperative attacks against the children of God.
In every situation and under every circumstance there is comfort in the knowledge that God’s Word can meet and master the difficulty if well rely on it.
THE SHEPHERD’S STAFF
In a sense the staff, more than any other item of his personal equipment, identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. No one in any other profession carries a shepherd’s staff.
It is uniquely an instrument used for the care and management of sheep, and only sheep. It is used for their benefit.
The staff is essentially a symbol of the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges. No other single word can better describe its function on behalf of the flock than that it is for their comfort.
Whereas the rod conveys the concept of “authority”, the power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word “staff” speaks of all that is longsuffering and kind.
The shepherd’s staff is normally a long, slender stick, often with a crook or hood on one end. The owner selects it with care; it is shaped, smoothed, and cut to best suit his own personal use.
Just as the rod of God is emblematic of the Word of God, so the staff of God is symbolic of the Spirit of God.
In Christ’s dealings with us as individuals, there is the essence of the sweetness, the comfort and consolation, the gentle correction brought about by the work of His gracious Spirit.
There are three areas of sheep management in which the staff plays a most significant role.
The first of these lies in drawing sheep together into an intimate relationship.
The shepherd will use his staff to gently lift a newborn lamb and bring it to its mother if they become separated. He does this because he does not wish to have the ewe reject her offspring if it bears the odor of his hands upon it.
Secondly, in precisely the same way, the staff is used by the shepherd to reach out and catch individual sheep, young or old, and draw them closer to him for intimate examination. The staff is very useful this way for the shy and timid sheep that normally tend to keep at a distance from the shepherd.
Similarly, in the Christian life we find the gracious Holy Spirit, “The Comforter,” drawing folks together into a warm, personal fellowship with one another. It is He who draws us to Christ.
Thirdly, the staff is also used for guiding sheep.
The shepherd uses his staff to guide his sheep gently into a new path or through some gate or along dangerous, difficult routes. He does not use it actually to beat the sheep. Rather, the tip of the long slender stick is laid gently against the animal’s side and the pressure applied guides the sheep in the way the owner wants to go. Thus the sheep is reassured of its proper path.
Sometimes a shepherd will actually hold his staff against the side of some sheep that is a special pet or favorite, simply so the they “are in touch.” They will walk along this way almost as though it were “hand-in-hand.” The sheep obviously enjoys this special attention from the shepherd and revels in the close, personal, intimate contact between them.
In our walk with God we are told explicitly by Christ Himself that it would be His Spirit who would be sent to guide us and to lead us into all truth. (John 16:13)
This same gracious Spirit takes the truth of God, the Word of God, and makes it plain to our hearts and minds and spiritual understanding. It is He who gently, tenderly, but persistently says to us, “This is the way, walk in it.” As we comply and cooperate with His gentle promptings, a sense of safety, comfort and well-being envelopes us.
It is He, too, who comes quietly but emphatically to make the life of Christ, my Shepherd, real and personal and intimate to me. Through Him I am “in touch” with Christ. There steals over me the keen awareness that I am His and He is mine. The gracious Spirit continually brings home to me the acute consciousness that I am God’s child and He is my Father.
In all of this there is enormous comfort and a sublime sense of “oneness,” of “belonging,” of “being in His care,” and hence the object of His special affection.
The Christian life is not just one of subscribing to certain doctrines or believing certain facts.
Essential as all of this confidence in the Scriptures may be, there is, as well, the actual reality of experiencing and knowing firsthand the feel of His touch, the sense of His Spirit upon my spirit.
There is for the true child of God that intimate, subtle, yet magnificent experience of sensing the Comforter at his side. This is not imagination, it s the genuine, bona-fide reality of everyday life.
There is a calm, quiet repose in the knowledge that He is there to direct even in the most minute details of daily living.
He can be relied on to assist us in every decision, and in this there lies tremendous comfort for the Christian.
“What would You do in this case?”
“You are here now. You know all the complexities; tell me precisely what it the best procedure at this point?”
He will actually convey the mind of Christ in the matter. The right decisions are made with confidence.
It is when I do not do this that I end up in difficulty. It is then that I find myself in a jam of some sort.
Here again the gracious Spirit comes to my rescue just as the shepherd rescues his sheep out of the situations into which their own stupidity leads them. Being stubborn creatures, sheep often get into the most ridiculous and preposterous dilemmas. Many of our jams and impasses are of our own making. In stubborn, self-willed, self-assertion we keep pushing ourselves into a situation where we cannot extricate ourselves.
