Green Pastures and Still Waters

Psalms 23:2

Our Good Shepherd promises to provide for all of our needs in placing the sheep at rest in green pastures and leading us beside still waters. God has always desired to place His people in a place of rest, both now and forever. Look at His promise through the Prophet Ezekiel:

“I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away.” (Ezekiel 34:14-16)

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures” shows that the sheep have been convinced that it is safe to lie down. Without a faithful shepherd, the sheep can never relax enough to lie down; for fear that the predator will take them. Jesus promises to give His life for the sheep if need be, so there is comfort in relaxing.

The Hebrew phrase here denotes ‘pastures of tender grass’, showing not only safety and security but ease of consumption. Our Lord loves to feed us, but He also loves to DO IT ALL! All we must do is take of the manna and eat it; there need be no effort on our part. See Jesus in the scriptures and do not grind His glory out of them. Some wrangle with passages until they have removed the loveliness of Jesus. Feast on His Word and it will fill your soul.

Another Hebrew phrase ‘waters of quietness’ is translated into English, “still waters”. Our Lord leads us to waters which we can easily drink from, without fear of being carried away on troubled waves. The ‘still waters’ are a type of the Holy Spirit, who Jesus calls the “Comforter”. He washes us over with gentle waves of love and forgiveness. Just as Jesus washed the dirt from the disciples’ feet, the Spirit in us speaks words of comfort into us to help our spirit to relax. The still water is an essential part of our dietary requirements, for as water is the life source to all living things, the Spirit is that life source to the believer.

Note the leadership of the shepherd in this verse. It is His job to find a place of rest for me and it is also His job to find fresh water. He has accomplished both in His Son at the cross. Christ hung His head and died so that I could find a place of rest with Him there. He gave His body and His blood so that I would always have to eat and drink. Our rest is in His rest and our food is in His body.

Look around today, and you will see your green pastures. They may come in segments; moments for you to revel in being His child. Listen for the gentle sounds of His still waters. They will refresh your soul. He placed them there just for you.

The Lord is My Shepherd

Psalms 23:1

When I was a kid I would often pretend to be a preacher. My father was a pastor so, as most boys do, I emulated his movements and his style. I used a clothes hamper for my pulpit and I opened my Bible and read a passage before shouting and yelling at a room full of imaginary people. I can’t tell you what all I preached or from what passages I read, but I do remember attempting to preach the 23rd Psalm once, and it has always stuck with me.

In my young mind I could not fathom why the writer of Psalms 23 would not want the Lord to be his shepherd. I was reading it as, “The Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want him”. I was making a simple mistake, assuming that the “shall not want” applied to the previous statement instead of coming as a result of it. Because the Lord is our shepherd, we never have a reason to want. What is so simple now caused me such confusion then. I am not sure why I remember that, but I do and I think I now know why I ever felt that way at all.

When you are a kid you never want for anything. That doesn’t mean that you never want anything, it just means that you never find yourself without the necessities of life. That is not universal of course, as there are children all over the world who want for the basic needs of life, but for the most part a kid need never think of how the rent is going to be paid or whether or not there will be dinner on the table at night.

If you never face the wolves you may not understand how important the shepherd is. When you have been provided for and taken care of, it is a little difficult to appreciate the power of that protection and provision. As we grow up we are forced to do for ourselves what our parents or guardians always did for us before. Having faced a few wolves, fallen off of a few paths and stabbed by many thorns we find such rest and comfort in a good shepherd.

Jesus called Himself, “the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). He is so good because He gladly gave His life for all of us. The prayer of little children, “God is good, God is great” is an awesome testimony to who God is. God is good and He is great, and He shows us just how good and great when He shows us His finished work at Calvary.

David is the author of the 23rd Psalm and he knew a thing or two about being a good shepherd. He defended his father’s flock on the hillsides of Bethlehem, once killing a lion and another time stopping a bear that was trying to harm the sheep (1 Samuel 17:34-36). Actually, David said that both of these predators actually grabbed a sheep and David went and hunted the beast down, pulled the sheep from its mouth and then killed it. David was a good shepherd, but Jesus is even better. He will never even allow the lion and the bear to get to you!

Sheep need a shepherd because they are basically defenseless and totally dependent. Thank God that we have a shepherd who watches over our every move, always quick to defend us and who provides us with all things, so that we “shall not want”.

The Preventing God

Psalms 21:3

This verse takes on a new meaning when we can clear the hurdle that the word “prevent” causes. We see “prevent” in a negative light, not a positive one, which causes us to see God as keeping us from the “blessings of goodness”.

In Hebrew, the phrase is “qadam” and it means “to come before, to anticipate”. In other words, it is something good if God is “preventing” because it means that God knows what is coming before it gets here and if He is preventing with the blessings of goodness then He is bringing us good things before we even know that we need them!

It is now, and always has been, God’s heart to function in this ‘preventing’ manner. Like the Father, standing at the end of the lane, watching for the return of the Prodigal, antsy to kill the fatted calf, God is waiting to do great things in our life.

“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24).

