You Are With Me

Introduction

Recap last week

The first week we spoke on Psalm 23:2, how the Lord provides physically.

Last week, we spoke on how The Lord provides spiritually (Ps. 23:3)

How He restores us and constitutes us through His Word and work in our lives.

This week, we arrive at v. 4, where we see a strange phenomenon take place.

David begins to describe a valley for us, a valley of treachery: The Valley of the Shadow of Death

Nothing I can find leads me to believe this is an actual valley that David is describing with this name, there is no “Death” Valley over in Israel.

However, what we see take place, is the regular travels of a nomadic shepherd.

In the summer months, the shepherd would lead sheep to higher grounds/mountains.

There, they’d graze and enjoy green pastures.

However, when winter would come, the weather and desolation would become uninhabitable by the sheep.

So, the Shepherd would need to take them to lower elevation - the valley.

Now, the valley is not a “good” place to be for the sheep.

Because of its easy accessibility, this is where all the dangers of the sheep reside.

Wolves, lions, robbers, all danger lies in the valley.

That is why it is described as the “valley of the shadow of death” because for the sheep, the valley represents a place where there is always danger lurking at every turn.

For an unaccompanied sheep, traversing the valley is a death sentence…he would surely die.

So then, how is it that David says, “Even though I walk through the valley..I will fear no evil”?

It is NOT because of any superhuman strength or courage on David’s part.

This is where our line of thinking can go very wrong. We may go through some hardships and our pride will have us thinking, “boy, I really am pretty tough.” “I am pretty smart, I can do this on my own.”

But, our courage and fearlessness is NOT the reason David is saying this.

Rather, David is saying that he can walk through this terrible place ONLY because the shepherd is WITH him.

And because the shepherd is with him, he can traverse this dark path.

Notice, also, the shift from v. 1-3 into v. 4… notice anything?

David goes from talking about the shepherd, to talking to the shepherd.

This signifies that David, in writing this, began worshipping the shepherd.

His heart went from telling us about how good God is, to telling God how good He is.

Why? Because I’m sure, as David penned these words, his heart began to recollect all the times, places, and scenarios where God had been with him in the face of certain death.

As a boy… Goliath, the lion and bear

As a young man… on the run from Saul

As an old man… shielding him from Absolom

Now, I wonder, how many of us can attest to the same thing? How many can think of times and scenarios in which everything around us seemed dim, depressing, dark, distressing and God stepped in and made a way when there was no way? OR simply let us know He was near?

That is our shepherd! That is the shepherd David speaks of.

Yet, that is not the only thing David has to say about the Shepherd accompanying the sheep in the deep dark valley.

He also tells us why the Shepherd being near makes him not fear what’s around him.

The rod and the staff…

The Rod and Staff

In the arsenal of the shepherd, he can bring many tools and pieces of equipment to care for the sheep.

However, only two of them are essential in caring for the sheep, and remain essential even to this day all these years later: The rod and the staff.

David tells us that these two pieces in the hands of the shepherd are enough to comfort him to the very ends of the earth and in the deepest darkest valley.

But what about these two pieces make them such a comforting sight for the sheep?

First, let’s look at the rod.

1. The Rod

The rod of a shepherd is the tool that he uses as a a weapon of power, symbol of authority, and a barrier of defense.

When God called Moses, the shepherd, to go get His people out of Egypt, God used Moses’s rod to illustrate His strength and power that was vested to Moses.

Recall the incident before Pharoah. When tested, God allowed Moses to turn his rod into a serpent to display ability. It was the rod of Moses that God used to split the Red Sea. It was also Moses’s rod that was used of God to strike the rock and bring water forth.

It is always used to convey a message - therefore, we see that the rod is used as a symbol for God’s Word.

God has placed His power, authority, and strength into what these days? His word.

2 Peter 1:19 “19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed…

Hebrews 4:12 “12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

2 Timothy 3:16 “16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”

The Scriptures are to serve as the rod of God for us as the sheep.

Correction

The first way the rod is used for the sheep is correction or discipline.

Real Life: If the shepherd saw a sheep wandering away on its own, or approaching poisonous weeds, or getting too close to danger of one sort or another, the club would go whistling through the air to send the wayward animal scurrying back to the bunch.

How many can agree, I need some discipline sometimes?

I know I certainly do! That is the role of God’s Word in our life. It is the tool God has given us for our own discipline.

There are going to be times and seasons of my life where I will attempt to go off track. The word of God exists as a buffer and barrier to keep my from doing that which I am not supposed to.

How do I keep from walking into briar patches and bad places where I am most assuredly going to get stuck or get hurt? Listen to God’s Word and allow it to discipline my heart.

Let it mortify my sins, as John Owen says. Let it kill the sin in my heart.

Counts

The rod not only corrects the sheep, it counts the sheep.

The shepherd not only utilizes the rod for punishment or steering, he uses it for keeping count of his sheep.

REAL LIFE: Ezekiel 20:37 “37 I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.” - A term used to mean that you are in a shepherd’s inventory is that you “pass under the rod”. This simply means that this shepherd keeps track of you, and examines you on a consistent basis.

Because of the long and thick wool of a sheep, the naked eye is unable to see disease, wounds, or other marks on the sheep's body. In order to make sure the sheep is good, the shepherd must perform as more through examination.

This would be done using what instrument? You guessed it, the rod.