Then in tenderness, compassion and care our Shepherd comes to us. He draws near and in tenderness lifts us by His Spirit out of the difficulty a dilemma.
What patience God has with us!
What longsuffering and compassion!
What forgiveness!
Thy staff comforts me! Your Spirit, O Christ, Is my consolation!
Where are you right now? In the valley? Somewhere in the dark? Or are you coming to the light at the end of the tunnel?
This part of the teaching is a last minute inspiration from the Holy Spirit. I was really to publish this on the blog when I read the following which is taken from a devotional I read every morning.
The name of the devotional is “Breakfast With God” published by Honor Books Inc in Tulsa Oklahoma.
Heroic spiritual moments are nearly always grounded in advance preparation. Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s court, unknowingly being prepared for the day he would demand that Pharaoh let his people leave Egypt. Moses also spent 40 years in the wilderness.
Daniel was a man of prayer years before the king issued a decree banning prayer. The violation landed Daniel in a lion’s den, where his prayers of protection were answered.
David was part of Saul’s royal court and married to Saul’s daughter. This was part of his preparation for assuming the throne one day. The years, approximately 17, he spent in the wilderness prepared him spiritually to trust God, and God alone, to preserve him, protect him, and help him rule an empire.
Esther prepared herself for a year before she won the “contest” to be queen. She prepared herself again before boldly coming to the king to expose the enemy of her people.
You may not see clearly what God’s purpose is for your life, but you can trust in the fact He is preparing your life. He will not waste a moment of your life. So make every relationship and experience count today, knowing He is grooming you for greatness.
As I was reading this, what came to my mind was the fact that He will lead us into the valleys of the shadow of death, death to self. This is part of the preparation process. Every Christian will be lead through these valleys. You will not be the same person when you exit the valley. Something will have died. God is the one who determines which valley and how long. Go through it knowing that the Good Shepherd is what He said He will do in Philippians 1:6:
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. “ (NASB)
It is at this point that we are half way through the Psalm. We have finished the “He” section which describes the way the Shepherd cares for His sheep.
He has done everything for us; we are not required to do anything but follow. He protects and provides for us as we stay close to Him. So we see that the theme for these first three verses implies relationship:
He is my Shepherd and Lord and I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
The second half of the Psalm is the “I” section. Because the Shepherd has done everything for me, I am now responsible to follow Him closely so He can provide for me and protect me.
What does this mean for me as His sheep?
I can walk through a valley of death
I will fear no evil.
I will have Him with me always.
I will be comforted by His rod and staff.
I will eat from a prepared table.
I will have my head anointed with oil.
I will have a cup that will overflow.
I will have goodness and mercy follow and overtake me the rest of my life.
I will live in His house for all eternity.
It is as though up to this point the sheep has been boasting to its unfortunate neighbor across the fence about the excellent care it received from its owner on the “home” ranch throughout the winter and spring. Have you ever worked for someone who was really a great person to work for, and then go home and tell your neighbor what a wonderful boss you have only to find out his boss is the worst person in the world to work for?
Now it turns to address the shepherd directly. The personal pronouns “I” and “Thou” enter the conversation. It becomes a most intimate discourse of deep affection. This is natural and normal.
Yea, Though I Walk Through The Valley Of The Shadow of Death
It is interesting to note that the intensive connective “yea” is used to begin the statement. This is the first connective utilized to relate clauses. The absence of expressed connectives at the beginning of preceding clauses make this stand out by contrast.
“Walk” describes incomplete action and may refer both to the present and future tense. This is true of some of the other verbs of verse 4.
A series of 3 prepositional phrase is used to describe “walk.”
The local adverbial phrase “through the valley,” indicating the direction or place of the walk.
The adjectival phrase, “of the shadow,” qualifies the term “valley.”
The adjectival phrase, “of death,” qualifies the term “shadow”
In the marginal reading of some translations, “the valley of the shadow of death” is rendered “the valley of deep darkness.”
During the time the flock is entirely alone with the shepherd during the long treks of the summer and fall, they are entirely alone with the shepherd. They are under his most personal attention day and night. That is why these last verses are couched in such intimate first person language.
