My question is, “Why would the shepherd take his sheep into the valley of the shadow of death in the first place?” Stay away from the valley and be safe. Shouldn’t safety be the number one factor for the shepherd to be concerned about?
The shepherd knows that the best grass to eat during the summer is up in the mountains. This is where the healthiest and strongest sheep are grown. To get to the best grazing areas, the shepherd leads his sheep up the mountain by way of the valleys. The valleys have water from streams and ponds. The grass in the valleys are lusher and abundant. The valley paths are not as steep and dangerous to climb as other paths would be.
We must trust our shepherd to take us where we can grow and not worry about the perils along the way. God watches over us and we have nothing to fear.
If you were shown an area with thousands of cactus and told you would be blindfolded and had to walk to the other side through the cactus, you might be a little nervous or scared. But if you were given a guide, whom you trusted, to take you through you could relax, knowing that you would be safe.
The rod spoken of in this verse is the shepherds weapon. It is custom made by the shepherd to protect his flock. He practices many hours to be able to kill the lion or bear as David did. He also uses it to keep sheep from dangerous areas such as poisonous food or cliffs. He will throw the rod to move the sheep back to safely.
The rod is used for the welfare of the sheep. With that long wool it is not always easy to see wounds, disease or parasites on the skin. Using the rod he parts the wool and is able to examine the sheep. The rod is also used to count the sheep and know that his flock is all safe.
The staff was used to gently guide the sheep on the safe path with a tap or prod. Sometimes sheep would get caught in a thorn thicket looking for grass and the shepherd would pull the sheep out using the crook of the staff. If a sheep fell over a shallow cliff and was unable to get back the shepherd used the staff.
No matter what problems we are in, or how bad things might look to us, God is our shepherd and He is fully prepared to help. He knows the valleys we will be going through. He knows what awaits us within the shadows. He will not let anything come into our lives that can not be handled by us as long as we stay with Him. Fear not little lamb for your shepherd is near.
To read the Psalm 23 series please click on the verses below:
Psalms 23:1
Psalms 23:2
Psalms 23:3
Psalms 23:5
Psalms 23:6
Photo Credit: Lost little lamb by simpologist
No comments:
Post a Comment