The Good Shepherd--Psalm 23

Most people know Psalm 23 by heart. I think it is the first Psalm I ever memorized when I was in first grade. But we don't live in a place where we see a lot of sheep and we probably don't even know any shepherds. In Bible times, a shepherd's work was considered the lowest of all work. So when the LORD of the universe takes on the lowest of all work, it is extreme condescension. 

Shepherding was considered the lowest of all work because sheep are so stupid. They can't do a thing for themselves and left on their own, they would make all the wrong choices. They are completely helpless. They can't find their own food. If they fall down, they can't get up. And they can't fend off predators. 

The shepherd has to make sure that four things happen before he can make the sheep lie down: 1) They have to be free from fear, and sheep are fearful creatures, so that is a big undertaking. 2) They have to be free from friction with other sheep and sheep have a way of constantly annoying each other, so that is another hard job for the shepherd. 3) They have to be free from flies and other tormenting parasites. And 4) they have to be free from hunger. A hungry sheep will be on the prowl for food. 

And yet, a good shepherd gets the sheep to lie down and relax. If you haven't figured it out yet, the Bible is comparing us to sheep. People are also full of anxiety and fears and they like to pick fights with each other. But the good shepherd leads them beside still waters and restores their souls. That means he is the one who makes their souls come alive. He leads us to repentance and he has to keep doing it over and over. If a sheep falls on its back, it begins to panic because it can't turn itself over. It starts to paw the air frantically and gases build up in its body cutting off its circulation to its legs. The sheep will die in a few hours if the shepherd doesn't get there in time. Sometimes wolves will get the sheep first. So the shepherd has to be on duty 24/7. No lingering lunches or days off for the holidays. 

The good shepherd takes the sheep through the valley of the shadow of death. They don't stay in the valley and they don't run through the valley. They just keep going through at a steady pace. The valley is scary. There are shadows that freak the sheep out. Of course we know that a shadow can't hurt anybody, right?  But if there is a shadow, we know there must be a monster making the shadow, so we get scared. But we also know that if there is a shadow, there must be a light behind the shadow that is bigger than the shadow. It kind of reminds me of the song, "God is bigger than the bogeyman." 

We are going to walk through a lot of scary places in this life, but God is leading the way and his rod and staff comfort us. He uses his rod against the scary monsters to beat them off, and he uses his staff to pull us back if we start to wander off. He feeds us well, so we never go hungry and he anoints us with oil. Well, that seems kind of weird because we don't do those things anymore, but the anointing with oil just means that he is keeping all those pesky flies and other parasites away from us. He gives us so much that it overflows. 

Finally he is preparing a permanent home for us and we will be able to live with him forever. Here is the whole psalm. If you haven't already memorized it, you probably should. 

The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
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.