It is well to remember that all of this is done against a dramatic background of wild mountains, rushing rivers, alpine meadows and high rangelands.
David, the psalmist, of course knew this type of terrain first hand. He knew from firsthand experience about the difficulties and dangers, as well as the delights of the treks into high country. He knew this wild but wonderful country like the palm of his hand. Never did he take his flock where he had not already been before. Always he had gone ahead to look over the country with care.
All the dangers of rampaging rivers in flood; avalanches; rock slides; poisonous plants; the ravages of predators that raid the flock or the awesome storms of sleet and hail and snow were familiar to him.
He had handled his sheep and managed them with care under all these adverse conditions.
Nothing took him by surprise. He was fully prepared to safeguard his flock and tend them with skill under every circumstance. All of this is brought out in the beautiful simplicity of the last verses. Here is grandeur, a quietness, and an assurance sets the soul at rest.
THOUGH I WALK THROUGH
Why is “through” used instead of another preposition, such as “in?”
There is the idea of coming out on the other end of what you are walking through. There is the idea in Luke 6 of Jesus walking through the crowd of angry people to come out and go on.
The word “in” means to indicate inclusion, within space, a place, or limits. The psalmist is not staying there but going to the other side.
We need to keep two things in mind:
ONE: HE IS LEADING.
Verse 3b says “He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
If He is leading, that means that He is out front. I can see where He is going, so I follow Him.
Some of the paths to righteousness will be through valleys. He is the one who knows the paths even though we don’t know where He is going. He knows where He is going.
TWO: HE IS LEADING US THROUGH.
Note the word “through.” If we are going through, that means we must be coming out on the other side. I have heard it put this way: we don’t take up residence there in the valley. Some us do. We stay in the valley and never come out to the other side. Some of the paths we take on our journey to righteousness go through valleys. The idea is of “passing through.” When traveling to a specific destination, we “pass through” towns and cities, but we don’t stop there. We keep on going until we reach our destination. We are “passing through.” I don’t know if you have ever considered this, that we are “passing through” in this life. Heaven is our final destination. When we go “through” things it is not permanent. The Shepherd has also said that He would be with us as we go “through.” Consider these passages of Scripture:
Job 10:21-22
Before I go-- and I shall not return--
To the land of darkness and deep shadow;
The land of utter gloom as darkness itself,
Of deep shadow without order,
And which shines as the darkness." (NASB)
Psalm 84:6
Passing through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring,
The early rain also covers it with blessings. (NASB)
Psalm 107:14
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their bands apart. (NASB)
Isaiah 43:2-3
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
"For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place. (NASB)
I want to give you an illustration that I hope will solidify what I am saying here.
On my way to the library I passed through a small shopping center. I almost ran over a mother duck and her chicks. There were about 7 or 8 of them. What really caught my eye and made me stop to observe them for a little while was the fact that wherever the mother duck went, the chicks were closely behind her. When she stopped, they all came around to the front of her and huddled together. It was as though they were waiting for what she was going to do next. When she moved, they all moved right behind her. I didn’t see a chick stop and ask his mother where she was going nor did I see any of them wandering off from her. This went on for several minutes. The chicks stuck to her like glue. That’s the way we need to stick to the Lord when He is leading us. In the wilderness, whenever the cloud of the pillar of fire moved, the Israelites moved. When it stopped, they stopped. The Lord was leading them. I got the thinking about this later and it was amazing. Those little duck chicks were following their mother in a very dangerous place for them. Being in a shopping center, they could have easily all be run over by cars. It didn’t seem to matter to them, and I doubt very seriously if they were aware of it, but their only concern was following their mother wherever she went. Can we say that?
REVELATION:
If the Shepherd is leading, where is He?
He is up front, leading.
If I am a sheep, where am I?
I am behind the Shepherd following where He is leading me.
If He is leading me, and I am following Him, He will lead me to the green pastures and still waters and in the paths of righteousness that go through the valley of the shadow of death, or the valley of deep darkness.
He has not left me. He is still there. Somehow we get the impression that the Shepherd has taken off somewhere when we start walking through the valley. That is not true.
We get into trouble when we leave the Shepherd and decide to go our own way. We look around and wonder where the Shepherd went. He is exactly where you left Him. He hasn’t moved; you are the one who has moved.
I have to go through the valley of the shadow of death, or the valley of deep darkness. I walk through, not stop or stay there. I am passing through.
