May 26, 2025
May 26 Psalm 23
This may be the best known Psalm. Many people have memorized it. Many people have been comforted by it. In my Sunday School class we are working through a study that is focused on Psalm 23 and there is so much beauty and depth to these verses that provide much comfort and hope.
Thy rod and staff comfort me. This is an interesting verse when we think of what the rod and staff were for in the life of the shepherd. The rod was used to protect the sheep. When a predator would come and threaten the sheep, the shepherd would fight them off with the rod. We know that our Good Shepherd fights for us and will protect us from our enemies and more important "the enemy".
The rod was also used to count the sheep. When the shepherd wanted to count the sheep he would hold out the rod and count the sheep as they pass under the rod into the pen. In this way the shepherd showed concern that each sheep was accounted for. He didn't simply care for the herd as a whole, he knew each individual sheep. Remember the parable of the lost sheep- how would a shepherd know if 1 out of 99 sheep was missing? If you just looked at the big picture it would be hard to tell the difference between 99 and 100. But if you account for each one then 1 matters significantly.
The shepherd staff had a crook at the end. The shepherd staff would be used in helping guide and lead the sheep and sometimes as a protection against predators as well. The crook would be used to help pull sheep back in line if they were starting to go astray. The crook also would be used to rescue sheep. Sometimes a sheep would come to drink at a river and would fall into the river as their wool would get heavy from getting wet when drinking throwing them off balance. The shepherd would use the crook to help pull them from the river.
Praise God that we have a good shepherd who leads us. Praise God that we are seen not just as part of a church, but he sees us a person and cares for us individuals. Let's strive this week to follow our Shepherds lead.
This may be the best known Psalm. Many people have memorized it. Many people have been comforted by it. In my Sunday School class we are working through a study that is focused on Psalm 23 and there is so much beauty and depth to these verses that provide much comfort and hope.
Thy rod and staff comfort me. This is an interesting verse when we think of what the rod and staff were for in the life of the shepherd. The rod was used to protect the sheep. When a predator would come and threaten the sheep, the shepherd would fight them off with the rod. We know that our Good Shepherd fights for us and will protect us from our enemies and more important "the enemy".
The rod was also used to count the sheep. When the shepherd wanted to count the sheep he would hold out the rod and count the sheep as they pass under the rod into the pen. In this way the shepherd showed concern that each sheep was accounted for. He didn't simply care for the herd as a whole, he knew each individual sheep. Remember the parable of the lost sheep- how would a shepherd know if 1 out of 99 sheep was missing? If you just looked at the big picture it would be hard to tell the difference between 99 and 100. But if you account for each one then 1 matters significantly.
The shepherd staff had a crook at the end. The shepherd staff would be used in helping guide and lead the sheep and sometimes as a protection against predators as well. The crook would be used to help pull sheep back in line if they were starting to go astray. The crook also would be used to rescue sheep. Sometimes a sheep would come to drink at a river and would fall into the river as their wool would get heavy from getting wet when drinking throwing them off balance. The shepherd would use the crook to help pull them from the river.
Praise God that we have a good shepherd who leads us. Praise God that we are seen not just as part of a church, but he sees us a person and cares for us individuals. Let's strive this week to follow our Shepherds lead.
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