The Good Shepherd
One of the most iconic names for God is the Good Shepherd. This reference is found in several places in the Bible, but is most often associated with Psalm 23.
However, before we look at how God is our Good Shepherd, we must be reminded of the fact that if God is the Good Shepherd, then we must necessarily be sheep. When I teach the children in Children’s Church Psalm 23, I try to emphasize this notion by giving them numerous facts about sheep, most of which do not show sheep in the best light. In fact, my favorite “sheep fact” is that, after sheep are sheared, they cannot recognize their former family members and friends! The kids always find this funny, and I do too, but it emphasizes the idea that sheep are not very bright. They can’t take care of themselves. They have no defences against predators and cannot even find their own food. The lesson here is: this is how God sees us, this is what we truly are—defenceless, rather stupid, incompetent sheep. Oh, how we need a shepherd to take care of us! We could never make it on our own!
And the beauty of Psalm 23 is that it lays out, piece by piece, the duties and responsibilities of our Good Shepherd, just like in a simple job description. Let’s go verse by verse to see how God fulfills his role as our Good Shepherd:
v. 1: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
This verse describes how God takes care of all of our basic needs. We will never want for anything because our Good Shepherd provides for us.
v. 2: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters.”
This verse is also often used to describe the basic provision of our God but I like to look a little deeper here and see that our Good Shepherd also wants us to be happy. I reference how much my husband just loves a good nap and how happy that makes him. When I envision the sheep “lying down in green pastures,” I always see my husband’s contented face when its nap time! Our God doesn’t just stop at the basics, he goes above and beyond to make us happy.
v. 3(a): “He restores my soul.”
We could fill volumes about what this verse means in the context of God as our shepherd, but suffice it to say, He isn’t just some ordinary shepherd! Not at all, we move from the realm of the physical in verses 1 and 2 to the spiritual in verse 3. There is only one shepherd who is concerned about the souls of his sheep and that is our amazing God.
v. 3(b): “He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
The characteristic of the shepherd illustrated in this verse is leadership or guidance but it’s also a promise. As sheep, we can rely on the promise that our Good Shepherd always knows the right and proper way and will never lead us astray.
v. 4(a): “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me;”
This verse demonstrates the faithfulness of God. No matter how difficult the times or circumstances become, our Good Shepherd will stick with us. Hebrews 13:5 affirms this: “Never will I leave; never will I forsake you.”
v. 4(b): “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
The rod and staff are two implements common to any shepherd. The rod is used to beat off predators and the staff, commonly a long thin stick with a crook, is used to rescue lost sheep. Now, having a crook slipped around your neck or midsection is not, for a sheep, very comfortable. But I love the idea that this verse says it “comforts me.” The reason for this is that we can be comforted to know that our Good Shepherd will always come looking for us, to rescue us, wherever, whenever, we get lost. Even if we get lost over and over again….it’s all our own fault! This is a very personal verse for me, as I struggle to reign in my own sinful, selfish predilections. I am forever amazed by my Good Shepherd’s love for me in coming to my rescue time and time again. We see this illustrated in Matthew 18: 12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?”
v. 5 (a): “You prepare a table before me and in the presence of my enemies.”
This verse reminds us of how our God, the Good Shepherd, provides abundance. Preparing a table for us is not just providing the bare minimum; No, preparing a table takes time and attention and lots of food! God wants to shower us with his abundance, not just physical gifts but spiritual abundance, as well.
v. 5(b): “You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.”
Anointing someone’s head with oil was a way of showing that they were set apart to do great things for God, that they were special. But I like to point out that our Good Shepherd isn’t just there for the anointing ceremony. He sticks with us, helping us to attain whatever incredible accomplishments he has set up for us to do.
v. 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.”
Here, at the end of the description of our Good Shepherd, I like to focus on two words: goodness and mercy. Goodness is a very broad word, chosen specifically by David when he wrote the 23rd Psalm to encapsulate all the characteristics of the Good Shepherd that were delineated in the five previous verses. But he adds the word mercy, because we will never be good enough to deserve all God’s goodness – remember, we are mere sheep! – except for his mercy. The mercy that sent Christ to the cross to die for us. Without that, the Good Shepherd would be completely out of our reach.
- By Lisa Denig, Children’s ministry leader at 1st Baptist Church in Brewster, NY
lisadenig@yahoo.com