May the reader enjoy this deep dive into one of the most beloved and well-known Psalms, “The Lord is My Shepherd,” Psalm 23.
Psalm 23 Mizmor l’David (a psalm of David)
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
“Adonai” ro-ee, lo echsar.
Adonai is the verbal covering for the sacred name of God, יהוה, if one is bold enough to say it. Or one could simply say “Hashem” – The Name.
Ro-ee, when written in the letters above, means “my shepherd.” When one reads about the Shepherd, the word for shepherd, “ra’ah” רעה, evokes the loving care and tending of the Good Shepherd, Jesus, who lays His life down for the sheep. The Good Shepherd rules over us with loving authority, full of compassion and mercy.
However, I noticed that when one says this word aloud, another word comes to mind. In Genesis 16:13-14, Hagar has an encounter with God in the wilderness, and she calls Him “El-Ro-ee”, the God who Sees me. In this encounter, ro-ee is spelled רֳאִ֑י , with an “aleph” instead of an “ayin.” Both of these words come from the root Ra’ah, ראה, to see. Truly the Shepherd of our souls is always watching us, He never sleeps nor slumbers. He sees us in our pain, in our distress, in our catastrophe, He knows our needs and he meets them, although we don’t always see it that way. He sees what we do not. Because He is the Good Shepherd, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, we lack nothing.
Hagar had wanted to escape a stressful trial, but sometimes what we want is not what we need. She met El Ro-ee in the wilderness, Who told her to return to the situation she had fled from. She obeyed, returned to her trial, and in the end was granted the freedom she had desired, with the benefits of a son and a blessing. God’s way was harder but far more rewarding. He saw what she needed, and He provided continually.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
Binot deshe yarbitseni
He makes us to lie down in green pastures because the God who keeps Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8).”
The LORD has a pasture for us, a habitation, a place where we are safe under His watchful eye. It is not wise to remove ourselves from His pasture! Why would we seek any other pasture when all that we need is in Him?
When we lie down in His pasture, we rest. Rest is a commandment! He designed us to rest, He did not design us to live in stress or anxiety continually. The Word of God gives us a balance: we are not to be lazy (study Proverbs!), but we are also not to depend on our own non-stop continuous labor. We are also not to make others to labor for us when they are supposed to be resting (Deuteronomy 5:14). On the seventh day God rested from His labors, and so should we. When we rest together as a flock, we strengthen ourselves in His presence. Forsake not the gathering together one to another (Hebrews 10:25).
When we lie down to rest by in his pasture, “yarbitseni” is a form of “rabats” רבץ, to lie down, rest, or crouch. It evokes the image of a person or animal who is at rest, but is also ready, in position to leap up and move at a moment’s notice. As such, we must always be ready to move and obey when the LORD calls.
He leads me beside still waters
Al mei-menuchot yenahaleni
He leads us beside still waters, living waters, where we will drink and never be thirsty again, where we will draw water from the well of salvation, and out of our bellies these waters will flow, so that we can be a blessing to those around me even in times of trouble.
The still waters are described with the word “menuchah” מנוחה, resting place or tranquility. Again, rest is highlighted here, not just a stop for a rest, but permanent rest, a life free of anxiety of any kind. This rest is something only God can provide, and His rest is peace and joy. The same word is used by Naomi when she prays that her daughters-in-law “find rest in the house of your husband” (Ruth 1:9). This same rest will be ours when we become joined with Christ as His Bride.
He restores my soul
Nafshi yeshovev
HE Restores my soul through the process of repentance and returning to Him. After every step astray He restores me to Him out of the goodness and mercy in his heart for me.
SHUV שוב …Return, turn back, restore, REPENT! Such a small word with so much meaning and significance. We are given the opportunity for a second chance, to repent of our wrong-doing and be restored unto God. When we make the mistake of leaving that green pasture and still water, all we have to do is turn around and admit our mistake, and The Lord is there, waiting to cover us in His Blood again.
Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38), the Seal of Redemption (Ephesians 4:30)!
