In the previous post we talked about God being our shepherd
and how we need to trust completely in Him and His ability to take care of us, His
sheep. Today we are going to address the
first half of verse two of Psalm 23.
“He makes me to lie
down in green pastures.” (Ps. 23:2A)
At first blush it would seem that this is a statement is
self-explanatory but, as with so much in scripture, it carries a whole lot more
meaning for us than we might realize at first reading. Or, as Paul Harvey would say, “And now, the rest of the story.”
I found a small paperback book years ago called ‘A Shepherd
Looks at Psalm 23’ by Phillip Keller. It
was published in 1970 by the author. He
was very familiar with raising sheep where he grew up in East Africa. He says in the introduction to his book that
the methods of shepherding they used in East Africa mirrored those of shepherds
in the Middle East even back is Jesus’ day.
Later, he raised sheep on his own and shares first hand experiences in
his book. I will draw many illustrations
from Mr. Keller’s book which have added tons to my understanding of this
passage. They provide a real depth of
insight into David’s words in Psalm 23 and reveal much about God as our
shepherd.
For starters, the work of the shepherd involved so much more
than just escorting sheep from field to field.
To begin with, much of the Middle East where sheep farming is practiced
is arid and devoid of the lush, green fields we so often picture. In order to have “green pastures” the
shepherd would have to work hard to prepare fields over time to produce food
for his sheep. His work would involve
removing large numbers of rocks and boulders, pulling harmful bushes and plants
and sometimes even irrigating the field by diverting water so that grass would
even grow there. Once the field had
produce food for the sheep there were other things the shepherd had to do in
order to make it possible for his flock to actually lie down and find true
rest. The next paragraph will sound very
familiar to you if you have read the previous post.
Sheep are very skittish and are easily spooked. They are naturally weak, timid, and defenseless. There are at least four conditions that keep
the sheep from being able to lie down in peace and rest, feeling safe and
protected. First, sheep have to feel
safe from any fears. Secondly, they need
to be free from conflict within the flock in order to rest. Third, they need to be free from the flies,
bugs or parasites that torment them and inhibit their ability to relax. Fourth, they need to feel well fed and
satisfied. We are going to deal with
each of these conditions or fears and see how they might apply to us as God’s
sheep as well.
[1] Sheep have to
feel safe from any fears.
Sheep are a nervous, skittish animals. They are easily spooked by the slightest
noise and will jump and run (stampede) at the slightest provocation. I hesitated to use the term stampede even
though it applies to this image. For me,
being raised in the era of watching those “cow punchers” on black and white
television, a stampede is when hundreds upon hundreds of cattle with big,
pointed, long horns shake the ground as they charge mindlessly in fear as one,
huge, seething body! I’m guessing many
of you have similar memories of hearing a cowboy yell “STAMPEDE!” and seeing
many men jump up, mount their horses and try to stop the cattle. Well, I’m thinking that a sheep stampede isn’t
quite that terrifying but, in that kind of panic they could hurt themselves or
each other, they could charge into a ravine, crevice or thicket causing all
kinds of damage to themselves. Such
events were to be avoided and that was one of the things a shepherd was very
aware of. He could tell when his sheep were
disturbed by something and immediately dealt with it so things didn’t get out
of hand. Things like thunder, loud
noises, sudden movements by other sheep and worst of all, predators trying to
get into the flock would send them running in mindless panic. The shepherd had to make sure they were not
threatened and felt safe so they would lie down and find the rest they
needed. We will speak more of the
shepherd’s task a little later.
For us as God’s sheep, we need to feel safe, even when there
is conflict around us. We need to know
without a doubt that God loves us, that He is in control and the He will watch
over us. When troubles strike, and they
will, we need to know that God is there and that He cares. I think that one of the greatest comforts when
I face difficult times is knowing that I am not alone. I have experienced that repeatedly in my
life. To know that I am not alone, that
God is there, listening, and that He will help me deal with the troubles brings
me great comfort. Many a night I have
found it hard to fall asleep or I wake in the dark of the night and all the
worries just take over my thoughts. I
will toss and turn, even get up and try to distract my thoughts but usually
without success. Finally, (when it
should have been my first thought instead) I settle down to a time of just
talking to God about what I’m thinking, what I’m feeling, what I’m worrying
about. I can’t tell you that it’s always
immediate but as I pray or just sit in the dark and silence and feel God near,
the tension begins to ebb. I find that
the knot in my stomach starts to loosen and, at some point, I fall asleep
again. This is just what we are talking
about with this concept that the shepherd has to make his sheep feel safe if
they are to rest. God wants to do this
for us and stands ready but, as always, He doesn’t force His way in. We need to turn our hearts and minds toward
Him in these troubling moments and seek the peace that only He can
provided. Trust me, it works!
