“Be ye not as your fathers”

Zechariah

Chapter One

“Be ye not as your fathers”

          Zechariah (B.C. 520) speaks to the remnant community of Jews that had returned to rebuild the Temple foundations in Jerusalem sixteen years earlier in B.C. 536 recorded by Ezra.  Ezra, a Zadokean priest and prophet, came to Jerusalem with the second group of exiles to restore the Law and sacrifices in B.C. 459.  Nehemiah came to be the governor of the returning remnant in B.C. 446 and to oversee the Temple reconstruction.  

These prophecies lay within the historical context of the battle against the constant barrage of worldliness engulfing and corrupting the children of Israel, even the faithful remnant.  God must continually raise up men to be His voice of revival and encouragement to the faithful remnant of each generation.  This is because each generation can grow apathetic and weary in well doing.  This drift is a historical constant that needs to constantly be addressed and corrected with every generation.  

The beginning of Zechariah’s prophecy is to the remnant that has essentially abandoned the rebuilding work for which purpose they returned.  Zechariah begins with a reminder of why they had been in captivity in the first place.  Then he gives a predominant message to this remnant.  Zechariah speaks as the voice of God (Zechariah 1:3-6).  This is a reminder to us of how easily we can slip into apathy and lethargy in the struggle for the things of God.  We can easily forget the importance of our own purity in sanctification and dedication to purpose. 

“¹ In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the {grand} son of Iddo the prophet, saying, ² The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers. ³ Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. ⁴ Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD. ⁵ Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? ⁶ But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold {overtake as in the sense of catching to capture} of your fathers? and they returned {turned back or away; i.e. repented} and said {public acknowledgement}, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us {they recognized and acknowledged that God was just in His dealings with them in the chastisement of their captivity}” (Zechariah 1:1-6). 

          “Be not as your fathers” (Zechariah 1:4) is a constant historical warning from God given to every new generation about the consistent failures of previous generations in the areas of doctrinal purity and practical sanctification.  Worldliness is really the constant erosion in the compromise of Biblical values and personal holiness to the place where the standard of Biblical normalcy is lost to a generation.  I Peter 4:7-19 to Church Age believers is a very similar message as Zechariah 1:1-6 is to the Jews as they come to the end of the Mosaic Covenant. 

When the standard of Biblical normalcy is lost to a generation, God must send a messenger to be His voice to restore that standard of Biblical normalcy to a remnant of people longing to hear from God.  These voices that speak “as the oracles of God” (I Peter 4:11) are often ignored, mocked, and usually greatly resisted by those who want to continue living in compromise.  Although there will be few voices to speak “as the oracles of God” (I Peter 4:11), there will be many voices for the ever-increasing compromising message of drift towards worldliness. 

“⁷ But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. ⁸ And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. ⁹ Use hospitality one to another without grudging. ¹⁰ As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. ¹¹ If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ¹² Beloved, think it not strange {unusual and unexpected} concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing {unusual and unexpected} happened unto you: ¹³ But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. ¹⁴ If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. ¹⁵ But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. ¹⁶ Yet if any man suffer as a Christian {which should be usual and expected}, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. ¹⁷ For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God {the redeemed}: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God {the Christ rejecting unredeemed}? ¹⁸ And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? ¹⁹ Wherefore let them that suffer {which should be usual and expected} according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (I Peter 4:7-19). 

          The statement, “But the end of all things is at hand” in I Peter 4:7 is the substance of most of the prophecies of the Bible.  These prophesies cannot be separated from God’s Abrahamic Covenant promises and establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven under the lineage of the Davidic throne of the promised Messiah Jesus.  Most of Daniel’s prophesies, Isaiah’s prophesies, Ezekiel’s prophecies, and Zechariah’s prophesies are about the restoration and salvation of the nation of Israel. 

