As believers, it’s interesting to note that the Bible doesn’t compare us to
bears, which could be powerful and fearful creatures.We aren’t compared to wise and cunning
serpents.We aren’t compared to the
dangerous lion.Instead we’re compared
to sheep.
Sheep are pretty dumb creatures and they scare pretty easy.I’ve heard of instances where one sheep went
over a cliff, to be followed by another sheep, and another, until the whole
flock went over the cliff. I read another story where a lady visited a shepherd
with a small Pekinese puppy.When the
little dog got out of the car and started yapping, an entire flock of 300 sheep
went nuts.
Some people have this notion that sheep are pretty self-sufficient.Just put them out in a field and let them
go.But what happens on ranches run this
way is total devastation.The sheep will
eat the grass down to the nubs, wear paths into gullies and ruin the
place.Sheep need a shepherd.
(Phil 4:11-13 NASB)Not that I speak from want; for I have
learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. {12} I know how to get
along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and
every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry,
both of having abundance and suffering need. {13} I can do all things through
Him who strengthens me.
There is a secret to being content.It’s
not about getting the next “big thing”.It’s
allowing God to be your Shepherd.It’s
letting Him lead you.
Phillip Keller (1920-1997) was born in East Africa
and trained in agriculture. He worked as an agricultural development
specialist, wildlife photographer and naturalist.From his many years as both a shepherd and
sheep ranch manager, he wrote a little book called, “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”. He writes about the discontented
sheep,
“She was one of the most attractive sheep that ever belonged to me. Her
body was beautifully proportioned. She had a strong constitution and an
excellent coat of wool. Her head was clean, alert, well-set with bright
eyes.She bore sturdy lambs that matured
rapidly. But despite all these attractive attributes shehad one pronounced fault.She was restless – discontented – a fence
crawler. So much so that I came to call her “Mrs. Gad-about”. This one ewe
produced more problems for me than almost all the rest of the flock
combined.No matter what field or
pasture the sheep were in, she would search all along the fences or shoreline
(we lived by the sea) looking for a loophole she could crawl through and start
to feed on the other side. It was not that she lacked pasturage.My fields were my joy and delight. No sheep
in the district had better grazing.With
“Mrs. Gad-about” it was an ingrained habit. She was simply never contented with
things as they were. Often when she had forced her way through some such spot
in a fence or found a way around the end of the wire at low tide on the
beaches, she would end up feeding on bare, brown, burned-up pasturage of a most
inferior sort.But she never learned her
lesson and continued to fence crawl time after time.Now it would have been bad enough if she was
the only one who did this. It was a sufficient problem to find her and bring
her back. But the further point was that she taught her lambs the same tricks.
They simply followed her example and soon were as skilled at escaping as their
mother.Even worse, however, was the
example she set the other sheep. In a short time she began to lead others through
the same holes and over the same dangerous paths down by the sea.After putting up with her perverseness for a
summer I finally came to the conclusion that to save the rest of the flock from
becoming unsettled, she would have to go. I could not allow one obstinate,
discontented ewe to ruin the whole ranch operation.It was a difficult decision to make, for I
loved her in the same way I loved the rest. Her strength and beauty and
alertness were a delight to the eye.But
one morning I took the killing knife in hand and butchered her. Her career of
fence crawling was cut short.It was the
only solution to the dilemma.
There is no better place than being in the Lord’s pastures.
:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
Sheep tend to be found in dry, arid countries.Green pastures aren’t always a common thing
for sheep.It’s up to the shepherd to
either provide a field that has been cultivated for their food, or to take them
to a field that’s green.This is what
makes for the healthiest sheep.
Our Shepherd knows how to take care of us.We too have the best of pastures to feed in.God’s Word.
:2 he leadeth me beside the still waters.
One source of good water for sheep is found in the dew each morning.A sheep can go for months without actually
drinking water if the shepherd gets the flock up to feed early in the morning
when the grass leaves are covered with dew.
Lesson
Still waters
Early in the morning while the dew is still heavy.Meet with the Lord and feast on His Word.
Illustration
A hymn writer, C. Austin Miles, wrote,
“I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses; and the
voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
“He speaks, and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their
singing; and the melody that He gave to me within my heart is ringing.
“I’d stay in the garden with Him tho the night around me be falling; but He
bids me go—thru the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling.
