"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD"
Today in ABF class we talked about Psalm 23. Next to John 3:16, this is probably one of the most often quoted sections of scripture from the Bible. These words have been sung by mothers to soothe a crying baby, whispered by young men as they ran at an enemy across a bloody battlefield, spoken over a flower covered coffin at a graveside, and recited by children on countless hot summer days during vacation bible school.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 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 have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever".
Most of you probably didn't even really read these verses just now, but glanced over them quickly because you were so familiar with them. Oh yeah, we got these down pat.
AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM!
Our common knowledge - our familiarity - with these verses puts us on dangerous ground. Do we even really pay attention to the first 5 words? The words that I believe are the most important in the entire chapter? A grasp of those first 5 small but incredibly important words is needed to really understand the next 4 words... "I shall not want".
"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD"
THE = not "a" but "the". David knew there was only 1 God. At the time David was writing this psalm, experts believe the Egyptians had 360 different gods; that is a different one for almost every day of the year. And the Canaanites whom David would have been very familiar with, worshipped many different gods as well. But David knew His God was "The".
LORD = one who rules over all. The word used for Lord was Jehovah, the Jews most sacred name for deity. Jehovah is my shepherd!
IS = always has been, always will be. Our God is eternal.
MY = not a shepherd, but MY shepherd. Our relationship with the Lord is personal.
SHEPHERD = responsible for every care the sheep might have, to be their guide, their protector, their constant companion.
"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD"
The one who never had a beginning and never has an ending, the ruler of the universe, the great I AM is my shepherd!
But it gets even better. 3 different times in the NT Jesus is referred to as a shepherd.
John 10, Hebrews 13, 1 Peter 5
The Good Shepherd lays down His life/The Great Shepherd rose from the dead/The Chief Shepherd is coming to take us out of this mess!
When you think about Jesus in Psalm 23 - you are talking about His deity as Lord and His humanity as shepherd. A king and a shepherd. A God who is able and a shepherd who is available.
"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD"
Is the Lord your shepherd? The answer to that is the key to the entire chapter.
Without Jesus as your Lord and Shepherd - you will never be able to say "I shall not want". Only the Sovereign and the Shepherd leads to satisfaction.
So much more that we talked about in class today - especially those next 4 words...
"I SHALL NOT WANT"
We'll catch up tomorrow.
My eyes have been opened in the last couple of years to the fact that I truly have EVERYTHING that I need ("I shall not want"). My eternity and that of my immediate family is secure. All I need from God is already promised. I am fortunate to have a loving family that I treasure. I have food, clothing and shelter from the elements. My family has reasonably good health. I have the joy of participating with a Fire Team and am surrounded by Godly men who hold me accountable. There is nothing more that I NEED. I have only come to this realization by having the LORD as MY shepherd.
ReplyDeleteNow, I think more about Romans 12:6-11. I understand that my walk is about HIM and others. How can I use the gifts God has provided me to further his Kingdom. Doing that is another gift to me from God. When I give, I'm the one who receives the greatest gift. HE is AMAZING!