WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY
SERIES
THIS WEEKS MESSAGE:
The Shepherd Is My Guide For The Journey
PSALM 23:1-6 “A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 23:2 He
maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his
name's sake. 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me. 23:5 Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup
runneth over. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
I sat down on my couch in the living room and tears
were welling up fast in my eye. It was
only a second before I began sobbing.
How could I have been treated in that way? Someone I trusted and help to climb up. Someone I thought was my friend and trusted
was just spreading rumors and gossip about me in order to ruin my reputation
and the works God is doing trough me. Knowing my only option was to turn to God
in such a time, I got hold of my bible and as I flip it open a familiar
scriptures stood out “He restores my soul; He leadeth in the paths of
righteousness for His name sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me.”
I said to myself could this surely be! But as I was looking at the scripture the
logic seemed inescapable. The shepherd
in the book of psalm was guiding His sheep in paths of righteousness, but this
very path also seemed to wind their way into the valley of the shadow of
death. It is possible that even this
painful betrayal by a friend, this dark valley, could be used by God to train
me in his righteousness? Then I began to
look at the scripture more with a spiritual eye so that I can understand what
God was try to communicate to me.
PSALM 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
David, the author of this psalm was acknowledging God
as his shepherd. He uses the analogy of
a shepherd because of his background in shepherding and caring for his father’s
sheep. The sheep are completely dependent
on the shepherd for their protection, provision, and their guidance. In verse one of psalm 23, David said the lord
is my shepherd I shall not want, the symbol of a shepherd is used for God
throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Let us quickly look at some scriptures in both Old
and New Testaments to learn about the shepherd.
1. Isaiah 40:10-11: “Behold, the Lord
GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm
shall rule
for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall
feed his
flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them
in his
bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
2. Jeremiah 23:3: “And I will gather
the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I
have driven
them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful
and
increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they
shall fear
no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.”
3. Ezekiel
34:12: “As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among
his
sheep that are scattered; so will I seek
out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all
places where they have been scattered in
the cloudy and dark day.”
4. John 10:11 &
14-16: “ I am the
good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for
the sheep. John 10:14-16: I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am
known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. and I lay
down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one
shepherd.”
5. Hebrew
13:20: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting
covenant,”
6. I Peter 2:25: “For ye were as sheep
going astray; but are now returned unto the
Shepherd
and Bishop of your souls.”
7. I
Peter 5:4: “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive
a crown of
glory that fadeth not away.”
The
scriptures above shows what the shepherd does to take care of his flocks. God also promised to take over as shepherd of
his scattered flock. When our leaders
fail us we must not despair but remember that God is in control and the
promises to return and care for his flock.
Therefore,
let us always turn to God for help whenever we need one. He is still in control and can transform any
tragic situation to produce good for his kingdom.
Psalm
23:2-6, we find that there is a path
that the shepherd led him through. He
called that path the path of righteousness.
There are many locations as we can see; there is (1) Green Pastures; (2)
Still Water; (3) Valley of death.
There
is need for us to ask why this path is called the “Path of Righteousness.
(1)
They are the right paths because they lead to the right destination, which is
the
shepherd’s home.
(2)
They are the right paths because they keep us in harmony with the right
person—the
shepherd himself.
(3)
They are the right paths because they train us to be the right people—like the
shepherd.
(4)
They are the right paths because they give us the right witness.
As we
become the right people we give glory to God.
It does not matter whether the going was good or bad, these paths are
right for us. When God is leading it is
always about training and guiding his people to be righteous.
23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Many
at time we think that the paths of righteousness is on the way along the
grass-covered banks of cool streams and green pastures. That is not the way the author of this psalm
said it. On these same paths is the valley of the shadow of death—not a place
that we are too eager to visit.
This
place called the valley of the shadow of death is also characterized as a
narrow, with steep sides that block out the light. It is a “deep shadow” or a “deep darkness.”
(1) How then do you think the sheep ended up in the
valley?
(2) Do you think the sheep went there by themselves, or
did the shepherd lead the sheep that way Himself?
(3) Justify your answer.
23:5: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
David,
told us how to deal with our enemies. He
obscures their presence by looking instead at what God is doing in his behalf. And God is there preparing a banquet for him.
The Table, Oil and Cup helps to remind us of how God provides because our
enemies include those we can see and the ones we cannot see. But when he is with us or when we are with
the shepherd not one enemy, visible or invisible, can steal what He has
provided for us.
23:6 “Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in
the house of the LORD forever.”
This
is a certain promise for the journey, whether in the valley or surrounded by
enemies, it is sometimes difficult to believe that we are not alone. Sometime it feels as if God is not doing much
to help us in the situation.
No
matter how deep the valley or persistent the enemies, the certainty of God’s
goodness, unfailing love, and guidance is unquestionable. If these thoughts could sustain Jesus through
Those
who are finally victorious will have seasons of terrible perplexity and trial
in their religious life; but they must not cast away their confidence, for this
is a part of their discipline in the
But
if you keep looking up and not down at your difficulties, you will not faint in
the way, you will soon see Jesus reaching His hand to help you, and you will
only have to give him your hand in simple confidence, and let Him lead
you. As you become trustful you will
become hopeful.
You
will find help in Christ to form a strong, symmetrical, beautiful
character. Satan cannot make none effect
the light shinning forth from such a character.