The Shepherd is never threatened by the deep darkness because He has been there and knows how to get through.
No matter how dark a place is, the Shepherd will lead His people through so that they fear no evil, because He is there to protect them, and they are comforted by his weapons.
Darkness represents the unknown and ignorance about something. I used to be ignorant about computers. I didn’t even know how to turn one on. Have you ever been “in the dark” about something? You don’t know why the adverse things that are happening to you are going on. We have all used the expression; “I’m in the dark.”
Light represents understanding and revelation. We have all used the expression, “I’ve seen the light” when we get an understanding of something. We have also seen in cartoons and in the comics a person with a light bulb over his head indicating the light being turned on about something. Now that I have some understanding about computers I am not in the dark about them. There are still some things about computers I don’t know, but as l learn more and more how to use a computer, my understanding increases.
Let’s look at this passage of Scripture:
Psalm 30:5
"For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning." (NASB)
It says that “weeping may last for the night. It’s dark at night right. When circumstances are pressing in on us, things seem like “there is no light at the end of the tunnel,” or it’s our “darkest hour,” we cry out. There is an experience I have read about that has happened to other Christians called “the dark night of the soul.” From what I have read about it, it’s a time when the Lord seems far away for a period of time. The people report that they really don’t know what is going on and are totally confused as to what is happening.
“But a shout of joy comes in the morning.” When it is morning, there is light. We come to the light at the end of the tunnel. The people who experience the “dark night of the soul” report that it’s like the morning light has broken in their lives and they experience fresh and vibrant fellowship with the Lord. There is joy.
We have to trust the Shepherd who is leading us through the unknown.
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH
What is a “valley?”
A valley is a depression between mountains, a broad plain or plateau, a narrow ravine, or a low terrain.
It used figuratively of an obstacle that must be overcome. (Isaiah 40:4)
It is used figuratively of a grave danger, which one might experience.
It is often used to symbolize and refer to the difficulties of life
Why is “valley” used in this connection?
The path to the higher ground, the path to the higher walk in God, goes through the valley.
In the Christian life we often speak of wanting “to move onto higher ground with God.”
How we long to live above the lowlands of life. We want to get beyond the common crowd, to enter into a more intimate walk with God. We speak of mountaintop experiences and we envy those who have ascended the heights and entered into this more sublime sort of life.
Often we get an erroneous idea about how this takes place. It is as though we imagined we could be “air lifted” onto higher ground. On the rough trail of the Christian life this is not so.
As with ordinary sheep management, so with God’s people, one only gains higher ground by climbing up through the valleys. Every mountain has its valleys which are scarred by deep ravines, gulches, and draws.
Why does the shepherd leads this sheep through the valleys:
The first reason is that the best route to the top is always along the valleys.
Any sheep man familiar with the high country knows this.
It should be notices that the verse states, ”Yea, though I “walk through” the valley of the shadow of death.” It does not say I die there, stop there, go around it, or go under it, but rather “I walk through.”
It is customary to use this verse as a consolation to those who are passing through the dark valley of death. But even here, for the child of God, death is not an end but merely the door into a higher and more exalted life of intimate contact with the Good Shepherd Himself. Death is but the dark valley opening out into an eternity of delight with God. It is not something to fear, but an experience through which one passes on the path to a more perfect life. Unless the lord returns soon and we are caught up in the air to meet Him, we all will go through this valley.
The Good Shepherd knows this, for He passed through this valley Himself. It is one reason why He has told us, “Lo, I am with you always,” even in the valley of death. What a comfort and what a cheer to know this.
For those of us who remain on earth, there is still a life to live here and now. There are still valleys to walk through during our remaining days. These need not be “dead end” streets.
The disappointments; the frustrations; the discouragements; the dilemmas; the difficult days, though they may be shadowed valleys, need not be disasters. They can be the roads to the higher ground in our walk with God. After all, when we pause to think about it a moment, we must realize that even our modern mountain highways follow the valleys to reach the summit of the passes they traverse.
Similarly, the ways of God lead upward through the valleys of our lives. To come to this conviction in the Christian life is to have entered into an attitude of quiet acceptance of every adversity to have moved onto the higher ground with God. Knowing Him in this view and intimate manner makes life more bearable than before.
The second reason the sheep are taken to the mountain tops by the way of the valleys is that this is the way of gentlest grades, but also it is the well watered route.
