When I was a teenager, my father would try to make me memorize something from the Bible every so often. For about a year, every Sabbath, I brushed up on Psalm 23 in case my dad would ask me to recite it. With only six verses, it’s not terribly difficult to memorize—here it is, from beginning to end:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads 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 You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs 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.
But how should each of us personally understand the idea that the Lord is our shepherd? What should that mean to us? Let’s examine three things every good shepherd does, so we can see how the Lord fulfills this role.
A Shepherd Guides
Shepherds have been around for thousands of years. There are several notable shepherds in the Bible, and to be a shepherd was to hold a time-honored role. Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel, Jacob’s sons, Moses, and David were all shepherds for at least part of their lives.
A shepherd needs to have excellent knowledge of the terrain around him, because he needs to guide his sheep to the best meadows, to where the water spots are, to the best grazing areas, to where there are fewer predators, and to where there’s a place to protect the sheep, especially in the evenings. He needs to know and lead the sheep down the right paths. Years ago, when I was in the Tetons with a group of hikers, we went down a path called “the Devil’s Staircase,” and it lived up to its name! That’s the kind of path that a shepherd should know about, to navigate his flock past such difficult terrain.
Psalm 23:1 says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Other translations are, “The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing” (New English Translation) and “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need” (New Living Translation). These are all good ways of phrasing what’s being said here to each of us personally. In the Old Testament, God, though He worked with individual men from time to time, was generally working with the group, the nation of Israel itself. But this psalm is meant for each of us separately, not only for a larger group.
There is no better example of a shepherd than Jesus Christ. In John 10:14, He refers to Himself as “the good shepherd.” He is also called “the Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). Christ, who has always perfectly fulfilled all of His roles, is the perfect Shepherd.
Now consider how the next two verses add a little more detail about the Shepherd. What does He do? “He makes me [the individual] to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (vv. 2–3). Verse 2 can also be translated, “He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water” (NET).
Shepherded to Righteousness
That the Shepherd leads is mentioned twice—He leads the flock, and He leads us individually. Where does He lead us? To rest and peace, as we take the paths of righteousness. One of the ways that Jesus Christ, as our Shepherd, leads us past danger is through His law. As a good shepherd, Christ leads us on the paths of righteousness by helping us stay within those safe boundaries.
The book of Proverbs says, “My son, keep your father’s command, and do not forsake the law of your mother…. For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress” (6:20, 23–24). Most commentaries only talk about this seductress in the most literal sense—somebody who entices a man into sexual immorality—but overlook how God also uses the seductress on occasion to symbolize idol worship. So, what do these commands from a mother and father to their children do? They function as a light and as a way of staying on the right path, to keep their children from sexual immorality and idolatry.
The best way to stay out of danger, as depicted in this account of the seductress and her hapless victim, is to stick to the paths of righteousness—the safe boundaries within the law of God. “Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:104). A false way is a different path, one that moves us away from the paths of righteousness. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments” (vv. 105–106). As we come to understand the reasons behind God’s rules, we come to realize in a profound way that they serve as boundary markers to keep us from falling off the cliff, from veering off the path into dangerous areas. That’s what our Shepherd is trying to do—keep us safe by keeping us in the paths of righteousness.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 19:7–8). It’s interesting that God’s law can make the simple wise. It doesn’t take a sheep expert to understand that sheep aren’t always the brightest creatures—they need to know the shepherd, they need to trust the shepherd, and they need to recognize his voice to be guided on the right paths. If they do, they’re going to stay out of danger even if they’re not the brightest sheep of the bunch.
The New English Translation renders Psalm 19:7 this way: “The law of the Lord is perfect and preserves one’s life.” It includes a footnote that says this could also mean “restores life.” Elsewhere, it can mean to “rescue or preserve one’s life,” or to “‘revive one’s strength’ (emotionally or physically).” So, following the paths of righteousness, being guided by God’s law, has both a preservative and a restorative effect on us—the sheep of His pasture.
Let’s look at another biblical example. In the Song of Moses, the celebratory hymn that the Israelites sang after God rescued them from the Egyptians, we see God depicted as leading like a good shepherd: “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them. You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation” (Exodus 15:11–13). What was God intending to lead them to? The Promised Land—abundant food, water, rest, and peace. “You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established” (v. 17).
A shepherd guides with his voice, and his sheep know that sound well. Psalm 95 brings this out, while also reminding us that those who are rebellious of heart don’t ever arrive at the green pastures or the still waters:
He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’” (vv. 7–11).
One commentary has this to say about hearing the Shepherd’s voice: “‘To hear his most holy word’ is presented here as one of the prime acts of worship. And ‘hear,’ or hearken to, has often the added dimension in Hebrew of ‘obey,’ for which the Old Testament has virtually no other word…. So the worshipper singing this psalm is reminded to ask himself how he hears — will it be obediently? — and for whose voice he listens” (Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: A Commentary on Books III–V of the Psalms).
Jesus Christ, as the good Shepherd, knows the terrain. He knows where the food, pasture, and waters are. He knows how to navigate past difficulties—past paths that you don’t want to be going down—and He keeps the sheep safe by guiding them on paths to safe pastures with abundant water.
A Shepherd Protects
Shepherds had a tough job. Jacob, when he had finally had enough of Laban, said, “There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes” (Genesis 31:40). Shepherds had to live with the sheep for as long as they were in the pastureland, and they had to be vigilant, because there were many predators looking to take the sheep.
