By Ben McEachenThursday 26 Sep 2024PodcastsReading Time: 2 minutes
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 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 overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23 (NIV)
Key points
- We can easily take for granted what’s contained within the best-known psalm.
- If God is the shepherd, embodied in the goodness and love of Jesus, being part of the flock is admitting who we truly are and what we desperately need.
- Listen to the Names of God (Old Testament) series and others on Real Hope | The Podcast.
We can easily take for granted what’s contained within the best-known psalm.
You are totally across Psalm 23’s portrait of the God of everything as a personal comforter and protector.
But take a moment to stand back from familiarity and bask in the incredible glow of such intimacy and care.
I was able to do a brief podcast series on Psalm 23.
We can easily take for granted what’s contained within the best-known psalm.
Theologian and lecturer David Hohne shared about how the shepherd description of God points back to the roots of the psalm’s author (King David) and forward to ‘the Good Shepherd’ (Jesus).
Our modern, sanitised world can obscure the grit and danger of what it was to be a sheep saviour during biblical times.
So many constant threats, from predators to weather.
If God is the shepherd, embodied in the goodness and love of Jesus, being part of the flock is admitting who we truly are and what we desperately need.
The dependence of a sheep can be almost insulting when we apply it to ourselves.
But the inspiring promise of God’s guidance and might in Psalm 23 should stir us to embrace our ‘inner sheep’.
If God is the shepherd, embodied in the goodness and love of Jesus, being part of the flock is admitting who we truly are and what we desperately need.
Listen to this episode in the player above.
Names of God (Old Testament) is a seven-week series. God has many different names in the Bible. This Real Hope podcast and article series explores seven names which are found in the Old Testament: Jehovah-Rohi, Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Rapha, Jehovah-Nissi, Jehovah-Shalom, Jehovah-Tsidkenu and Jehovah-Shammah.
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Feature image: Photo by CanvaPro
Episode supplied with thanks to Ben McEachen.
Originally published as ‘Jehovah-Rohi: The Lord is My Shepherd’ in Real Hope, September-October 2024.