This promise is a promise of victory before we even face the battle. When we rest in this sort of promise we have joy unspeakable and peace that passes all understanding. These emotions will spring not from our circumstances but from our knowledge of the Lord’s preventing love and goodness.

Notice that David not only mentions that God prevents with the blessings of goodness but that He also puts a crown of pure gold upon his head. The crown is a symbol of royalty and victory. So confident is David that God is going to make good things happen to him that he believes for the victor’s crown before the battle is waged.

David had this attitude when he faced the giant Goliath. He never claimed that he was going to kill Goliath with his superior sling-shot skills, but rather that the LORD was going to deliver the giant into David’s hand to prove that “the LORD saveth not with sword and spear:” (1 Samuel 17:47). David was bragging of the victory before it ever came because knew that he served a covenant God.

Lay hold of this promise today that the Lord is going to “prevent” with blessings of goodness. Place your trust and confidence in His ability to provide the victory in the face of defeat and then prepare yourself for the miracle of God’s prevention.

Jesus Had to Rise

Psalms 16:10

This prayer of David is a Messianic prophecy, meaning that it is speaking of the Messiah, who we know to be Jesus. This prayer is being offered by David, but it is a double reference to how Jesus would be dealt with by His Father. From this verse we gather that Jesus descended into the heart of the earth sometime between His death on the cross and His resurrection. This place in the earth is referred to as hell, but not all of it is full of torture and flames.

Jesus spoke of hell as having two compartments. One side was a place of torment where unbelievers were confined to flames of woe. The other side was called Abraham’s bosom, and it was a place of rest and peace for the souls of those who had died in the faith. Jesus shares this information with us in His story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).

Psalm 16:10 says nothing of Jesus suffering in hell’s flames. The latter part of the verse says that the Lord will not allow His Holy One to see corruption, meaning that God would not allow Jesus’ body to lay in the grave long enough to rot. Both of these prophesies came to pass as Jesus resurrected after only three days in the tomb and the New Testament gives us insight into what Jesus was doing during His trip into hell.

The Apostle Paul spoke of every believer as having received grace “according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Ephesians 4:7). This categorizes grace as a free gift coming because of the work of Jesus, and that it was offered in a specific manner.

“Wherefore he saith, ‘When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.’” (Ephesians 4:8)

We see Jesus ascending to heaven and leading “captivity captive” before giving us the gift of grace, among other gifts. Then Paul explains who the captive are in the next verse:

“(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (Ephesians 4:9, 10)

Christ’s arrival in heaven caused Him to “fill all things”. He arrived with a captive group of captives, which He got when He descended first into hell. In Abraham’s bosom were the souls of all that died in the faith prior to the cross. They were not allowed access to heaven because the blood of Jesus Christ had not yet taken away their sins. The blood of bulls and goats could only cover sins, but it would take the perfect sacrifice to remove them. Jesus took the captives, as well as His blood back to the tabernacle of heaven and offered it upon the mercy seat.

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:11, 12)

Christ did all of this and then rose from the dead. His resurrection was God’s stamp of approval on all that He had just accomplished. He had to raise, to show you and me that we can live also!

The Angry God is Angry No More

Psalms 7:11

The Puritan preacher Jonathan Edward’s once preached a sermon that has since become legendary, both in its title and in the stories of conviction that resulted from it. ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’ holds a place among the most famous services ever delivered. Legend has it that grown men clutched to the pillars that held up the balcony for fear that they were going to fall into the pits of hell when Edward’s gave his invitation. More romance has been added to the story as it is told of how Edward’s was so nervous that he held the written transcript of the sermon in front of his face and read it word for word, but the anointing on it was supposedly so powerful that it didn’t matter about the delivery.

I don’t know how much of the story is true, other than he actually preached the sermon. I do know that fear of an angry God has led countless people to an altar of repentance. It has also caused men and women to try and change their lives and their lifestyles. I am further sure however, that no sermon on the power of an angry God has ever empowered a single listener to live in a way that would assuage the anger of that God. No sermon on the wrath of God and the subsequent flames of hellfire and damnation can ever move or motivate a person to live righteously, as all of our righteousness’ are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

The great cosmic war between God and the sins of man has already been waged and has already been won. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). In the sacrifice of the Lamb, Christ Jesus, the war with sin was won. It is for this cause that Jesus could hang His head and die after having declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

God was certainly angry at sin, beginning at Mt. Sinai and continuing onward to the cross. Isaiah said, “It pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin…He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:10, 11). God was pleased to crucify His Son at Calvary because in sacrificing Jesus, He was satisfying His anger toward the sin of man. The suffering Savior truly satisfied the offended Father.

Read all Old Testament scripture within the context and timeframe that they were written. When the Psalmist wrote Psalms 7:11, God was dealing with man under the Old Covenant and His anger was mounting towards man’s disobedience. He was ready to “whet his sword” (Psalms 7:12) and use it against all of us, but then Jesus came and fulfilled all of the demands of the law and voluntarily laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of the world. With His anger plunged into the heart of His Son, God was propitiated, or satisfied and we no longer have to see Him as “angry with the wicked every day” (7:11).