          At the time of the writing of Peter’s first epistle, about twenty-seven years had passed since the beginning of the Church Age on the Day of Pentecost (Acts chapter two).  A new generation of Christians were coming into the ministries of the local churches around the world.  Most of the first generation of Christians had been martyred for their faithfulness to Christ.  Peter addresses what is essential in ministry if this next generation of Christians is going be faithful and produce another generation of faith Christians.  This is very similar to what is going on in the book of Zechariah.  I Peter 4:7-11 gives a spiritual recipe to avoid becoming a lukewarm local church.  In I Peter 4:7-11, we see several words that describe the overflow of the Spirit of God.  These words describe the manifestation of His indwelling power flowing through our lives.  There are seven ministry areas of the Christian life defined.  Each of these seven essentials is intimately and intricately connected to having a right working relationship with the Lord Jesus that are key to releasing His power through our lives in ministry to one another. 

1. Sobriety: from the word sophroneo (so-fron-eh’-o), meaning sound of mind or thinking.  Sound mindedness comes from thinking things through and taking into consideration all the Truths of God’s Word as they weigh upon any given subject or situation.  Sophroneo was a word that described a person who did not allow his mind to come under the influence of alcohol, which extends to any worldly influence.

2. Watch unto prayer: the word “watch” is from the word nepho (nay’-fo), meaning to abstain from wine drinking and connecting sobriety (right mindedness) with prayer (God-dependency) in power with God in all matters of life.  Contradistinctively, failure in nepho (abstaining from wine drinking or any similar worldly practice) would disconnect the believer from power with God.  Worldly desires manifest a weak mind (the opposite of a strong or sound mind).

3. Fervent charity: literally, unceasing sacrificial (parenting kind of) love for other true believers.  The idea is the willingness to make extreme sacrifices for one another, to help one another grow in grace, and to escape the shackles of our own selfishness.  The words “charity shall cover the multitude of sins” in I Peter 4:8 is a quote from Proverbs 10:12. “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.”  The idea is that love is not constantly stirring up the dunghill of a fellow Christian’s past failures that have been confessed and forgiven.  Forgiveness supernaturally begins to give historical distance to human failures and sins of those forgiven. 

4. Use Hospitality: from the word philoxenos (fil-ox’-en-os), it simply means being fond of guests.  Christians ought to enjoy the company of other Christians and “use hospitality” to encourage one another.  Notice this comes with the qualifier, “one to another without grudging” (grumbling or complaining about having to do it).  Remember, “God loveth a cheerful giver” (II Corinthians 9:7).  Hospitality is expensive in both money and in time.  If love does not cost us something, we have not loved. 

5. Minister “the gift:” “gift” is from charisma and “minister” is from diakoneo (dee-ak-on-eh’-o).  In other words, God did not give us the supernatural gift of spiritual enablement (grace) to consume upon ourselves.  He has gifted us with the intent we will use that “gift” and spread it as a resource to the widest possible scale of our influence “as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”  Notice, there is a stewardship involved.  Stewardship means we will be held accountable for this “manifold grace of God.”  This accountability defines the Dispensation (stewardship) of Grace.  Salvation is a gift of grace, but with it comes overwhelming spiritual responsibilities for which we are accountable to God.  God expects “fruit.”

6. Speech: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (I Peter 4:11).  The word “the” is not in the Greek text in front of the word “oracles.”  It should read, “Speak as oracles of God.”  The idea is the “thus sayeth the LORD” proclamation of the Old Testament prophets.  The idea is that you are not communicating some philosophical idea or some great thought from your own mind.  There is no option for debate or dissension when the words out of our mouths come forth “as oracles of God”.  Truth is to come forth from the mouth of the prophet of God, as if God is speaking Himself. Therefore, when you are speaking forth the Word of God, you are to do so with the authority of its Author. 

7. Ministry to the glory of God: “if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (I Peter 4:11b).  We often hear the word charismatic used to describe people who can attract large crowds.  They are like fly paper.  The fly was just looking for a place to land to get something to eat and then he found himself stuck.  This kind of farcical nonsense is not “ministry to the glory of God.”  If people are not part of a local church primarily because they love Truth, and because they are being taught the Truth, they are there for wrong reasons. 