Here one finds refreshing water all along the way. There are rivers, streams, springs and quiet pools in the deep defiles. The sheep are glad for the frequent watering places along the valley route where
As Christians we will sooner or later discover that it is in the valleys of our lives that we find refreshment from the Good Shepherd Himself. It is not until we have walked with Him through some very deep troubles that we discover He can leads us to find our refreshment in Him there in the midst of our difficulty. For the man or woman who walks with the Shepherd through these valleys such real and actual refreshment is available. We are thrilled beyond words when there comes restoration to our soul and spirits from His own gracious Spirit.
Only those who have been through such dark valleys can console, comfort or encourage others in similar situations. Often we pray or sing hymns requesting to be made an inspiration to someone else. We want instinctively to be a channel of blessing to other lives. The simple fact is that just as water can only flow in a ditch or channel or valley, son in the Christian’s life, the life of God can only flow in blessing through the valleys that have been carved out and cut into our own lives by excruciating experiences. It is only then that you can understand the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.”
If you do a word study of the word “comfort” it is translated in the Greek “encouragement.”
Re-read this passage and every where the word “comfort” appears, substitute it with “encourage/encouragement.”
It is only the person who has experienced the valleys in their own lives that can truly comfort and encourage another person who is traveling the same valley.
Most of us do not want valleys in our lives. We shrink from them with a sense of fear and foreboding. Yet in spite or our worst misgivings the Shepherd can bring great benefit and lasting benediction to others through these valleys.
Let us not try to avoid the dark things, the distressing days. They may well prove to be the way of greatest refreshment to ourselves and those around us.
A third reason why the rancher chooses to take his flock into the high country by way of the valleys is that this is generally where the richest feed and best forage is to be found along the route.
A shepherd wants to be sure there will not only be water but also the best grazing available for the ewes and their lambs. Generally the choices meadows are in these valleys along the stream banks. Naturally these grassy glades are often on the floor of steep wall canyons and gulches.
There may be towering cliffs above them on either side.
The valley floor itself may be in dark shadow with the sun seldom reaching the bottom except for a few hours. The shepherd knows from past experience that predators like coyotes, bears, wolves or cougars can take cover in these broken cliffs and from their vantage points prey on his flock.
The shepherd knows from past experience that predators like coyotes, bears, wolves or cougars can take cover in these broken cliffs and from their vantage points prey on his flock. He knows these valleys can be subject to sudden storms and flash floods that send walls of water rampaging down the slopes.
Our Shepherd knows all of this when He leads us through the valleys with Himself. He knows where we can find strength, sustenance, and gentle grazing despite every threat of disaster about us. It is a most reassuring and re-enforcing experience to the child of God to discover that there is even in the dark valley a source of strength and courage to be found in God. It is when we he or she can look back over life and see how the Shepherd’s hand has guided and sustained him or her in the darkest hours that renewed faith is engendered. Nothing so stimulates faith in our Heavenly Father than to look back and reflect on His faithfulness in every crisis and every chilling circumstance of life. Over and over He has proved His care and concern for our welfare.
All of this multiples our confidence in Him. It is the spiritual as well as emotional and mental exposure to the storms and adversities of life that puts stamina into our very being. Because he has led us through without fear before, He can do it again and again. In this knowledge fear fades and tranquility of heart and mind takes its place.
Let come what may. Can you say that this very minute in the valley you may be experiencing right now?
Storms may break about me, predators may attack, and the rivers of reverses may threaten to inundate me. But because YAHWEH, the Lord my Shepherd, is in the situation with me right now, I shall not fear.
I SHALL NOT FEAR FOR YOU ARE WITH ME.
Because He is in the situation with me, I shall not fear.
17 times in the Bible the Lord says, “I am with you.” He has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us. I think He has made it quite clear to us. We just need to remember it.
To live this is to have taken some very long treks toward the high country of holy, calm, healthy living with God. Only the Christian who learns to live this way is able to encourage and inspire the weaker ones around him.