God is not mad at you. He is not even perturbed. When He looks at you He sees Jesus and He is well pleased. Live your life today as a Son, not a servant. The power to do righteous is found in knowing that you are righteous because of Jesus.

A New Covenant Miracle in an Old Covenant Story

2 Kings 2:19-22

The first miracle that Elisha performed, after the translation of his teacher Elijah into heaven in a chariot of fire, was to part the waters of the Jordan. His second miracle dealt with water as well; this time in healing it so that it would support crops. In many ways, Elijah is a type of John the Baptist, while Elisha is a type of Jesus. As Elijah went before Elisha, so did John before Jesus. As Elijah’s work brought glory to God, Elisha’s brought glory both to God and life to the people. The ministries of John and Jesus mirrored this example.

When Elisha comes to Jericho everything is good with the city and its citizens, but they have water that will not support the growth of crops, thus the farming industry is about to face a serious shortage. Elisha requests a “new cruse” or a ‘new pot’ with salt in it. He takes the new pot with salt in it to the spring of the waters and “cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land” (2 Kings 2:21).

The “new cruse” is a type of the New Covenant, as proved by the statement of Jesus:

“No man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.” (Luke 5:37, 38)

The New Covenant cannot be placed within the bottle or the mentality of the Old Covenant. Actually, if you try to place the grace and mercy of the New Covenant within the law and works of the Old Covenant you will burst the Old while spilling the New. Man tries to ‘balance’ the two, but God just calls it ‘mixture’.

Stored within the “new cruse” of Elisha is “salt”. Christ calls the church the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) and asks how the world can be salted if we have lost our flavor. While salt causes thirst, it also holds medicinal value. The application of salt brings healing, and Jesus’ inclusion of us as salt shows that there is healing within the message of God’s goodness and grace and we have a responsibility to share that with all of the Jericho’s that we encounter.

Nestled into this Old Covenant story is a beautiful New Covenant truth. When there is barrenness and death in our lives, the healing salts of the New Covenant will enter to bring healing and wholeness. Paul called the gospel of Jesus Christ “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). Salvation is “soteria” in Greek, meaning “deliverance, preservation and wholeness”. The waters of our soul are restored by the finished work of Christ at the cross. He is our salt and the New Covenant is His “new cruse”.

Apply the goodness and grace of God to your situation today and watch the land of your soul flourish with His salvation.

Bringing Jesus’ Finished Work Back Into Focus

1 Kings 12:26-33

Jeroboam was a friend of King Solomon who was prophesied over that he would someday rule 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel because of the sin of the nation. God was planning on removing the throne from the family of David temporarily to give to Jeroboam. When Solomon found out about this he sought to kill the young man, so Jeroboam fled to Egypt where he remained until the death of Solomon (1 Kings 11:40).

Solomon’s son, Rehoboam took the throne upon the death of his father and he alienated the people by threatening them with forced labor. This sparked a rebellion which brought Jeroboam out of hiding and into the throne over 10 of the 12 tribes. Only Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to king Rehoboam.

Rehoboam assembled an army of 180,000 troops to attempt to forcibly take the other 10 tribes back, but God spoke to him and told him not to start a civil war. Rehoboam obeyed and this act of nationalism brought a sense of pride to the people that Jeroboam viewed as a great threat.

Jeroboam sensed that the renewed pride in Israel would cause them to return to the house of Solomon and overthrow him as their king. He recognized the power that was found in the people worshipping in Jerusalem when he said, “If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah” (1 Kings 12:27).

There was a sense of the power and the glory of God at the temple in Jerusalem. When you saw its beauty and its grandeur, you could not help but be overwhelmed. The sounds of the sacrificial lambs being offered; the smell of the flesh being consumed by the fire of God and the waving of incense by the ordained priests would cause you to recall the stories of Moses and Aaron and the glories of the house of David. Jeroboam knew that too much exposure to the presence of the Lord would cause Israel to leave him.

His plan involved making two golden calves and setting up altars to them. He placed one in Bethel and the other in Dan. The calves were not sins within themselves, but the people began to sacrifice to them and to worship them, thus sin was the result (1 Kings 12:30). He even copied the final Jewish feast day, the Feast of Tabernacles, which was held on October 15; he held his on November 15.

Jesus stood in the temple at Jerusalem on the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles and announced that if anyone was thirsty, they could come to him and drink the water of life freely (John 7:37, 38). Tabernacle’s was a feast that was both memorial and prophetic. It looked back on the redemption of Israel from Egyptian bondage and it looked forward to the dwelling of Israel as God’s chosen people over the whole earth. Removing this feast was a removal of the promise of God’s covenant. It was a dangerous breach against the “living water”.

Let nothing take your focus off of Jesus and His finished work. Satan will use this world to offer up other alternatives to your hope and your victory but only the powerful sacrificial work of Jesus at the cross provides your answer. Focus on what He has done for you, giving Him honor and glory for His miracle working power. The more you see His finished work, the more you bring Him back into focus, the more that it is finished in you!