The word “end” in I Peter 4:7 is from the Greek word telos (tel’-os).  This word refers to the point aimed at as a limit or the point of termination.  The Church Age Dispensation is the next to the last age of God’s longsuffering grace upon this fallen creation.  Then comes the “day of wrath” that Paul speaks of in Romans 2:5: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God . . .” This is the future horizon of which all Church Age believers must be constantly reminded.  We must keep this prophecy as part of today’s possible realities. 

“Be not as your fathers” (Zechariah 1:4)

          Why does God care about the nation of Israel and the people known as Jews?  Scripture clearly states that God is not a “respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34).  God cares about the nation of Israel because He made a promise to Abraham.  God must fulfil that promise or disgrace Himself before men.  The nation of Israel was unfaithful to God and refused to keep the covenant by which they agreed to live before God.  Numerous previous generations of Jews refused to keep the statutes and judgments of God.  

Every faithful Jew recognized and understood the failures of the Jewish “fathers.”  “Be not as your fathers” is a statement that presumes the faithful remnant understood and recognized the failures of their previous generations.  There is no debate going on with God about degrees of failure or definitions of failure.  God has spoken through chastisement and bringing Israel into captivity.  Therefore, the admonition and warning of the words “be not as your fathers” carries the potential for continued captivity and chastisement if this generation too lets things slip.  This is true of every generation of faithful believers. 

          Ezekiel, who begins to prophecy in B.C.595, seventy-five years before Zechariah, was taken into captivity shortly after of the deportation of Jews to Babylon.  Daniel was part of the first deportation.  Ezekiel 36:16-24 gives a detailed explanation of why Israel was taken in chastisement into captivity.  The text also explains why God will restore the nation of Israel even though they deserved what they received.  We must remember that there is extreme accountability to God when calling ourselves the children of God. 

“¹⁶ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, ¹⁷ Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. ¹⁸ Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: ¹⁹ And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. ²⁰ And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. ²¹ But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. ²² Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. ²³ And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. ²⁴ For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:16-24).

“Be not as your fathers” (Zechariah 1:4)

          These five words may form the saddest testimony in the Bible.  These five words are the testimony of God about the influence of generations of unfaithful men upon their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and on Ad Infinitum.  Generation after generation was infected with corruption and compromise by the spiritually impotent fathers.  These were men, if we dare give them the honor of calling them men, who lived for themselves and their own carnal desires.  They gave no concern to the fact they were giving their sons and daughters permission to live just like they lived.  Can we even imagine God having to step in to our family history and say to a generation, “Be not as your fathers”?  

          There have been too many sons to which it was necessary for me to utter these words, “Be not as your father.”  There have been times I would have liked to set down with the fathers of young men I have visited in prison or jail and just tell them off.  I would like to ask those fathers if they ever even thought of the model of manhood they were establishing for their sons.  I have done this on occasion.  However, I also know that selfish people seldom hear criticisms about their selfishness because they are basically cowards.  It takes courage to face failures and admit to the consequences those failures have caused.  These cowards live behind a mask of manhood.  They are despicable degenerates with no conscience of right and wrong.  They are so much in love with themselves they have no room for consideration of others; certainly not their wives or children.  They give lip service to love but live the life of selfishness.

  

          We have a whole generation of young girls growing up to live in a desperate search for love because they have never known the love of their fathers.  They will quickly drift into promiscuity confusing sex with affection and attention for love.  We have a whole generation of young men who are growing up without any model of what it means to take care of and support a family.  God says, “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (I Timothy 5:8).  Being a father is not the same as my baby’s daddy.  You will teach your children how to live by the way you live.  Fathers who live in obeisance to their own selfishness will sacrifice the lives of their children to the idols of their heart.  

          What were the failures to which God calls a new faithful generation to remember in the words, “Be not as your fathers”?  Most of these failures can be found in the Book of Judges.  They failures continue today within Christ professing homes.  These continuing failures fall into three categories.