“And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own,
and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.”[1]
Spend time with Him each day.Feed.Drink deep.
:3 He restoreth my soul:
restoreth – shuwb –
(Polel) to bring back; to restore, refresh, repair
If a sheep rolls over on its back, it has a problem.It won’t be able to get back up.The English coined a term long ago to
describe this.They call it a “cast
sheep”.
A “cast” sheep is in a dangerous position.Helpless, it is easy prey for the predators.Even without wolves, it will die if it
doesn’t get turned upright. If the sun
is hot, it will die within a few hours.If it’s cloudy weather, a sheep will last a few days before it dies.
Phillip Keller goes on to write,
A “cast” sheep is a very pathetic sight.Lying on its back, its feet in the air, it flays away frantically
struggling to stand up, without success.Sometimes it will bleat a little for help, but generally it lies there
lashing about in frightened frustration.If the owner does not arrive on the scene within a reasonably short
time, the sheep will die.This is but
another reason why it is so essential for a careful sheepman to look over his
flock every day, counting them to see that all are able to be up and on their
feet.If one or two are missing, often
the first thought to flash into his mind is, “One of my sheep is cast
somewhere.I must go in search and set
it on its feet again.”
One particular ewe that I owned …was notorious for being a cast sheep.Every spring when she became heavy in lamb it
was not uncommon for her to become cast every second or third day.Only my diligence made it possible for her to
survive from one season to the next.One
year I had to be away from the ranch for a few days just when she was having
her problems.So I called my young son
aside and told him he would be responsible for her well-being while I was
absent.If he managed to keep her on her
feet until I came home he would be well paid for his efforts.Every evening after school he went out to the
field faithfully and set up the old ewe so she could survive.It was quite a task but she rewarded us with
a fine pair of twin lambs that spring.
How does a sheep become “cast”?
One factor is weight.If a sheep
becomes too fat, it becomes weak and unable to keep upright.A shepherd needs to change the diet of the
sheep and give the flock more exercise.
Another factor is the coat.If the
wool becomes too long, the weight of the wool along with the dirt and bugs that
get caught in the wool will help to weigh down a sheep and pull it over.The shepherd needs to shear the sheep.
This is an interesting picture of how we too get too tangled in the things
of the world and sometimes our own “worldliness” ends up flipping us on our
back.
(Heb 12:1 KJV)Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that
is set before us,
Lesson
Let Him turn you over
The Shepherd doesn’t want to leave you laying there on your back.
He knows that if you don’t turn around you will die.Perhaps you need a haircut.
:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:for thou art with me;
It’s at this point that the language of the Psalm changes.Instead of talking about God in the third
person (“He leadeth me …”), God is now being talked to “for thou art
with me”.
There is a reason for this.This is
the place in the Psalm that begins to describe a shepherd’s journey with his
flock to the mountain pastures.
It is a common thing for flocks to be taken to mountains during the summer
where they can feed on fresh grass and drink from mountain springs.
During this time the shepherd leaves his home and journeys with the flock
to the highlands.
Lesson
The way to the heights is through
the valleys
As Christians we want to go “farther” with God.We want to stand on the mountaintop.Yet the way to the mountains is through the
valleys.
Though the valleys can be scary, a shepherd knows that these are the best
paths to take a flock to the mountains.The paths are gentler and easier on the flocks than other paths to the
mountains.The valleys have better
grazing and more water than other paths.
You may be wondering why you’re going through such low times, yet perhaps
it’s because the Shepherd is taking you to the mountains.
Lesson
God is in the valley
It’s the journey through the valley when we’re closest to God (thou art
with me)
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were thrown into the fiery furnace
(Dan. 3), they weren’t alone.Jesus was
with them.
(Isa 43:2 KJV)When thou passest through the waters, I will
be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou
walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame
kindle upon thee.
You don’t have to be afraid of the valley. You don’t even have to rush
through the valley.You can walk through
it.You’re not alone.
:4thy rod and thy staff they
comfort me.
As a Shepherd accompanied his flock, he only took a few things with him.
The rod was something of a
weapon for the shepherd.As a young boy
he would find a sapling, cut it down, and fashion his own club out of it.The rod was a shepherd’s pride and joy.
Shepherds were experts at throwing these weapons great distances with great accuracy.
