Listen to His voice calling out to you...

Psalm 23:5

Sunday, 22 April 2007

Psalm 23:5 indicates that Jesus Christ will not only supply whatever it is we need whenever we need it, but also feed us even in the midst of a threatening people and threatening circumstances:

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

It is true that the responsible shepherd is always on the lookout for new fields that can nourish his flock. But the good shepherd never sets the sheep loose in a new field without first looking it over carefully. The shepherd knows what the sheep don't: Not every inviting field is harmless. Charles W. Slemming wrote extensively about the work of shepherds in Palestine. He describes a shepherd examining a new field:

"The shepherd inspects the [new] field closely, walking up and down the field looking for grass that could poison the sheep. He also inspects the field for vipers. These tiny brown adders live under the ground, and they have a way of popping up out of their small holes and nipping the noses of the sheep. Their bite is poisonous, and sometimes the inflammation from their bite will kill the sheep.

The shepherd leaves the sheep outside any such infested field. Then he walks up and down the field until he finds the vipers' holes. He takes from his girdle a bottle of thick oil. Then, raking over any long grass with his staff, he pours a circle of oil at the top of every viper's hole he can find. As he leads the sheep into the field, he anoints the head of each sheep with the oil. When the vipers beneath the ground realise that the sheep are grazing above, they come out of their holes to do their deadly damage. But the oil keeps them from getting out. The smooth bodies of the vipers cannot pass over the slippery oil - and they are prisoners inside their own holes... literally, therefore, the sheep are allowed to graze in the presence of their enemies."

With that background in mind, the familiar words of Psalm 23:5 take on even greater significance:

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil.

(Excerpt taken from the book "Getting There" by Steve Farrar)

giving thanks at 15:17 :)