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake
Yancheni be-magalei tzedeq le-ma’an shmo
He leads us in paths of righteousness because He has called us by His Name, we are His and He is ours. Therefore we submit to His leading, we submit to His direction, we submit to His headship. He knows where He’s taking us and it’s for the sake of His Name and His righteousness. We wear His righteousness as a breastplate (Eph 6:14), not my righteousness but HIS, for HE wore His righteousness as a breastplate (Isaiah 59:17). Jesus, the name above all names, there is no other name by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Gam ki helek b’geit tzel mavet lo ira ra ki ata imadi
There is a valley of the shadow of death where I know I must walk but I will not fear it, I will go through it and not around it, because the LORD is with me. If He be for us, who can be against (Romans 8:31)? The LORD does not give us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). That means the only fear permitted here is the Fear of the LORD, which is a healthy awe, all other fear must flee. God does not operate in fear, he operates in faith, so I will trust and fear not. These words become my battle cry, “Yeah 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
Shiftecha u mishantecha hema yanachamuni
The rod and the staff of the LORD comfort me. His correction, His reproof, and His redirection do not condemn us, they convict us and comfort us. We have hope, we have peace, we have purpose, we have worth, because He is our shepherd. It is because of His great love for us that He directs us and corrects us. Hebrews 12:5-7 says,
“5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?”
You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies
Ta’arok lefanai Shulchan neged tsorarai
He prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemy, and the enemy of my soul is confounded. Shulchan שלחןis the word used here for table, and this word is connected to Shalach שלח , “Be Sent.” It is from His table that we are sent forth to do His will. When He sets His table, it is not just with food and drink…ta’arok is a form of arak ערך, to arrange or set in order, including setting the battle in array. On the table is refreshment, instruction, and all the weapons of our warfare laid out for us to use. And the weapons of our warfare are mighty through God, to be used to tear down strongholds, cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). When we eat at His table, when we commune at His table, when we receive instruction at His table, we are prepared for battle. We come to His table to receive the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Rhema Word of God (Eph 6:17), and to be sent forth to wield it.
You anoint my head with oil
Dishanta v’shemen roshi
He anoints my head with oil, the oil of gladness, for in His presence there is fullness of joy. This word for anoint, Dashen, is not the same as Mashach, the word used when anointing kings or priests. Dashen implies fatness, fullness, prosperous. Consider the old custom of the shepherd, who would anoint the sheep’s head with oil as a healing balm and protection from insects. Dashen implies satisfaction, prosperity, and fulness. This word is also used to describe the removal of the ashes from the altar after a sacrifice. When I consider that meaning, “Take away the ashes”…does not the LORD grant us beauty for ashes? When we figuratively offer our pain and sacrifice to the LORD as a sweet smelling savor, and He burns it up and then removes the ashes, we are restored.
My cup runneth over
Kosi revaya
Whatever the enemy had planned for us is reversed for us because our cup is running over. My God shall provide all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). The wonderful problem of the overflowing cup is that the contents pour out on everything and everyone. When we are blessed, we are not to hoard our blessings (Proverbs 11:26), but use them to bless others. Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again (Luke 6:38).”
Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life
Ach tov v’chesed yirdefuni kol yemai chaiyai
His goodness and mercy are following us all our days, so turn around and receive them! Shuv…turn around to see His goodness and His mercy! The words that were spoken against us by our enemies will fall to the ground, but His words will never pass away! “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). His Word will pursue us until it prospers! Believe not the lies of the enemy or the doubts of the faint of heart; instead have faith in the LORD. Trust Him, for His loving kindness endures forever.
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever
V’shavti beveit Adonai l’orech yamim
The delights of this world are nothing, we are strangers and sojourners here. We are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. The house of my Father has many mansions and one of them is reserved for me (John 14:2). Eye has not seen nor has ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). There are several ways to express “forever” or “eternity” in the Bible…l’orech yamim לארך ימטם expresses “for the longevity of days.” Know you not that you are a temple of the Holy Ghost? Not only will we dwell in the House of the LORD…we are the House of the LORD!