Too many of us are shaken up, frightened and panicked by the storms of life. Jesus had said to his disciples to get into a boat and we are going to the other side. After He got into the boat, He went to the back and went to sleep. About half way across the lake, a storm came and the panic-stricken disciples cried for Jesus to save them. Two things we need to remember about this story. One, Jesus had said we are going to the other side. We are “passing through” the lake. Jesus knew the storm was coming and you noticed He still took a nap. Second, the disciples had God Himself there in the boat with them. I don’t think that boat would have sunk with Jesus in it. They didn’t heed what He had said. This is a picture of some our lives. We are panic stricken in the middle of a dark valley, and we have the Shepherd living on the inside of us.
We claim to have confidence in Christ but when the first dark shadows sweep over us and the path we tread looks gloomy we go into a deep slump of despair. Sometimes we just feel like lying down and die. Does this sound like you sometimes? This is not as it should be.
The person with a powerful confidence in the Shepherd; the one who has prove by past experience that God is with him in adversity, the one who walks through life’s dark valley without fear with his head held high, is the one who in turn is a tower of strength and a source of inspiration to others.
There are going to be some valleys in life for all of us. No one is exempt. You can be assured that they are coming. You just don’t know when and where. The Good Shepherd Himself has assured us that:
“In this world we shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33)
The basic question is not whether we have many or few valleys. It is not whether those valleys are dark or merely dim with shadows.
The question is do I react to the circumstances or respond to them? There is a difference. When are panicking, you are reacting. When you respond, you are not.
How do I go through them?
How do I cope with the calamities that come my way?
With Christ I face them calmly.
With His gracious Spirit to guide me I face them fearlessly.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He is with me.
I know of a surety that only through them can I possibly travel on to higher ground with God.
In this way not only shall I be blessed but in turn I will become a benediction to others around me who may live in fear.
“Thy Rod and Thy Staff They Comfort Me”
Here is another good reason to not fear when I go through the valley of the shadow of death.
His rod and His staff comfort me.
His Word and His Spirit comfort me.
THE SHEPHERD’S ROD
When the shepherd is in the field with his flock in the high country, it is customary for him to carry a minimum of equipment.
This was especially true in olden times where the sheepman did not have the benefit of mechanized equipment to transport camp supplies across rough country.
During the hours that he is actually in the field the sheepman caries only a rifle slung over his shoulder and a long slender staff in his hand.
In the Middle East the shepherd carries only a rod and staff.
The rod is an extension of the owner’s own right arm
It stood as a symbol of his strength, his power; his authority in any serious situation.
The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger. It was the instrument he used to discipline and correct any wayward sheep that insisted on wandering away.
There is an interesting sidelight on the word “rod,” which has crept into the colloquial language of the West. Here the slang term “rod” has been applied to handguns, such as pistols and revolvers that were carried by cowboys and other western rangemen.
The connotation is exactly the same as that used in this Psalm.
The sheep asserts that the owner’s rod, his weapon of power, authority and defense, is a continuous comfort to him. For with it the manager or shepherd is able to carry out effective control of his flick in every situation.
The rod speaks of the spoken Word, the expressed intent, the extended activity of God’s mind and will in dealing with men.
It implies the authority of divinity
It carries with it the convicting power and irrefutable impact of “Thus saith the Lord.”
Just as for the sheep of David’s day, there was comfort and consolation is seeing the rod in the shepherd’s skillful hands, so in our day there is great assurance in our own hearts as we contemplate the power, veracity, and potent authority vested in God’s Word. For in it, the Scriptures are His rod. They are the extension of His mind and will and intentions to mortal man.
Living as we do in an era when numerous confused voices and strange philosophies are presented to people, it is reassuring to the child of God to turn to the Word of God and know it to be His Shepherd’s hand of authority. What a comfort to have this authoritative, clear-cut, powerful instrument under which to conduct ourselves. By it we are kept from confusion amid chaos.
This in itself brings into our lives a great sense of quiet serenity, which is precisely what the psalmist meant when he said, “thy rod comforts me.”
There is a second dimension in which the rod is used by the shepherd for the welfare of the sheep-namely that of discipline.
If anything, the rod is used for this purpose perhaps more than any other.
It is the Word of God that comes swiftly to our hearts that comes with surprising suddenness to correct and reprove us when we go astray.
It is the Spirit of the living God, using the living Word that convicts our conscience of right conduct.
In this way we are kept under control by Christ, who wants us to walk in the ways of righteousness.
Another interesting use of the rod in the shepherd’s hand was to examine and count sheep.
