From Eliyahu
Consider this:
The following verses
were written by a giant-killer:
YHWH 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
loving-kindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell
in the house of YHWH forever.
(Psalm 23:1-6)
For a lot of people, those
verses somehow feel peaceful and reassuring, even if not fully understood.
For David the giant-killer, they express the essence of his inner being, and
his entire reason for being, from which came the strength and wisdom to
overcome every obstacle. This is David's way of righteousness.
"YHWH is my shepherd, I shall
not want." This is the fountain from which all the rest of this Psalm
bubbles forth. YHWH is my ever-present, ever-sufficient Shepherd, guiding
me, meeting all of my needs. Because I have Him I want for nothing else. I
have full and complete trust that He WILL provide every good thing for me.
"He makes me lie down in green
pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul."
Elohim is good. He is always concerned with my best interest. Green
pastures, quiet waters, abundance and peace come to me as I walk in the way
He leads me. True, I may endure some afflictions from the sinful world
around me, or even from my own failings. When that happens I can look to Him
for restoration. In Him I am made whole.
"He guides me in the paths of
righteousness For His name's sake." As my Shepherd, He goes out ahead of
me, to lead me. He is righteous, so always chooses the righteous path for me
to walk in. His own Name, the perfect essence of Who He is, guarantees that
the path He chooses for me IS the path of righteousness. I dare not choose a
different path for myself, other than the path that He sets before me,
because my path is not the right path. His way is always the right path, and
as I walk in it I honor His Great Name. |
 
"Even though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."
Sometimes my Shepherd chooses a path for me that I would not prefer if
choosing myself. Sometimes He leads me through a dark place, "the valley of
the shadow of death." It is a complicated world, filled with sin, suffering
and death. This is not His fault, but exists because of sin and rebellion
against Him. Although I choose to follow Him, I cannot live in this world
without encountering the sin, suffering and death that are ever-present
realities all around us. While the darkness of that path is deep and
terrible, I fear no evil. That's because He leads me through it.
There is no promise here that we
will never have to face darkness and evil. Indeed we all must do so who live
in this dark and evil world. The promise is, when He does lead us through an
otherwise terrifying path, we need not be in terror: "for You are with me."
I fear no evil because You are there to walk me through it.
For His sheep there is a great
comfort in His rod and staff, especially when traversing through the dark
valleys of this world.
"Your rod and Your staff, they
comfort me."
According to the Ancient Hebrew
Lexicon of the Bible (AHLB)
the Hebrew word here translated as rod means "A branch used as a staff,
scepter, spear, writing implement, rod." I think David was seeing the rod
here as a symbol of the Good Shepherd's authority and power to act. The
Shepherd of our souls rules, and He has and uses His rod to defend against
enemies, as well as to direct, and even correct, His sheep. By His rod He
keeps us moving on the path of righteousness. Very often His rod comes to us
by way of His Word and Spirit for direction and correction, which keep us
under His protection.
The AHLB defines the Hebrew word
here translated as staff: "As a support for walking." Unbelievers cannot see
this. To them it appears like the Lord's sheep are wondering aimlessly,
crazy even. They cannot see the staff of Divine Providence and support
provided by the Shepherd as He leads His sheep in the specific will of
Elohim for the specific follower of the Lord. Speaking to unbelievers,
Yeshua explained this:
But you don’t believe,
because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They
will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My
Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to
snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John
10:26-30
"You prepare a table before
me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup
overflows." Your enemies hate this! They resent that you seem to
do everything wrong (from their point of view) yet good things keep coming
to you! This is the case for those like David who have been anointed with
the oil of the Spirit. An eternal bond has been created bringing you into
His family! As such, you share in the commonwealth of Israel! Your cup
overflows with unending blessings unknown to the profane and the wicked.
"Surely goodness and
loving-kindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in
the house of YHWH forever." Grace for this life as I follow Him and an
eternal future before me - This is the way of righteousness and life
eternal.
What we have been considering is
"The Way of the Nazareans."
Join our live stream tonight,
June 17, at Tsiyon.Net
at 8 PM, Central for more!
In His Name,
Eliyahu
Tsiyon.Org
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