“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.” Psalm 23:4
Even as a child of God we sometimes
go through very dark times in our lives.
We can rely on the Lord to see us through them as a Shepherd would his
flock. Sheep are said to be one of the
dumbest of animals. Now I don’t know if
God purposely used them as a metaphor for mortal man, but if you look at the
trouble we tend to get ourselves into from time to time it makes you
wonder. Jesus is seen in scripture on
several occasions as the Good Shepherd who tends to the needs of his
flock. We are His flock. With Christ as our Shepherd we have
absolutely nothing to fear in this life.
When I think of a rod the first
thing that comes to mind is Proverbs 13:24 which says “whoever spares the rod hates their children ...” To compound that
meaning Proverbs 3:12 says “… the Lord
disciplines those His loves…”. While
this may be true, that is not at all the rod David speaks of in Psalm 23.
The
rod that a Shepherd carries is short and heavy.
It’s used as a club or throwing stick to defend against predators that
would come against his flock. While it
is sometimes used to discipline a wayward sheep, it can also be used to assist
in examining and counting individual sheep in the flock. The staff is used very specifically to round
up the sheep. The Shepherd will apply
pressure to the sheep’s side to guide it.
It can also be used to release a sheep from some sort of
entanglement. Back in David’s day these
are the tools he used to take care of the flock his father, Jesse, had entrusted
him to shepherd.
If we rely on the Lord, just as the
sheep relied on their Shepherd, no harm will come to us. Oh, we will go through trying and difficult
times to be sure. We will not live in
some nirvana-like* existence where we are kept from all danger, but with the
Lord as our Shepherd, our lives are blessed with heavenly protection. We will need to endure that which will induce
spiritual growth yet never harm us. God
gives us more than we may think we
can handle, but the Shepherd is always there, watching over us to see that we
are safe even in the midst of our struggles.
Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
* An ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or
joy.
NOTE: The information regarding
a Shepherd’s rod and staff comes from “A Shepherd’s Look at Psalm 23” by W.
Phillip Keller; Zondervan; 1970. Personal note: I have read this book
and it is excellent. I highly recommend
it for a greater understand of God’s role as the Shepherd of our life and our
role as His flock.