In the terminology of the Old Testament this was referred to as passing “under the rod.” (Ezekiel 20:37)
This meant not only coming under the owner’s control and authority, but also to be subject to his most careful, intimate and firsthand examination. A sheep that passed “under the rod” was one that had been counted and looked over with great care to make sure all was well with it.
In caring for his sheep, the good shepherd, the careful manager, will from time to time make a careful examination of each individual sheep.
As each animal comes out of the corral and through the gate it is stopped by the shepherd’s outstretched rod.
He opens the fleece with the rod; he runs his skillful hands over the body; he feels for any sign of trouble; he examines the sheep with care to see that all is well. This is a most searching process entailing every intimate detail. It is, too, a comfort to the sheep for only in this way can its hidden problems be laid bare before the shepherd.
Psalm 139:23-24 reads, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see it there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
It we allow it, if we will submit to it, God by His Word will search us. There will be no “pulling the wool over His eyes.” He will get below the surface, behind the front of our old self-life and expose things that need to be made right.
This is a process from which we need not shrink. It is not something to avoid.
It is done in concern and compassion for our welfare. The Great Shepherd of our souls has our own best interests at heart when He so searches us. What a comfort this should be to the child of God, who can trust in God’s care
Wool in Scripture speaks of the self-life, self-will, and self-assertion, self-pride. God has to get below this and do a deep work in our wills to right the wrongs, which are often bothering us beneath the surface. So often we put on a fine front and brave, bold exterior when really deep down below there needs to be some remedy applied.
Finally the shepherd’s rod is an instrument of protection both for himself and his sheep when they are in danger.
It is used both as a defense and a deterrent against anything that would attack. The skilled shepherd uses his rod to drive off predators. Often it is used to beat the brush discouraging snakes and other creatures from disturbing the flock.
It was the rod of God’s Word that Christ, our Good Shepherd, used in His own encounter with that serpent, Satan, during His desert temptation. It is the same Word of God that we can count on again and again to counter the assaults and attacks of Satan.
There is no substitute for the Scriptures in coping with the complexities of our social order. We live in an evermore involved and difficult milieu. We are part of a world of men and women whose code of conduct is contrary to all that Christ has advocated. To live with such people is to be ever exposed to enormous temptations of all sorts. Some people are very subtle, very smooth, very sophisticated. Others are capable of outright, violent, vituperative attacks against the children of God.
In every situation and under every circumstance there is comfort in the knowledge that God’s Word can meet and master the difficulty if well rely on it.
THE SHEPHERD’S STAFF
In a sense the staff, more than any other item of his personal equipment, identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. No one in any other profession carries a shepherd’s staff.
It is uniquely an instrument used for the care and management of sheep, and only sheep. It is used for their benefit.
The staff is essentially a symbol of the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges. No other single word can better describe its function on behalf of the flock than that it is for their comfort.
Whereas the rod conveys the concept of “authority”, the power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word “staff” speaks of all that is longsuffering and kind.
The shepherd’s staff is normally a long, slender stick, often with a crook or hood on one end. The owner selects it with care; it is shaped, smoothed, and cut to best suit his own personal use.
Just as the rod of God is emblematic of the Word of God, so the staff of God is symbolic of the Spirit of God.
In Christ’s dealings with us as individuals, there is the essence of the sweetness, the comfort and consolation, the gentle correction brought about by the work of His gracious Spirit.
There are three areas of sheep management in which the staff plays a most significant role.
The first of these lies in drawing sheep together into an intimate relationship.
The shepherd will use his staff to gently lift a newborn lamb and bring it to its mother if they become separated. He does this because he does not wish to have the ewe reject her offspring if it bears the odor of his hands upon it.
Secondly, in precisely the same way, the staff is used by the shepherd to reach out and catch individual sheep, young or old, and draw them closer to him for intimate examination. The staff is very useful this way for the shy and timid sheep that normally tend to keep at a distance from the shepherd.
Similarly, in the Christian life we find the gracious Holy Spirit, “The Comforter,” drawing folks together into a warm, personal fellowship with one another. It is He who draws us to Christ.
Thirdly, the staff is also used for guiding sheep.
The shepherd uses his staff to guide his sheep gently into a new path or through some gate or along dangerous, difficult routes. He does not use it actually to beat the sheep. Rather, the tip of the long slender stick is laid gently against the animal’s side and the pressure applied guides the sheep in the way the owner wants to go. Thus the sheep is reassured of its proper path.