David proclaimed, “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” (Psalm 23:4). Even in the darkest of circumstances, we still trust that the Shepherd will take care of us. Even in death, there is the hope of the resurrection. The Shepherd is always faithful, and the Shepherd is always there. “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:9–11).
The shepherd had two primary instruments he could use to protect his sheep from danger: a rod and a staff. These were very different implements with different purposes, though both were used to care for and protect the sheep.
The rod is primarily a symbol of protection and authority—shepherds used the rod to fend off predators and to protect the sheep from harm. They could also use it to keep the sheep obedient and keep them from wandering into dangerous areas. A modern word for it might be club. In the biblical context, the rod represents God’s protection. It assures us that, as long as we believe God is there, He will defend us and ensure our safety. In the book of Revelation, Christ is depicted three times as having a rod of iron, which He uses to correct and to rule.
The staff is much longer than the rod, and it is used to guide and support the sheep. Shepherds would use the staff to nudge the sheep gently in the right direction—it often had a hook at one end that could be used to lift a sheep out of a difficult spot. As we walk the paths of righteousness, even though we have God’s commandments and we’re doing our best to follow them, we’re still human beings, and God has to nudge us back onto the path from time to time. The shepherd has His staff to do that.
The rod symbolizes protection and discipline, and the staff symbolizes guidance and support. Together, they give a complete sense of care and protection for the flock.
The Shepherd’s Sheepfold
Another way the shepherd protected his sheep, especially in the evening, was by keeping them in a sheepfold. A sheepfold, in ancient times, was often low walls of stacked stones—a narrow door allowed the sheep to pass into this sheepfold, where they would be protected for the night. Often, the shepherd would actually lie across the door so that no predator could come in except by climbing over the walls.
Jesus Christ, as the good Shepherd, spoke about His sheepfold:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”… Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know 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 will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:1–3, 7–16).
Christ, as the good Shepherd, truly laid down His life for His sheep. A door keeping the sheep safely in the sheepfold and keeping thieves out is an excellent metaphor for Christ, who keeps His flock safe. There are many things that attack the flock that is the Church of God, and Christ is always the good Shepherd, ever vigilant—He never grows tired, and He never sleeps. He’s always there looking out for His sheep.
A Shepherd Heals
As the psalm continues, we read, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” (v. 5). There are many references to anointing with oil, and one with which we are quite familiar is anointing for healing.
One of the ways that shepherds took care of their sheep was by “passing them under the rod.” The most common way they did this began with them standing in the doorway of the sheepfold. As the sheep went through the doorway, the shepherd would hold the rod just high enough for the sheep to be able to wriggle under it with effort. The purpose of this was to slow the sheep down, allowing the shepherd to inspect their physical condition as they went under the rod—a practice known as “rodding.”
Even today, shepherds must regularly check the condition of their sheep, which still get scraped up, get bruised, or eat things they shouldn’t. Shepherds bandage sheep where they are hurt and may spray wounded areas with antibiotics. Sheep still get hurt, predators still try to take them, and shepherds have to give each one care according to its needs.
Even after the events of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, when God begins to regather the remnant of Israel back to the Promised Land, He’s still going to meet with them and inspect their condition—both physically and, even more importantly, spiritually. There are still going to be rebels among the people, and those will not be allowed to enter the land of Israel:
“As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord God. “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 20:33–38).
The Bible likens the House of Israel to lost sheep, and Luke 15 reveals that God devotes His time and effort to reclaiming even one missing sheep out of a hundred. We see that God will treat and heal the Israelites who come through the Second Exodus. One way will be by inspecting them—their physical and spiritual condition—but another way will be by bringing them back into the bond of the covenant through a purge of the rebellious among them. That covenant comprises God’s laws, statutes, and judgments. Those are the paths of righteousness, and He will lovingly and tenderly put His sheep back onto those paths.
Care for All of His Flock
Jeremiah gives us another description of the Second Exodus from the perspective of the good Shepherd: “I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking” (Jeremiah 23:3–4). That by itself is almost a summary of Psalm 23.
“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS’” (Jeremiah 23:5–6). Again, the paths the shepherd leads the flock along are paths of righteousness. The Branch that God will establish, identified as David’s righteous descendant, is Jesus Christ, who will reign over all. Under His authority, we will serve as righteous shepherds.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the Lord (Jeremiah 33:12–13).
A shepherd cares for every need of his flock. As part of that care, he evaluates the condition of the sheep and treats their injuries and ailments. What about all the sheep who rebelled in the past? The concept of healing extends to the idea of being resurrected back to life. As the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones shows (Ezekiel 37:1–14), the faithful Shepherd of Israel is there to care for the resurrected people and put them on the paths of righteousness as well. Christ as our Shepherd goes beyond even the most advanced medical care, even resurrecting the dead back to life. If Jesus Christ were not the righteous, faithful, and true Shepherd that He is, the dead would have no hope. But He acts for His name’s sake, to show the rest of the world that He is faithful to Israel despite its rebellion.
Jesus Christ, in His role as the good Shepherd and Chief Priest, looks over each of us in a very personal way. He guides us in the paths of righteousness with His commandments, statutes, judgments, and ministry. He uses His staff to nudge us back onto the safe paths. He vigilantly protects us within His sheepfold, and He examines us individually with great care, evaluating us as we pass under His rod. He restores our soul as we walk the paths of righteousness, and He will heal even those who have already died.
Hebrews 13 reveals that “the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant” makes us “complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever” (vv. 20–21). And Jesus Christ does all this because He is the good Shepherd and He loves His sheep.