SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
OBSERVATIONS:
The place of God as our Shepherd cannot be shared with anyone else.
He alone is the Shepherd and we are the Sheep.
If we invert these roles, we are in deep weeds. The New Testament parallel passage in John chapter 10, Jesus picks up the theme of the good shepherd, and this is what Jesus says; "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." In the eastern lands, homesteads were normally built with an enclosure around them, a large wall, and it was made there for protection. So what would happen is when the shepherd would bring the sheep home at night, they would bring the sheep inside and then close the door, and that would protect them from any wild animals, and also, hopefully from any of the thieves that would come and steal from the flock. The Shepherd had a close affinity to the sheep. If they are near a home they can protect them in the courtyard, but frequently they are out on the hillside, and in the summer they take them up through the gorges and up to the plateau area - So what the shepherd has to do is to build an enclosure of some kind that at least wards off wild animals and forms some kind of a protection. So what he does, he finds stakes and broken trees, and limbs and bushes, and stakes and rocks, and whatever he can to build this enclosure that discourages any wild animals from attacking his flock. He leaves an opening. He drives his little flock into this enclosure and then he sleeps in the doorway. He is the door, and a sheep cannot come out from that little enclosure unless it crosses his body, and nothing can enter into that enclosure unless it goes through the shepherd. Now if it's a thief or a wild animal, he has the sacred assignment that he must protect that flock if it costs him his life. He knows that. And thus, when Jesus said I am the door, he is seeing himself in that enclosure which encloses the flock of God, and that's you and me. We can only come to God through Jesus Christ. There is only one way to heaven. There is no other name given among men where by we can be saved. There's only one way, and that is through the door, through Jesus Christ. What Jesus is saying is, I am the door and he that comes through me will be saved. The Shepherd leads us well.
The picture God wants us to grasp is of His leading capacity. His staff was a short wooden club with a lump of wood at the and often studded with nails. And all the time I thought that was the rod. But a man much smarter than me tells me I'm wrong. He said it's the staff which was the wooden club and it usually had a slit in the handle at the top through which a thong, that's a piece of leather, was tied through then he could strap it to his belt. This staff was the weapon with which he defended himself and his flock against the marauding beasts and the robbers. He just took that staff, this long piece of wood with a knotted, nailed end it, and started beating them.
The Shepherd Protects us well.
His rod, though, which was like the shepherd's crook. With it he could catch and pull back any sheep which was moving to stray away. And at the end of the day, when the sheep were going into the fold, the shepherd held his rod across the entrance quite close to the ground and every sheep had to pass under the rod, and as it passed under the rod the sheep was quickly examined to see if it received any injury during day. So here's the shepherd -- he's got a little bag for his lunch, he's got a little sling, he's got his staff, and he's got his rod. But the most important thing about the shepherd, he has a sacred assignment. Because according to ancient law, way back in Exodus, he had to protect those sheep with his life. That was his assignment. In fact, in the book of Exodus we are told that if a sheep was killed, he had to bring home the evidence, that he did not neglect his duty, that it was taken by an animal. He had to bring home the fleece or one of the bones, otherwise they would have accused him of being a poor shepherd. That's how sacred the assignment was. You guard those sheep with your life. And when you read the stories that come out of the Eastern countries you'll find that time and time again, shepherds give their lives to protect their sheep. Just remember they've been with these little animals for years. They love them intensely. They have built up a friendship, and they're going to protect them. When you put that in the context when Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. He said, that's why the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. And he laid down his life for us at Calvary. He said I am the good shepherd. In John 10: Jesus said, I'm not a hireling. What I do, I don't do, not for any reason other than love. When you read the Old Testament you'll find that almighty God is often called the shepherd of Israel. He refers to himself as a shepherd. When you get to the New Testament, Jesus says, I am the shepherd. When you get to the writings of Peter, Peter says, we are the shepherds.
APPLICATION:
Remember who you are. You need a Shepherd
Don't get upset, but sheep are so stupid they don't even know when they're lost, and they don't have any sense of direction to get back home. They don't know what's good food and what's not. They'll eat poisonous weeds. They're so stupid they don't even know what's freshwater. They'll drink their own urine. They're stupid folks. That's why they need a good shepherd, because the shepherd must guide them. The shepherd must care for them. The shepherd must make decisions for them. That's why it's important we have a good shepherd. That's why David said, the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. I want no other Shepherd and His role cannot be shared with another. And so now we have the scene: God almighty is the shepherd, we are the sheep, and because of all of our natural timidity, and our selfishness, and our stubbornness, and our stupidity, we need somebody who knows the way home -- and that's the good shepherd. Let the Good Shepherd lead us, listen to His voice and follow Him and His ways.
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
OBSERVATIONS:
The place of God as our Shepherd cannot be shared with anyone else.
He alone is the Shepherd and we are the Sheep.