Sometimes a shepherd will actually hold his staff against the side of some sheep that is a special pet or favorite, simply so the they “are in touch.” They will walk along this way almost as though it were “hand-in-hand.” The sheep obviously enjoys this special attention from the shepherd and revels in the close, personal, intimate contact between them.
In our walk with God we are told explicitly by Christ Himself that it would be His Spirit who would be sent to guide us and to lead us into all truth. (John 16:13)
This same gracious Spirit takes the truth of God, the Word of God, and makes it plain to our hearts and minds and spiritual understanding. It is He who gently, tenderly, but persistently says to us, “This is the way, walk in it.” As we comply and cooperate with His gentle promptings, a sense of safety, comfort and well-being envelopes us.
It is He, too, who comes quietly but emphatically to make the life of Christ, my Shepherd, real and personal and intimate to me. Through Him I am “in touch” with Christ. There steals over me the keen awareness that I am His and He is mine. The gracious Spirit continually brings home to me the acute consciousness that I am God’s child and He is my Father.
In all of this there is enormous comfort and a sublime sense of “oneness,” of “belonging,” of “being in His care,” and hence the object of His special affection.
The Christian life is not just one of subscribing to certain doctrines or believing certain facts.
Essential as all of this confidence in the Scriptures may be, there is, as well, the actual reality of experiencing and knowing firsthand the feel of His touch, the sense of His Spirit upon my spirit.
There is for the true child of God that intimate, subtle, yet magnificent experience of sensing the Comforter at his side. This is not imagination, it s the genuine, bona-fide reality of everyday life.
There is a calm, quiet repose in the knowledge that He is there to direct even in the most minute details of daily living.
He can be relied on to assist us in every decision, and in this there lies tremendous comfort for the Christian.
“What would You do in this case?”
“You are here now. You know all the complexities; tell me precisely what it the best procedure at this point?”
He will actually convey the mind of Christ in the matter. The right decisions are made with confidence.
It is when I do not do this that I end up in difficulty. It is then that I find myself in a jam of some sort.
Here again the gracious Spirit comes to my rescue just as the shepherd rescues his sheep out of the situations into which their own stupidity leads them. Being stubborn creatures, sheep often get into the most ridiculous and preposterous dilemmas. Many of our jams and impasses are of our own making. In stubborn, self-willed, self-assertion we keep pushing ourselves into a situation where we cannot extricate ourselves.
Then in tenderness, compassion and care our Shepherd comes to us. He draws near and in tenderness lifts us by His Spirit out of the difficulty a dilemma.
What patience God has with us!
What longsuffering and compassion!
What forgiveness!
Thy staff comforts me! Your Spirit, O Christ, Is my consolation!
Where are you right now? In the valley? Somewhere in the dark? Or are you coming to the light at the end of the tunnel?
This part of the teaching is a last minute inspiration from the Holy Spirit. I was really to publish this on the blog when I read the following which is taken from a devotional I read every morning.
The name of the devotional is “Breakfast With God” published by Honor Books Inc in Tulsa Oklahoma.
Heroic spiritual moments are nearly always grounded in advance preparation. Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s court, unknowingly being prepared for the day he would demand that Pharaoh let his people leave Egypt. Moses also spent 40 years in the wilderness.
Daniel was a man of prayer years before the king issued a decree banning prayer. The violation landed Daniel in a lion’s den, where his prayers of protection were answered.
David was part of Saul’s royal court and married to Saul’s daughter. This was part of his preparation for assuming the throne one day. The years, approximately 17, he spent in the wilderness prepared him spiritually to trust God, and God alone, to preserve him, protect him, and help him rule an empire.
Esther prepared herself for a year before she won the “contest” to be queen. She prepared herself again before boldly coming to the king to expose the enemy of her people.
You may not see clearly what God’s purpose is for your life, but you can trust in the fact He is preparing your life. He will not waste a moment of your life. So make every relationship and experience count today, knowing He is grooming you for greatness.
As I was reading this, what came to my mind was the fact that He will lead us into the valleys of the shadow of death, death to self. This is part of the preparation process. Every Christian will be lead through these valleys. You will not be the same person when you exit the valley. Something will have died. God is the one who determines which valley and how long. Go through it knowing that the Good Shepherd is what He said He will do in Philippians 1:6:
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. “ (NASB)
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