April 22, 2021 (Thursday)
Today is a “double issue.” Making up for missing a day earlier
this week. Settle in and prayerfully consider the following.
Allow me to tackle one of the most famous verses in the
Bible. It’s the beloved Psalms 23. The tag says it is “a psalm of David.”
People debate those tags, but I see no reason to doubt them since they do not
change the meaning of the Psalm.
We assume David wrote this Psalm because he was a shepherd. The
Psalm is rich with images from a shepherd. We also like to think David was “tender-hearted”
(in a manly-man way). I think we would like to project a close shepherd-sheep
relationship into David’s relationship with God. And ours, too.
The Psalm begins with a declaration: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” [Psalms 23:1 ESV] We begin with the idea that we are
sheep and the Lord is “my” shepherd. Think about this for a moment. What do we
know about sheep? They are cute! Dah.
However, any shepherd will tell you sheep are stupid,
smelly, and silly critters. They spook easily over things that ought not to
spook them. They wonder away into dangerous situations. They are vulnerable and
unable to survive on their own. So we are cute, but it is a
mistake to ever think of ourselves as clever.
What’s this about not being “in want?” I am so glad you
asked. It might not mean what you think it does. One of the major theological
errors is the teaching that God will make you rich. In other words, God will supply
all your WANTS. That is not what this verse is saying.
In Hebrew poetry the ideas rhyme. One line of the couplet
relates to the one(s) it’s connected too. In this case it relates to the next
verse AND the fact that the “Lord is my shepherd.” A constant challenge, in a
comfort driven world, is to understand that the Lord is enough. We do not need
to search any further for supervision, significance, or salvation.
David addresses three things: our physical well-being, our spiritual well-being, and our emotional well-being. It starts, “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” [Psalms 23:2 ESV] Can you hear the ideas of rest and peace in this verse?
Sheep cannot
be driven. Some pastor’s personality and passion drive sheep. But how do we get
stubborn sheep to green pastures and still waters? We want to take the shortest possible route for the quickest possible result.
Our spiritual well-being is addressed in the next verse, “He restores my
soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” [ESV]
Let’s not “kid” ourselves. Our souls need constant refreshing. This is found in
our time in the Bible, in prayer, and in the pew. Only in these times of
refreshing can we be sure we are being led in paths of righteousness.
Ever watch the deterioration of someone who skips church?
Not a pretty sight. If I miss church, my soul is in agony until I can get back
to church. Without our church family we are like the piece of coal that falls
out of the fire. It won’t be long before we are cold. Getting back to church
will be like pulling teeth without an anesthetic.
One more point before I start preaching, “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.” [Psalms 23:4 ESV] Other than dying is there anything
scarier in life? Okay, maybe a spouse dying… In our scary moments we need God’s
rod and staff.
Let me show you those images. A “rod” was a stick, used
exactly the way parents used to use "the rod." If a sheep started to stray, the
shepherd would tap the sheep to get its attention. How hard and often a tap God needs to
give you us up to you. The staff was a long stick with some sort of hook. This was
used to fight off predators and lift up sheep in precarious places.
About the “valley of the shadow of death,” notice it’s only
a shadow. While death is real, for the true follower of the Shepherd (that’s
Jesus if you haven’t figured it out by now) it is only a shadow. On Easter we
celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. His resurrection is a promise of our
resurrection. Death has lost its grip because the sting of death is sin.
(Sermon this Sunday). Forgiven people do not feel the sting.
Speaking of victory, David takes a couple of victory laps
with the next few verses. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” [Psalms 23:5 ESV]
Enemies. Yikes! Remember David was a political figure. Assuming he wrote this
after he was anointed king, he would have been familiar with the concept.
We on the other hand need to tread carefully. Paul urges, “If possible, so far
as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” [Romans 12:18 ESV]
And again, “Strive
for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the
Lord.” [Hebrews 12:4 ESV] In the
context of suffering, Peter advised, “If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing,
making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.” [1 Peter 4:15 NLT]
The image of anointing has a double meaning. It refers to
David being chosen by God to be king and the follow through to his coronation. But
when sheep were hurt the shepherd would pour oil on the wound. It’s almost like
David is saying, in the battle we call life, we will get hurt. Those hurts
and those tears will be healed.
David then lets us in on his secret for a happy life. “Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house
of the Lord forever.” [Psalms 23:6
ESV] Regardless of what is happening, God’s goodness and mercy follow us all
the days of our life. I’m imagining a big mop, but maybe that’s going too far. Here’s
the point: when all is said and done the true follower of Jesus will dwell in
His house… forever.
Or as Paul put it, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even
better.” [Philippians 1:21 NLT]
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