Psalm 23: just let God lead the way
How can anyone not love Psalm 23? It’s one of the best known psalms, and it’s not hard to see why! It’s music to my ears! The best-loved verse is 4, of course: “Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side.” (NJB) It does sound better in the KJV though: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me”.
There’s always been something I wasn’t quite sure about in this psalm, and it’s also in verse 4: “Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me,” says the NJB. In the KJV, it is: “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” At first reading, you think, is this shepherd carrying two instruments, a rod and a staff? That doesn’t make sense. After all, shepherds only carry one, and they’re always depicted as carrying one. It wouldn’t make sense to carry two. But then, if you look in the dictionary for the word crook, it says it’s “the hooked staff of a shepherd, or a bend in something.” So there we have it, it IS one staff, with a crook, or bend in it.
But why is it mentioned twice? Since it’s a single instrument, it must be because there are two uses for the thing, each unique, right? What could they be? Well, have you ever seen someone pulled off stage in the older movies or cartoons? How is it done? It’s with the crook of a staff, isn’t it? Now if you had a shepherd’s staff, would you defend yourself with the crooked part, that could be easily grabbed and yanked out of your hands, or with the straight part, or the rod? Why, you’d choose the rod, of course! So you see, there are the two uses!
But this begs the question, how can both “comfort me” or “soothe me”? I can’t remember the last time I was soothed by a rod. Why, the Bible itself says, “spare not the rod” when it comes to a child’s upbringing. It’s there in the Proverbs somewhere, my parents always pointed it out to me. How would a shepherd use both ends? Logically speaking, I assume he’d use the crook to pull sheep into the fold, or stray lambs back to the herd. And he’d use the rod to fend off predators or thieves, or, sometimes, to prod stubborn sheep to move along. To me, if I think about it, it is comforting to know God will use both the crook and the staff to make sure I stay safe. I am like a sheep, in many ways. I cannot see the big picture like God can. I need to be pulled into the fold when I’d rather stay outside, foolishly, like a sullen little boy. And I need a swift kick in the rear when I’m lagging behind, easy prey for the wolf. And I need to know my shepherd carries a big staff, so he can whack those predators on their heads when they come for me. It’s comforting after all! 
March 8th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Thank you and God bless you!