There is a passage in Philippians which God put in my heart
many years ago. I can actually tell you
right when it happened. We had bought an
old farm house which needed tons of work.
As we lived in it, raising our two children, I kept working on a myriad
of remodeling projects. I was right in
the middle of completely tearing out our tired old bathroom and creating a new,
modern one. I was running into all kinds
of construction issues (nightmares) as many do with old time construction and,
to be honest, it was getting to me. In
one of my morning devotional times I came across Philippians 4:4-8 and it hit
me so hard that while I was working on the bathroom after dinner that night opened
my Bible to it, placed it one the bathroom sink (which I hadn’t torn out yet)
and as I worked I kept repeating that passage in an attempt to memorize
it. It worked! It changed my attitude, lifted my spirits and
energized me to keep going. I will share
just a portion of that passage with you now as I think it applies to this
discussion beautifully. I highly
recommended it as a help when you are finding that you just can’t settle, just
like those sheep on the verge of panic….OK, I’ll say it, on the verge of a sheep
STAMPEDE!!! Here it is:
“Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. And the
peace which transcends (passes) all understanding, will guard (keep) your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians
4:6-8
[2] Sheep need to be
free from conflict within the flock in order to rest.
We see butting used in many different animal groups to
establish or maintain dominance in a group and it’s a big part of the life of
the sheep as well. When a younger,
stronger sheep wants to show their stuff they have to challenge the dominant
members of the group. As I read about
this phenomenon I discovered that often the dominant sheep telegraphs their
authority without engaging in battle.
They approach a younger sheep who is minding their own business but make
the mistake of being in a spot where the dominant sheep wants to be. According to Phillip Keller’s description,
the old ewe will “arch her neck, tilt her dead, dilate her eyes and approach
the other with a stiff-legged approach.”
If the other sheep didn’t get out of the way it incurred the wrath of
the older with a serious head butting.
As you can imagine, all this “fighting” stirred up the flock and
everyone was on edge and ready to run.
This would be the last thing a shepherd would want so he dealt with it
in an interesting way. The shepherd
would simply make his presence known. He
would walk toward the conflict in progress and when they were aware that the
shepherd was near they would simply stop.
You can almost imagine some sheep whispering “Hey you two, knock it off,
the shepherd’s comin’!” The shepherd’s
presence changes the sheep’s behavior.
On a rare occasion the dominant sheep had to be reminded that there was
one who was greater than they (sound familiar) and the shepherd would
administer some “applied psychology” to the errant elder sheep.
I’m thinking you are already making comparisons to us and
the Lord, our Good Shepherd. We see this
kind of “pecking order” or “butting order” in all sorts of groups in our
society. Sadly, it shows up all too
often in church organizations as well.
It can start with things like gossip, jealousy, favoritism, petty
quarrels, or general discontent. The
trouble is it can grow into something much more ugly and that really hurts the
life and witness of a church. I bet
you’ve seen it in your own lifetime among church members. It ain’t pretty and it sure isn’t what God
wants from us. Our humanness takes
control and then the troubles start. You
know as well as I that when these problems are festering in a church there is a
sense of anxiety or uneasiness among the members just like those skittish sheep
just waiting to stampede. The “flock” if
you will, can’t really settle down and find the peace God wants for them, the
peace that He has promised them, because of all the tension. I’ve seen it and I’ve lived it. God’s picture of “the church” is just the
opposite. He calls His church to
unity. Paul gives some great words in
his letter to the Ephesians regarding all this.
“Be completely humble
and gentle; be patient bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Eph.4:2, 3)
In Matthew Jesus shared some words about what a real church
leader looks like. He said “Whoever wants to become great among you
must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be our slave – just as
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28)
Paul said it this way, “If
it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
(Romans 12:18)
When we focus our attention on the Good Shepherd rather than
ourselves or others, we find a much greater and more lasting peace.
[3] Sheep need to be
free from things that torment them and inhibit their ability to relax.
Sheep are tormented by parasites, flies and other
infestations that drive them bonkers.
