Nisan 15
MY Shepherd
“יהוה is my shepherd …” (Ps 23:1)
Psalm 23 is
probably the most well-known Psalm
found in the pages of the Scriptures, yet for the most part, folks have no
inclination of the wealth found in the words of these verses. I have been reluctant to write anything
concerning this well-loved Psalm, as it seems there are whole BOOKS dedicated
to taking this Psalm apart. And yet, I
wanted to see for myself what it is all about.
“My” and “mine”
are words of possession, of ownership. When
I make a declaration of this nature (my
husband, my child, my home, and my Elohim), it reveals that I have chosen to identify with the
particular subject, in this case, it is YHWH our Elohim. I have chosen YHWH to be my Elohim, and I have
chosen to cleave to Him and His ways.
There is, however,
much more stated here. The Hebrew word
that is translated as “shepherd” is the word râ‛âh (Strong’s #H7462), and I very much enjoy the
interpretation given by Jeff Benner in his Ancient Hebrew Lexicon:
“The pictograph r is a picture of the head of a man, the o is a picture of the eye. Combined these mean "man watches".
The shepherd closely watched over his flock, often they are his only
companions.”[1]
What a
beautiful picture of our ABBA Father!
Our Creator is the one who “watches over us, as we are His companions.
Much of
the land in Wyoming is owned by the government (BLM, NFS, as well as state
agencies), and both cattle and sheep ranchers will lease sections of land to
pasture and feed their livestock on.
When I first arrived in the state of Wyoming (1973), it was not unusual
to see flocks of sheep numbering in the thousands, with several sheep-herders
(and their dogs) tending to them. It was
the responsibility of these sheep-herders to watch over the sheep, protect
them, care for them, and diligently provide for them adequate pastures and
water. And this was a full time, 24/7
job.
When I
choose to make the statement “יהוה
is my shepherd”, I am recognizing and accepting His care for me, a sheep. And I am placing my complete trust in Him, knowing that He will never leave
me, or abandon me (Deu 4:31; Heb 13:5).
AMEIN!
“I am the good
shepherd. And I know Mine, and Mine know Me …” (John 10:14 ISR)
©2018
[1]Ancient Hebrew
Lexicon of the Bible; Copyright ©
2006Ancient Hebrew Research Center Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible ISBN:
1589397762 Author: Jeff A. Benner
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