Welcome to the first part of our series, "The Good Shepherd."

Text: Psalm 23

(A psalm of David.)
The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
    He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.

The LORD is our Shepherd. WE CAN FOLLOW HIM.

Overall Commentary: 🌎

Someone once said that we read the Psalms to learn how to relate to God, and we read Proverbs to learn how to relate to people. The Book of Psalms is a collection of songbooks collected over many years. Not all of these songs were written by David, but many were. Some of the songs were meant to be sung in the Temple, some were meant to be sung while on a journey, and some were meant to declare God's faithfulness in hard times. This particular Psalm (Psalm 23) is possibly the most famous. It is usually recited in times of difficulty or distress. It is like you heard this Psalm the last time you were at a funeral. Unfortunately, this is the only time we listen to it. David is not saying this as a lament but as a joy. Many scholars believe he wrote this Psalm at the end of his life. He is looking back over all that has happened and still declares God to be a great leader worth following.

Because the LORD is our Shepherd, we live with confident trust in Him.

Commentary

Verse 1. The Overall Theme.

Verse one could easily be thought of as the title of this song and may have been to the original audience. David shares the song's point and then spends the rest proving what He says.

Who is the "LORD?" Have you ever noticed that throughout the Old Testament, there are different ways they say the Name of God? In many places, they capitalize the name of God by saying "LORD." What is that all about? It is a sign of respect for the covenant name of God that He reveals to Moses in Exodus 2. It is YHWH or as we say, "Yahweh." This is the Name that God told Moses to say sent Him to the nation of Israel. It means "I Am that I AM." In other words, He always was, is, and always will be. He is the Almighty. Out of respect, most Jewish people do not say that name out loud.

For further study, click the link:

What does a Shepherd symbolize to the original audience? In this time of history, it was considered normal to relate a Shepherd to the attribute of a king. This was because the king was considered the guide, protector, and supplier of goods to the kingdom. Therefore, when David calls God His Shepherd, He says He is everything He needs and is His King.

Misconceptions of sheep: We have an unfortunate relationship with the thought of being sheep-like in our current culture. This is probably because most of us have not been around many sheep. We think of sheep as docile and friendly animals. We think sheep are stupid and always go along with whatever is happening. This is far from the truth. While sheep have a "mob" mentality, they are also very different from what we think. They are:

Emotional
They easily get lost
Have no natural defense mechanisms (other than biting and kicking)
Are not good with being alone
They need a shepherd and are happiest when he is near
Are smart. They can remember up to 50 different faces.

So, when God calls us "sheep of His pasture," it's not the nicest compliment, but there is a lot of truth in it.

"I have all that I need."- This could be a sticky for some people. You could probably think of times when God didn't answer a prayer or something terrible happened that left you wondering if this could have been a misprint. How could it be true that God does not let you do without when you have been through times that left you without what you wanted? We need to look at this in two ways:

Think of the person writing this. David had been through many difficult times and almost lost everything multiple times. He is not talking about smooth sailing. He is talking about so much more than an easy life. He talks about the ability to make it through anything because the Good Shepherd guides the whole way.
There is a difference between what we "want" and "need." The basic definitions are:

Want- what we can live without.
Need- what we cannot live without.

If you think of it that way, God has provided for you in more ways than we can count.

Bottom line.

Throughout this study of Psalm 23, my hope is we will come to know God more and learn that we can know Him. He desires to lead us and guide us through this life.

For a more in-depth look at the reflections of Psalm 23 through the eyes of a Shepherd, click the book link below.