Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thoughts on Psalm 23
These are my own reflections, they are not necessarily biblically sound thoughts or ideas. Written on 11/23/08
Psalm 23:
A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
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.
My thoughts:
2 God's making David take a break and drink in the beauty of nature.
3 For Jesus' sake, that His sacrifice wouldn't be in vain.
4 (a)It's a valley, meaning it has hills on all sides, so it would be hard to flee from it because it's difficult to run uphill. But he's still not afraid. (b)Maybe meaning the rod used for discipline and the staff of Moses, or just a walking staff?
5 (a)Eating tends to make people more mellow and good natured. (b)Meaning David is His anointed - His precious one? The cup of the heart overflows with feelings.
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5 comments:
"Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me", is referring to the equipment used by middle eastern shepherds. The rod was the primary defense weapon used by the shepherd, and from and early age he learned to throw it with great accuracy and speed. He would use it to defend himself and his sheep, and also use it against his own sheep when they were straying from the flock, or grazing near poisonous weeds, or walking towards any kind of danger. He could throw it at them and send them running straight back to the herd. He used it for other things as well, such as counting the sheep, or giving each of them a very detailed examination for any type of disease or wound. When David talks about being comforted by the rod and the staff, he is taking that from his own experience as a shepherd.
By using his "rod and staff", the Lord keeps us stupid sheep from straying towards trouble, and examines our hearts and minds for sin and hurt. Though it can hurt at times, he manages to always keep us on track, and never forgets any one of us. And that's a comforting thought.
Very good Annah. The simple explanations are the most understood.
I thinks he means that his cup runeth over with blessings and that his enemies are being shown that he (meaning David)has God’s blessing, or at least that’s the way I've always understood it.
Hey is that what we were talking about over the phone ?
Hey, we have a book that is by a real shepherd that we would like to loan you (that is if you are interested...). He writes about Psalm 23 in a shepherd's perspective. David was a shepherd so was writing this I'm sure as a metaphor of how God takes care of us. It was a very eye-opening book and I think that you would enjoy it. :)
Hello!
You quoted “He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”
So what are the paths of righteousness?
The definition of righteousness according to the first-century teacher Ribi Yehoshua (ha-Mashiakh; the Messiah) from Nazareth (You can find Ribi Yehoshuas teachings here: Netzarim), is the same definition found in Torah; and that is to follow the instructions of the Creator found in Torah.
It is written in Torah, Devarim 13:1-6, that it is forbidden to add or remove mitzwot (commandments) from Torah. For example one mitzwah is that one shouldn’t eat pork and another one is that one should celebrate Shabat.
It is written in Malakhi 3:6 that the Creator does not change.
All the best, Anders Branderud
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