“Knowledgable care”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, September 23, 2023
Psalm 23 (Forward, p. 56) CEV p. 568
Of late I have had reason to ‘tangle’ with certain health care authorities that had their own ‘reading’, their own assessment, of what a particular individual needed, and was capable of, without a truly informed or truly knowledgable understanding of what that person needed. They had done their assessment only under what can only be described as ‘unusual’ and out of the ordinary situations and then made their decisions based on that.
In describing God as his Good Shepherd, David takes pains to describe how God is not at all like that. He describes in some detail how God, as a shepherd, knows intimately exactly what a sheep needs:
a) The green grass (verse 2a): sheep need fresh green grass, and in desert regions like Palestine, this did not come by chance. It had to be either sought out or cultivated. Sheep are ruminants, cud-chewers, and so a time of rest, usually in the afternoon, is most
Important for them. And they will not rest if they are hungry.
harried by insect pests, bullied by other sheep or fearful of predators.
In each of these situations, the firm and steady hand of the shepherd
is enough to nip them in the bud.
b) The still or peaceful waters (verse 2b): sheep, like all animals, need access to sufficient water supplies, supplies that are free from vermin
and unpolluted. But it is also a fact of life that, thirsty as they may be,
they won’t go near rapids, streams whose waters are bubbling and frothy and tossed about. They are scared and intimidated by them and won’t drink from them, thirsty or not. The wise and good shepherd, like our God, knows that.
c) The right paths (verse 3b): sheep are notorious for going astray, for getting into trouble. Sometimes this comes from within, from their own desires (‘the grass is greener…), sometimes from their herd (‘the herd instinct’), and sometimes from an outside distraction like a desert storm or a predator. And, they will follow the same old path until it is worn down or graze the same old pasture, even if its grass is virtually decimated, unless directed otherwise by the shepherd.
d) The valleys (verse 4): with many sheep operations, there are spring and winter pastures, down at lower elevations, and summer pastures higher up, and careful and wise shepherding requires a studied and slow movement of the sheep from one to the other. Often the easiest
Route is via valleys that provide a more gradual incline to those summer feeding grounds. However, the valleys are not without their dangers, steep cliffs or drop-offs, rapidly flowing streams, knarly vegetation, fences or gates, or other kinds of competing animal life. Once again, the shepherd is the essential component for safely navigating these hazards.
e) The enemies (verse 5): it is said that domestic sheep have got to be one of the most defenseless creatures on earth, totally unlike their wild cousins. There are insect and invertebrate pests that harry or infest them, sheep rustlers, and predators galore. Once, when living in rural Alberta, I spotted a license plate holder sponsored by the Alberta Lamb Commission. It nicely summed up the vulnerability of sheep: “Eat lamb; 50,000 coyotes can’t all be wrong.”
In this psalm, David has nicely pegged the loving, knowledgable care of a shepherd towards his or her sheep, but also aptly describes our God’s care for us. God knows that we need to be nourished, physically and spiritually. God knows that we need rest and refreshment for our souls. God knows that we can easily go astray or be led astray and so need His loving and wise direction for our lives. And God knows that we are constantly faced with danger and with various things that put us at risk, situations where we desperately need the safety of His loving protection and guidance. So, here we have a God who, not only cares, but also knows exactly what we need—a truly knowledgable God--and furthermore, is able to provide it. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (verse 6).
“How might the ‘goodness and mercy’ of the Lord ‘follow’ someone day after day, as the psalmist says? This psalm begins with God as a shepherd and the psalmist as sheep. God is leading while the psalmist follows. The psalm ends with key characteristics of God, goodness and mercy, following the psalmist, who now seems to be in front.
“One way to visualize the verse is with God the shepherd guiding the psalmist by walking behind the sheep rather than ahead of them. I picture God’s goodness and mercy as guides in the psalmist’s life, illuminating life-giving paths. I can also envision this verse as a trail of goodness and mercy that the psalmist’s life creates as they follow the shepherd God. I picture God’s presence in the psalmist’s life leaving legacy-like traces of goodness and mercy that impact others’ lives.
“While these images differ, I also think they work together. God’s goodness and mercy in other people’s lives have guided me too, and I trust that God’s work in me today will impact people tomorrow.”
Moving Forward: “Is the shepherd leading you—or behind you? Or both?”
A concluding note or two: Sadly, today’s author, in seizing upon the word ‘follow’, has slipped into the error of taking the word only in its literal sense and not in the figurative sense as it is often used. We often speak of calamity, for instance, ‘following’ after some misdeed or miscalculation, and as punishment following or pursuing the wicked or the disobedient (see Psalm 83:15). And so our psalmist is speaking of consequences, not of our shepherd’s position in our lives. ‘Our’ Good Shepherd continues to lead us and guide us, rather than stand behind and drive us along willy-nilly.