December 6, 2017

The Lord is my Shepherd

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want…”  Ps. 23:1

Jehovah Raah   is the LORD our Shepherd.  Identified in the 23^rd Psalm, because of our Shepherd, we shall not want.  The word “raah” means to pasture or to tend.  The shepherd tends his flock of sheep in a loving and caring way.  Throughout the Old Testament we find references to the shepherd:

Ø  Genesis 46:34; 48:15; 49:24

Ø  1 Chronicles 11:2; 17:8; and 2 Chronicles 18:16

Ø  Psalms 28:9; 49:14; 78:71; 80:1

Ø  Isaiah 40:11; 44:28

Ø  Jeremiah 17:16; 23:1-5; 31:10; 43:12; 49:19; 50:44; 51:23

Ø  Ezekiel 34:5;8;12;23; 37:24

Ø  Micah 5:4; 7:14

Ø  Zechariah 10:2; 11:15; 16; 17; 13:7

These references to the shepherd were a type, or foretelling of Christ, our Chief Shepherd. We are His sheep, desperate for His care, protection and for His voice.  The prophet Jeremiah devoted more attention to the sheep and the shepherd than found in any other book in the Bible.  In John 10 we find Jesus speaking to the Pharisees: “…I am the door of the sheep.”  This is one of the seven I AM sayings found only in the gospel of John.  We recall the covenant name Jehovah means I AM, fulfilled in seven (perfection) expressions of identity and of redemption.