The messages that will appear on this page will vary, some will be informational and some will be doctrinal. However, they are intended to edify the Christian and to open up the Scriptures to the reader.
A Quick Survey
Psalms 23:The Lord is my Shepherd: I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the
still waters. He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s 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.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the lord forever.
A Short Introduction
Abel was a keeper of sheep. See Genesis 4.2.
And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye
shall receive a crown of glory. See 1 Peter 5.4
The youngest son was usually assigned the duty of the
shepherd because it was considered the least job in the family.
If there was only one son or no son the daughter was made the shepherd.
The position of the shepherd was a lonely one; sometimes the shepherd was
away from home for weeks. The
shepherd had the responsibility to guard the sheep with his life. Jesus had to become the Shepherd and guard the Father’s
sheep. He was lonely and ostracized
by many. He had to become the
Shepherd because we had gone astray and God would not trust His sheep to a
hireling, it had to be someone who would claim ownership and die for the sheep.
Christ came to earth as the son to be the Shepherd.
Characteristics of The Shepherd:
† He gave His life for His sheep.
† He was the doorway into the sheepfold.
†
He has given His sheep eternal life keeping them forever.
Characteristics of the sheep:
† They hear His voice. John 10.27
† They know Him. John 10.14
† They follow Him. John 10.27
Those with the characteristics of the sheep can say, ”The Lord is My Shepherd.”
The Rod and the Staff: The Rod is used as a weapon of protection for the sheep against their enemies. The staff is used for rescuing the entrapped lamb and for guiding purposes.
The Sling: The sling was used as a weapon and as a guide dog with hurtled rocks for directing.
The Scrip: A luggage container to carry the shepherd’s belonging and food.
The bottle of Hog’s Oil: The oil was used for protection against vipers.
The Reed Flute: The flute was used for personal entertainment.
The Lamp: The lamp was used to light the area around the feet in
order to make a path for his feet.
He leadeth me.
Sheep are driven in this country; however they were led in
the Holy Land.
John 10:4-5 - And when he putteth forth His sheep and goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.
The shepherd will lead the sheep in the morning to the grass with the fresh dew. At noon, he will lead to the shelter of a rock or to a cool place. In the evening, he brings them into the fold for protection becoming the doorway as they pass through his legs.
He takes us along the paths of righteousness as He gives us paths of peace, prayer, power and progression.
All is done for His name’s sake.
He makes us to lie down in green pastures because we need rest for the journey ahead and won’t stop unless we are forced to. He can see farther up the road of our journey and can see steep climbs along narrow and dangerous paths and since we must take the journey, He brings us to rest. We are living in an age where distractions and our rushing about are the rule. The enemy, satan, creates situations that are attractive to us and keeps us moving when we should be resting. So our Shepherd makes us lie down in a green pasture so that we can be refreshed. We must be willing to submit to His will without pressure. While we are resting we are to meditate on the Lord. We need rest because:
† Sometimes we are weak and we need restoration.
† When we tire. We fall back and are too far away from the shepherd to hear his voice. Then we become discontented and restless becoming irritable and murmuring against the church.
† Wandering begins and we begin to neglect the Word
When sheep fail to rest, restoration can begin by the look of the sheep or the crook of the shepherd.
We are led beside the still water because sheep can not drink from fast moving waters. The shepherd will find a container to fill and carry water to his sheep or he will use his staff to trench water to his sheep.
He prepares a table
because he wants the best for his
sheep. He scouts ahead and
investigates pastures prior to leading the sheep there so that he can insure
their getting the best. He will use
his staff to pull down fruit and choice leaves for them to eat.
The table is prepared in the presence of enemies.
The shepherd will search for viper nests and holes and pour
the hog’s oil in a circle around the viper’s location because the viper can
not glide across the smooth oil and the sheep will not cross the smell of the
oil and both are kept apart. The
Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as oil.
Can’t you just look at the protection provided by they shepherd and his
oil and see how we are protected by the indwelling presence of The Holy Spirit.
The only difference is that the sheep acknowledge their shepherd and will
not follow a stranger’s voice. We
ignore our Shepherd’s voice and we cross the circle of protection and yet we
call the sheep the dumbest animal.
Our table is prepared with daily bread as well as Holy Scriptures. When we partake of the Lord’s Table we are acknowledging His provision for us. When we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, we accept His provision and protection because the shadow represents things unseen that are dangerous. Death, too is unseen, we know not when it will appear; Christ has conquered the enemy death but on earth we will continue to walk in its shadow.
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