As I read Psalm 23 this morning I stopped at verse one and wondered, what beyond David’s experience as a shepherd led him to call the Lord his Shepherd? Was there some reference in the Torah that gave him encouragement to do this?
As I’ve heard the phrase, “law of first mention” many times, I simply went to the internet to request the first time God is referred to as a Shepherd.
In Genesis 48, Jacob is at the end of his life. A notable life, full of victories, and defeats. Jacob had lived so many stories, run from his consequences, deceived people, and been deceived by people. His successes were often prefaced by mistakes and consequences, and his sorrows often came to him undeserved. At this point in his life he has suffered the death of his wives, the loss and recovery of his favorite son Joseph, and has placed his hands upon two of his grandsons to bless them. He is old, and he is weary, but he is full of clarity as he crosses his arms to intentionally place his right hand of blessing upon the younger of the two.
“… ‘The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.’” (Genesis 48:15-16)
“The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day.” Those words are succinct, but dramatic in the full story of what they represent. Every valley, every torrent, every mountaintop, every acquisition, dreams, loneliness, waking up to the wrong wife, working fourteen years for love, wrestling with God, fear of a brother’s resentment and finding forgiveness, the infertility of his soulmate, the births and deaths that changed his course and his perspective were all overseen by a shepherd. His shepherd.
Not only does Jacob claim God to be a shepherd, he recognizes the simplest security of belonging.
As does David. Generations later, David begins, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and plays out in six sentences, a synopsis of a life. We could apply every phrase to his ancestor Jacob, who first claimed this sweet belonging to our Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20). David ends this Psalm with another similar phrase to Jacob’s “all my life to this day” phrasing: “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,” (verse 6).
I find it remarkable that in such a short phrase, so much is conveyed.
Blessing is marked by this; He is my Shepherd, all my life.
Possibly the most relatable of Scriptures, Psalm 23 reminds us all that our days are fraught with what goes against our plans, and yet beautifully rendered in blessing, as a table spread out with unexpected delights. A place of perfection is prepared for us. We are each being led to find our greatest joy in dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.