If we invert these roles, we are in deep weeds. The New Testament parallel passage in John chapter 10, Jesus picks up the theme of the good shepherd, and this is what Jesus says; "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." In the eastern lands, homesteads were normally built with an enclosure around them, a large wall, and it was made there for protection. So what would happen is when the shepherd would bring the sheep home at night, they would bring the sheep inside and then close the door, and that would protect them from any wild animals, and also, hopefully from any of the thieves that would come and steal from the flock. The Shepherd had a close affinity to the sheep. If they are near a home they can protect them in the courtyard, but frequently they are out on the hillside, and in the summer they take them up through the gorges and up to the plateau area - So what the shepherd has to do is to build an enclosure of some kind that at least wards off wild animals and forms some kind of a protection. So what he does, he finds stakes and broken trees, and limbs and bushes, and stakes and rocks, and whatever he can to build this enclosure that discourages any wild animals from attacking his flock. He leaves an opening. He drives his little flock into this enclosure and then he sleeps in the doorway. He is the door, and a sheep cannot come out from that little enclosure unless it crosses his body, and nothing can enter into that enclosure unless it goes through the shepherd. Now if it's a thief or a wild animal, he has the sacred assignment that he must protect that flock if it costs him his life. He knows that. And thus, when Jesus said I am the door, he is seeing himself in that enclosure which encloses the flock of God, and that's you and me. We can only come to God through Jesus Christ. There is only one way to heaven. There is no other name given among men where by we can be saved. There's only one way, and that is through the door, through Jesus Christ. What Jesus is saying is, I am the door and he that comes through me will be saved. The Shepherd leads us well.
The picture God wants us to grasp is of His leading capacity. His staff was a short wooden club with a lump of wood at the and often studded with nails. And all the time I thought that was the rod. But a man much smarter than me tells me I'm wrong. He said it's the staff which was the wooden club and it usually had a slit in the handle at the top through which a thong, that's a piece of leather, was tied through then he could strap it to his belt. This staff was the weapon with which he defended himself and his flock against the marauding beasts and the robbers. He just took that staff, this long piece of wood with a knotted, nailed end it, and started beating them.
The Shepherd Protects us well.
His rod, though, which was like the shepherd's crook. With it he could catch and pull back any sheep which was moving to stray away. And at the end of the day, when the sheep were going into the fold, the shepherd held his rod across the entrance quite close to the ground and every sheep had to pass under the rod, and as it passed under the rod the sheep was quickly examined to see if it received any injury during day. So here's the shepherd -- he's got a little bag for his lunch, he's got a little sling, he's got his staff, and he's got his rod. But the most important thing about the shepherd, he has a sacred assignment. Because according to ancient law, way back in Exodus, he had to protect those sheep with his life. That was his assignment. In fact, in the book of Exodus we are told that if a sheep was killed, he had to bring home the evidence, that he did not neglect his duty, that it was taken by an animal. He had to bring home the fleece or one of the bones, otherwise they would have accused him of being a poor shepherd. That's how sacred the assignment was. You guard those sheep with your life. And when you read the stories that come out of the Eastern countries you'll find that time and time again, shepherds give their lives to protect their sheep. Just remember they've been with these little animals for years. They love them intensely. They have built up a friendship, and they're going to protect them. When you put that in the context when Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. He said, that's why the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. And he laid down his life for us at Calvary. He said I am the good shepherd. In John 10: Jesus said, I'm not a hireling. What I do, I don't do, not for any reason other than love. When you read the Old Testament you'll find that almighty God is often called the shepherd of Israel. He refers to himself as a shepherd. When you get to the New Testament, Jesus says, I am the shepherd. When you get to the writings of Peter, Peter says, we are the shepherds.
APPLICATION:
Remember who you are. You need a Shepherd
Don't get upset, but sheep are so stupid they don't even know when they're lost, and they don't have any sense of direction to get back home. They don't know what's good food and what's not. They'll eat poisonous weeds. They're so stupid they don't even know what's freshwater. They'll drink their own urine. They're stupid folks. That's why they need a good shepherd, because the shepherd must guide them. The shepherd must care for them. The shepherd must make decisions for them. That's why it's important we have a good shepherd. That's why David said, the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. I want no other Shepherd and His role cannot be shared with another. And so now we have the scene: God almighty is the shepherd, we are the sheep, and because of all of our natural timidity, and our selfishness, and our stubbornness, and our stupidity, we need somebody who knows the way home -- and that's the good shepherd. Let the Good Shepherd lead us, listen to His voice and follow Him and His ways.
PRAYER:
Father, thank you for your word and thank you for being our shepherd. We often hear those words and fail to meditate on them and realize just how powerful they are. You, the Almighty, have chosen us to make us the object of your eternal attention. That's amazing. That is amazing, dear God. And we thank you for that in Jesus' name, Amen.
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