Psalm 23 Study Part 2

A Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Wait a second... Something's changed with this scripture. Go back and read the first 3 verses and notice that the sheep is being led by the shepherd: "he maketh me" "he leadeth me" "he leadeth me" and when the Shepherd is leading the sheep, the sheep is taken to really good places.
Now, we see that the sheep is walking on its own without being led. Interesting how that causes him to walk through the valley of the shadow of death!
Let's do notice, however, that it is the valley of the Shadow of death and Not the valley of death. Even when we stumble off the path of righteousness, we are still a part of the Lord's flock, so we don't have to fear evil--He won't just leave us alone there.
Why? For thou art with me. Hebrews 13:5 says "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Some extra food-for-thought: Think back to the valley of the Shadow of death...what must be present for a shadow to appear? Light.

--I've heard many tellings of the liking of God to the shepherd leaving the 99 sheep to go find the lost 100th sheep. Something important should be pointed out here, though. Our Shepherd is Omnipresent. He does not have to leave the other 99 to look for the lost sheep. He knows exactly where each of his sheep are at all times, because He never leaves them--not even one of them can go to a place where He cannot see them! The 100th sheep might consider itself to be lost, but God knows exactly where it is. I'm so glad we have an omnipresent shepherd!

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. There are two objects discussed here, but in reality, most shepherds have both of these utensils built into one object: the shepherd's crook. What David means by calling the one object by two different names is to signify the two different purposes that the shepherd's crook can serve.
--The Rod: this is used mostly for correction. If you see a shepherd herding sheep to a new place, he uses the rod to gently hit the sheep if it is getting off the path. The sheep usually accept this correction and get back on the path where they belong. (May also be used to fend off enemy of the sheep)
--The Staff: this is used mostly for support. As a matter of fact, The Strong's says that the word used for "staff" can mean: support, sustenance, a walking stick. One of the coolest parts about the shepherd's crook is the hook at the top. This hook is Very important when a sheep goes off on it's own. In the mountains, there are rocks and crevices that sheep would get stuck in. The hooked staff allowed the shepherd to lower his staff into the crevice and hoist the sheep out of "the valley of the shadow of death." The hook would support the weight of the sheep while he is pulled back to the shepherd.
Is it any wonder that the rod/staff comfort the sheep? Even when correction is a large part of the purpose, we can clearly see how a shepherd willing to chastise his sheep is comforting to the flock. If they stumble, the shepherd will correct them before they get too far off the path of righteousness. And even if they do get "lost," He can still use his staff to get them back to where they belong--in His presence.


--While we're on the subject of chastisement, it is important to discuss the breaking of bones (as Monica brought up with Part 1 of this study). If a sheep continues to stray from the flock, the shepherd will eventually break the sheep's leg and then carry the sheep on his shoulders. During the weeks that the sheep heals, he is constantly in intimate contact with the shepherd. By the time the sheep can walk again, he's developed such an attachment-relationship to his shepherd that he will not run off from the shepherd again.
David discusses this form of chastisement in another famous Psalm: Psalm 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Now That is looking at the bright side of things! It's all about perspective. If the sheep look at the chastisement and see the Love & Purpose that the shepherd has, the breaking of bones can literally cause the sheep to rejoice. This is another way we should start being more like sheep. Instead of complaining when we receive chastisement, we should rejoice that our shepherd cares so very much for us! Besides that, what kind of children (of God) would be if we were never disciplined? Any parent can tell of the many benefits to correction/chastisement; they can also tell of the consequences if discipline is not carried out. It usually leads to the eventual demise of the child in one spiritual sense or another. I'm so glad that our Shepherd loves us enough to do whatever it takes to keep us safe from spiritual life-ending consequences!
--Part 3 will be posted tomorrow.