1. Compromise - Failure to possess the Land of Promise (Judges 1:1-2:5)

2. Conflagration of values- Failure to maintain a godly heritage (Judges 2:6-10)

3. Confusion of beliefs - Failure to maintain purity of worship (Judges 2:11-13 and 16-19)

COMPROMISE: Failure to possess the Land of Promise (Judges 1:21-2:5)

“²¹ And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day. ²² And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them. ²³ And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.) ²⁴ And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy. ²⁵ And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family. ²⁶ And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day. ²⁷ Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. ²⁸ And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out. ²⁹ Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. ³⁰ Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries {they took them as slaves/servants seeing these people as a resource workforce}. ³¹ Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob: ³² But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out. ³³ Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them. ³⁴ And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley: ³⁵ But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries. ³⁶ And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward” (Judges 1:21-36; 8 out of 10 tribes are listed as failures).

          God sent “an angel of the Lord” to rebuke the children of Israel for their compromise and failure in complete obedience to His commands.  We notice in Judges 2:4 that the children of Israel felt bad about their failure and “wept” over God’s rebuke, but they did not repent.  They did not change.  They did not do what was right.  They refused complete obedience because they saw these people as a resource that could make their existence easier.  They justified something which God forbade.  They left the pagan idols still standing in their land to accommodate the heathen.  Understanding diversity of cultures does not justify condoning or placating the unscriptural practices of those cultures.  

“¹ And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. ² And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land {the pagans within the Promised Land had one of two choices; stay and be annihilated or leave the country altogether}; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? ³ Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. ⁴ And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept {as a promise of repentance and revival, but it was a mere deflection in defection}. ⁵ And they called the name of that place Bochim {weeping}: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD” (Judges 2:1-5).

Conflagration of Values: Failure to maintain a godly heritage (Judges 2:6-10)

         

“⁶ And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. ⁷ And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. ⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. ⁹ And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. ¹⁰ And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:6-10).

One generation after Joshua’s and the other elders of Joshua’s time period had died, remembrance of what God had done in the wilderness and His deliverance of the Promised Land into the hands of the children of Israel has been forgotten – ONE GENERATION!  God holds the fathers of that generation accountable for this overwhelming failure.  They did not teach their children.  “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalm 127:3).  These fathers failed in their primary role as fathers in their responsibility of raising their children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath {by being cruel and severe in dealing with children}: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition {nourish them with loving discipline and careful instruction} of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Confusion of Beliefs: Failure to maintain purity of worship (Judges 2:11-13 and 16-19)

“¹¹ And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: ¹² And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. ¹³ And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth” (Judges 2:11-13).

We worship what we give value or worth.  The worship of Baal took the form of extreme sexual licentiousness.  This was a sex/fertility cult.  Baal worship is what is described in Numbers chapter twenty-five when Baalim instructed the pagan king Balak to send out Moabite women to seduce the men of Israel.  God says, “the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab” (Numbers 25:1).  This brought God’s judgment on those that went in unto those women.  God slew twenty-four thousand Israelite men with a plague.  The priest Phinehas, son of the High Priest, stayed God’s wrath by entering a tent and killing a Jewish man involved in fornication with a Midianite woman by thrusting them both through the abdomen with a javelin.  This fornication in pagan worship in this sex/fertility cult is what God means in Judges 2:11 and 13 by the words they “served Baal.” 

“¹⁶ Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them {with corrupted false worship thereby plundering their blessings from God}. ¹⁷ And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. ¹⁸ And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. ¹⁹ And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way” (Judges 2:16-19).

          “Be not as your fathers” (Zechariah 1:4) is connected to some very specific failures.  God has been fighting against the corruption of marriage and human sexuality almost from the beginning of time.  We cannot separate this from God’s words in Zechariah 1:4 in the careful admonition to the returned faithful remnant after the captivity - “Be not as your fathers.”  

 
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Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at: http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/ 
Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist. 
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

The Shepherd’s Thanksgiving Hymn

The Shepherd’s Thanksgiving Hymn

         

There is evil in this world!  This evil does not always present itself with pointy horns and a forked tail.  In fact, evil is subtle.  Evil sneaks in the backdoor often disguised as family or friend.  Evil manipulates, cajoles, flatters, and smiles while it robs its victims of innocence.  Evil eats its victims alive in tiny bits at a time while anesthetizing them with moments of foolish, sinful, and worldly pleasures. 