The rod was used both for discipline and correction.If a sheep was starting to go astray, to eat
something poisonous, or do something stupid, it would get a whack with the rod
to put it back in line.
The rod was also used to beat off predators.When David said he’d fought a lion and a
bear, it would have been with his rod.
Perhaps this could be a picture of God’s Word.It corrects us.It also protects us.
The staff was a long stick that
served as something a shepherd could lean on while traveling, but also as a way
of directing the sheep.It usually had a
curved crook at one end that the shepherd used to pull or direct sheep.If a shepherd had a special sheep, he would
often walk with his staff resting against the sheep as a way of making a connection
with it.If a shepherd needed to get a
closer look at a sheep, he’d draw the sheep to himself with the staff.
Perhaps the staff could be a picture of the Holy Spirit, how He comes
alongside us to bring us comfort, guide us, and draw us closer to God.He is called the “Comforter”.
:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Mr. Keller suggests that this describes the mountaintops, the high lands to
which the shepherd has taken his sheep for the summer. In North
America, we name the mountaintops “mesas”, or “table-tops”.Other cultures have similar names.
A good shepherd will go ahead of his flock and prepare these mountain
meadows for his flock.He will clear out
the poisonous weeds so the flock doesn’t get sick eating the wrong stuff.He will clear out the springs so the flock
can drink.
A shepherd will also keep his eye out for the predators in these
mountaintop meadows.The predators look
for the stray sheep.The safest place
for the sheep was to be closest to the shepherd.
God has also prepared another Table for us.
We will share in Communion today.This was a table prepared for us when Jesus went to the Cross to die for
our sins.His body was broken as our
sins were heaped upon Him.He shed His
blood to pay for our sins.He has
provided the Bread of life through the table He has prepared.
:5 thou anointest my head with oil;
There are a couple of reasons why a shepherd would put oil on the head of
his sheep.
There were bugs.As the sheep arrive at the tablelands in the
summer season, the bugs begin to attack.Sheep can be driven absolutely crazy by insects.A shepherd will carry a mixture of oil,
sulphur, and spices, and smother the heads of the sheep with the ointment to
keep the bugs away.The sheep are quieted
immediately.
There was a disease where scabs
formed on the heads of the sheep and was passed from sheep to sheep through
rubbing up against each other.The
ointment stopped the spread of disease.
There was also the head butting.As the summer season began to wind down and
the bugs went away, the sheep began butt heads to gain position in the
flock.One of the ways of keeping the
sheep from killing each other was to smother their heads with grease.When the rams try to butt heads, they just
slide off of each other.
Lesson
People problems
All of these situations remind us of how much trouble other people bring
into our lives.
Sometimes people just “bug” us.Sometimes
we catch the wrong thing by rubbing with people.Sometimes we’re just butting heads with
people.
The answer in these situations is the “anointing”, the work of the Holy
Spirit.He is the one who produces
things in our lives like:
(Gal 5:22-23 KJV)But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
{23} Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
These are the attitudes that resolve our problems.It requires that we learn to die to ourselves
and stop trying to butt heads with others.It requires that we come to Him and ask Him to work in us.
:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
This may be talking about the goodness and mercy God gives us, but I wonder
if this verse might not be talking about the kinds of things that our lives produce.
When sheep are mismanaged, they can destroy a ranch.But if they are cared for by a good shepherd,
they are considered the best of all animals.
Their manure is considered the best balanced of any domestic stock.It can turn around a sickly pasture and make
it healthy again.Sheep like to eat all
kinds of plants, including weeds that can destroy a field.Ancient literature refers to sheep as having
“golden hooves” because of how they can transform a piece of land, if managed
properly.
In other words, good stuff can “follow” a flock.
Lesson
What follows your life?
What kinds of things are left in your wake as you pass through life?
“Do I leave behind goodness – or garbage?”
“Do I leave behind mercy – or misery?”
:6 and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Two fields stand side by side.One
field is run by a fellow who steals, kills and destroys.His flock is always hungry, overrun by
insects, disease, and is a prey to wild animals.
On the other side of the fence is the field of the Good Shepherd.He’s just brought his flock back from their
summer in the mountains. Which field are you in?
[1]Osbeck, K.
W. (1990). Amazing grace : 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions.
Includes indexes. Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Kregel Publications.