They can’t settle and will do all sorts of things harmful to themselves
to try and get away from these pests. A
shepherd will use salves, oils, herbs, etc. to help the sheep get away from
this irritation. Sometimes he will
create quiet places in the bushes where the bugs can’t easily get at the sheep
so that they can find some peace. This
topic will be covered in greater detail a little later in this study but it’s
important to start you thinking about it right here. Much of what this shepherd does to help is
sheep is also something our Good Shepherd does for us.
The application to our Christian lives should be fairly
obvious. Are there things, issues or
people within your church that just “bug” you?
Do they get under your skin and distract you from what you should be thinking
or doing? Just like the shepherd, God
offers us relief from such “pests” through His Holy Spirit. I hope you all understand that right now
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. In his absence He sent the Holy Spirit to
guide us, teach us, to help us be who we
should in Him. When we turn to Him
instead of going off on our own when these irritations come our way He can
provide peace of mind, a calm acceptance that God is there in Spirit and is
working to help with whatever is bothering us.
It’s important to understand that God, through His Spirit, can see the
entire situation and know what needs to happen to resolve it. He understands things completely and when we
remember that it helps us to trust that He’s going work things out. Those are times when we say, “Lord, I know I can’t get this figured out
but I know you already have. Help me to
know what to do, what to say, how to feel that will bring you into the middle
of my vexing situation.” When we
“let go and let God” something changes inside us that takes away the
irritation, like getting that speck of dust or dirt from our eye. It’s amazing how quickly the irritation stops
when we rinse something like that from our eye isn’t it? Try to do the same thing with that
“irritation” in your daily relationship with others. Let it go!
“Whoever would love
life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from
deceitful speck. He must turn from evil
and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.” (1 Peter 3:10-11)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways
submit to him, and he will make your
paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5, 6)
[4] Sheep need to
feel well fed and satisfied.
As mentioned earlier, green pastures are not common in the
arid areas of the world, like the Middle East, so they must be created by the
shepherd. It required a lot of time and
effort on the part of the shepherd to prepare a field, clear it, plow it, seed
it, plant the right combinations of grains, find a steady source of water so
the field could grow, and then watch over it to create “green pastures” where
the sheep could find good food. Nothing
would make the sheep feel more peaceful and comforted than a field rich with
heavy, thick grass. They would get
plenty to eat and then to lie down, like some of us after a big Thanksgiving
dinner, to rest and enjoy that feeling.
If sheep were to thrive, especially at lambing time, they needed a
steady, reliable source of food and a place where they didn’t have to struggle
just to survive as they searched for more.
Such a place as this would demonstrate the amazing love and care a
shepherd was willing to put himself through to provide for his sheep. The parallels are, once again, very
obvious. We, as God’s sheep, need the
very same kind of assurance that He loves us and cares for us. We need to know that He’s there and will meet
our needs. We need to know that feeling
of safety and contentment which only He can provide. Then we, too, can rest in His presence and
provision.
“He makes me to lie
down in green pastures.” (Ps. 23:2A)
When we read these words we need to understand that he
“makes” means he provides all that is necessary to “make” it possible for us to
live in contentment and peace regardless of what is happening in our
lives. We need to have total confidence
in our shepherd so that we can grow and mature, both in our own stature but in
our relationship with Him. It is sad to
realize how many of God’s “sheep” approach the lush green fields He has created
for them and don’t take advantage of what He offers or, as I like to say, they
step up to this amazing banquet with all kinds of food (blessings) right there
for them to enjoy and yet they just grab a few carrot sticks or stalks of
celery (figuratively speaking, of course) and walk away disappointed and
unfulfilled.
How about you? God,
your Good Shepherd, has done so much to make it possible for you to be in His
flock, to be one of His beloved sheep. He
wants to show His love and care for you.
He offers you a life of close communion with Him here on earth and an eternity
with Him in heaven. He offers peace
regardless of your situation, comfort in times of trouble, and hope when the
way seems hopeless. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and
have it to the full.” (John
10:10) So I ask you once again, when
you step up to the banquet table of all the blessings God has carefully
prepared for you do you dive in and enjoy what He offers or do you just grab a
couple “spiritual carrot sticks” and walk away empty or hungering for more. Like those hungry sheep, you won’t find real
rest that way.
I pray that you know the Lord as your own “shepherd” and
that you walk close to Him every day, drawing your nourishment from Him through
His Word, and that you know, first hand, the love and joy and peace that He can
provide you. I pray that the Lord is your shepherd today. God bless.
“The Lord is my
shepherd. I shall not be in want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.”
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