Jehovah Rohe - The Lord My Shepherd

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…Psalm 23:1

Many times in the Old and New Testament, sheep are mentioned; sometimes in reference to a flock of the wooly animals, sometimes as an example of how the Lord looks upon people. It is interesting that when you study sheep, they have a LOT of needs. First of all, they have no sense of direction. They cannot defend themselves; they don’t use logic or reason, but most of all they need help just to make it through each day.

King David was reflecting on His God when he wrote the 23rd Psalm. Of course, we know that David was a shepherd before he became king, so he knew what sheep were like, dumb!!! They needed a shepherd to walk with them, guide them to the quiet waters and to pastures where they could get their sustenance, they needed the shepherd to gather them and protect from their predators.

So as David was thinking about God and worshipping Him, he began his psalm. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. God is the Shepherd of His people. He is responsible to take care of those who have asked Jesus, who was God wrapped in human skin, to be their Lord and Savior. We tend to forget this. God is willing and quite able to be all you need Him to be. He loves you so much and He wants to walk with you, guide you, feed and shelter you.

The shepherd always carries a staff. The staff is to work with the sheep. He uses the crook of the staff to put around the neck of the sheep to pull them out of a hole or ravine. Sometimes the sheep end up on their backs while sleeping, but they cannot roll over on to their feet, so the shepherd uses his crook of the staff to help the animal up. He can also use the staff to select certain sheep out of the flock to pick parasites, massage it or sometimes just to talk to it to calm it down. But the staff is also used to whack the sheep to get it to respond to his voice.

The rod is another thing in the shepherd’s arsenal. It can be used to defend the sheep from predators. It is a weapon that can deliver lethal blows to large animals. Something else the rod was used for was a diary. Yep! It was hard for a shepherd in the field to get a notebook and pen, so the rod became the tablet. Certain victories were always found scratched into the wood of the rod. For instance, when David fought with the bear or the lion or even the giant, he would etch into his rod the event. Then when he came to another difficult situation, he could look at the rod and say, "I fought the bear and won. I killed the lion because God gave me strength. The giant died when God gave me wisdom and strength."

As a result, in Psalm 23 David wrote, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” I thank God that He has a staff to keep me in line and help me when I need help. I love the rod that protects me and will come to my defense. But I also love the memories of how God has walked with me through difficult times and never left me. He will direct your path and protect you when you need protected. He is all you need and will cover everything in your life. He is El Shaddai, the all encompassing God.

Confession: I acknowledge God as my Shepherd. I need His protection, guidance, and correction. I will let God direct my path and let Him lead me to the still waters. I understand the staff and the rod are wonderful tools that the Lord can use on me and for me and I accept His help in my life.