The shepherd would use the rod to part the wool and examine every crevasse of the sheep in an effort to make sure if there were anything that needed to get off that sheep or out of that sheep, he could take care of it.

Now, apply this same tactic to Psalm 139:23–24 “23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

There is no hiding from God, and when we expose ourselves to His word, it will reveal the hidden things to us that need to come out.

In shepherding terms, this is where we get “pull the wool over your eyes” because there are things hidden on the sheep that you can’t see unless you pull back the wool.

There may be things in your life, sin or otherwise, that you have done a great job hiding from your spouse, or your kids, or your friends, and family… but there is nothing that you can hide from God.

AND that’s the point! We don’t want these things hid from Him, it is good for the sheep to have the destructive things uncovered by the shepherd.

Covers

Finally, the rod is an instrument of protection and defense. It is what provides cover for the sheep in places of danger.

REAL LIFE: Phillip Keller recounts going with an African shepherd boy in the Masai area of Kenya. There, they encountered a herd of elephants, and it was this youn boy’s rod-in-hand that he used to ward them off. Then, they needed to dislodge a large boulder to get the elephants path blocked off, what did the boy use? The rod. THEN, after moving the rock, they were faced with an ultra-venomous king cobra, and without saying a word, the young boy thumped that cobra head with the butt of his rod. Over the course of one afternoon, Philip Keller’s life was saved by the protection of a shepherd’s rod three times.

It is God’s Word, and God’s Word alone that will protect us in the destructive moments of our life.

Christ exemplified that for us in His temptation in the desert with satan. What was His response each time he was confronted and tempted by the devil? “Thus saith The Lord…”

Christ showed us that there is no greater, stronger, more capable defense than His word! Our wits will not get us out of trouble, our smarts will not supply protection, our opinions do not matter.

People say, “When I get up in the morning, the devil hears my footsteps on the floor and knows he’s in trouble.” The devil isn’t scared of us, he seeks us, desires us.

1 Peter 5:8 “8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

The only defense you and I have in regards to satan, our flesh, and the world is this: Thus says The Lord.

Psalm 119:11 “11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

Not only does the shepherd use the rod, he also uses the staff…

2. The Staff

While the rod conveys a symbol of power, authority, and strength…the staff represents the other side of the shepherd: the affectionate, calming, soothing, concern and care of the shepherd.

The staff of a shepherd is used to calm the sheep, and bring comfort.

While the rod of the sheep is the word of God, the staff would represent the Spirit of God.

Draws

The first use we see of the staff in the hand of the shepherd is to coral or draw the sheep in closer to himself.

REAL LIFE: what tends to happen is this, a mama sheep will give brith to a little lamb, and sometimes, that lamb has some deficiencies, or the mama can’t for whatever reason care fro her little lamb.

So, the little lamb, destined for death without his mama, becomes the special project of the shepherd. To keep this lamb from perishing, the shepherd will keep it close to himself. The toll by which he uses to keep that lamb close to his side is the staff. It is meant to draw the little lamb in the same manner its mother would have drawn him in… calmly, gently, comfortingly.

Now, how many can agree this is so emblematic of the Holy Spirit and His drawing toward us.

I know we are baptists, but it doesn’t bother me at all to adore the power of the Spirit of Almighty God. He has comforted me so many times.

There is nothing like the sweet, gentle, and loving draw of the Holy Spirit.

Think back to when you were saved… who was it that drew you to Himself? Who revealed your sin to you? Who assured you of the reality that Christ has died for you? It was the work of the Holy Spirit.

Directs

Secondly, the staff of the shepherd lovingly directs the path of the sheep.

REAL LIFE: Now the shepherd does not whack the sheep this way or that way. Rather, he lovingly prods it along, keeping it in the right way. In reality, the guidance and pressure of the staff is so subtle and light, that he wants the sheep to think that he (the sheep) is the one deciding where to go. While, in reality, it is the shepherd who is guiding that sheep at every turn.

Sometimes, if we aren’t careful, will get to thinking that we’ve brought ourselves here.

That couldn’t be further from the truth, it was God’s Spirit who led us, who guided us, who mapped out our course to where we ought to go.

The life of the Christian is not about memorizing a list of facts about some abstract God. No, the point of the Christian life is to “glorify God, and enjoy Him forever.”

The point of our life is to have a special, close, intimate, and REAL relationship with our shepherd. We need to know the reality of what its like to experience His grace firsthand, to feel His embrace, to sense His Spirit in our soul.

Deliver

Finally, the last role of the staff in the hand of the shepherd is to deliver or rescue the sheep.

REAL LIFE: The shepherd always puts up many boundaries to keep the sheep from getting in a bad place. There are gates, his rod, his path, several warning signs telling the sheep not to go any further. Yet, in the sheep’s stubbornness, there are those times where the sheep gets himself stuck in bad place.

This is exemplified in Luke 15:4 “4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?”

The shepherd goes to where the sheep has gotten himself stuck, and not with the rod of correction…but with the staff of care, hoists thats sheep back to himself and carries it back to where he is supposed to be.

Now we can all agree and think of times in our life where we, out of stubbornness, rebellion, defiance, or stupidity, have gotten ourselves in bad places. When we needed him, he didn’t throw the book at us. He didn’t forsake us. He didn’t beat us… He delivered us.

He, as the Holy Spirit, utilized the staff of tenderness and brought us out of our distress.

What a God of patience, what mercy, what goodness, what lovingkindness, what comfort the staff of the Spirit brings to us!