          David was a shepherd.  He understood the many dangers and snares in world to sheep under his pastoral care.  He had to fight off the wolves, bears, and lions that sought to devour his sheep.  He had to watch his sheep, feed his sheep, and guard them against their own foolishness.  So, when David says “The Lord is MY Shepherd,” it was a significant pronouncement that came from an understanding of terminology few people possess. 

“¹ A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:1-6).

Evil is a major part of our existence “under the sun,” or under the curse of sin.  We cannot escape evil for it is a major part of our fallen nature.  Paul says, “I find then a law {a governing principle of life}, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me” (Romans 7:21).  The created being that God intended to have dominion over His creation was infected with evil by the Evil One.  Can we possibly understand the depth of the love of God for beings that are inherently evil and who oppose everything righteous and good by the very desires of our corrupted flesh?  Why would God love us?  Why would He become incarnate to die for the penalty of death that His righteousness necessitated upon our souls?  He loved us and died for our sin penalty “that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

David understood and experienced the power of evil that was present in his life.  In one moment of careless weakness, David succumbed to temptation and committed adultery with another man’s wife.  Then, to cover up his evil, he plotted and had that woman’s husband murdered.  Sometimes sin opens a door we can never close again and sometimes sin closes a door we can never open again.  David knew unequivocally that he needed God to shepherd his life.  What fools we are if we do not learn this truth!  David was truly thankful that Jehovah was the Shepherd of his soul. 

          A Psalm is a sacred song or poem used to reflect personal worship and appreciation of God.  A major aspect of a sacred hymn is that it iterates the works of God, the character and nature of God, and the mercy and grace of God.  The Shepherd’s Hymn was a song sung about the relationship between the Creator and His redeemed.  It is a beautiful and precious hymn because it is a beautiful and precious relationship.  Until we understand this beautiful and precious relationship, we will never understand the words of Jesus when He said, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).  Until we understand this beautiful and precious relationship, we will never be able to worship God and adore Him the way He deserves to be worshiped and adored. 

          David’s twenty-third psalm is a song of thanksgiving.  David knew by experience the unfulfilling emptiness sins promises.  Each phrase he utters is an expression of thanksgiving.  We would be wise to focus our attention upon each phrase for we too should be grateful for the intimacy of our relationship with our Redeemer. 

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want

          Jehovah is MY personal Shepherd.  He is watching over every minute detail of my life because He loves me and cares for me.  Secondly, because He is Jehovah, He is knows me personally and intimately.  He knows my needs.  He knows the dangers I will face today before I face them.  Because He is Jehovah, He is able to provide for me and protect me if I will allow Him to do so and follow His directions.  In the center of His will and while following His directions, I shall not lack for any need.  He will provide. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters

          David is not speaking of a herd of sheep in these verses, although God has many sheep.  He does not say us.  He says me.  He is speaking of a personal and intimate relationship with Jehovah.  Pastures of tender grass and waters of quietness are merely pleasant sounding poetic phrases to those who do not understand their significance.  Other than during the spring flood season, finding grass for sheep was a difficulty.  Doing so was often a dangerous venture.  Even when grass could be found, it was often dried and dying, with little nourishment left in it.  The expression “maketh me lie down in green pastures” reflects the restful assurance of spiritual blessings within the knowledge of the holy Scriptures.  Within the Scriptures, we can lie down in the quiet assurance in knowing God’s will in almost every manner of life.  What foolishness it is to famish in the wilderness of sin when the land that flows with milk and honey is readily available if we will but follow our Shepherd and read His holy Scriptures.  How can we know His pastures are made of tender grass if we never actually taste them?  David would speak of tasting and seeing the Lord’s goodness in Psalm thirty-four.  

“⁸ O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. ⁹ O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. ¹⁰ The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing” (Psalm 34:8-10).

When David speaks of Jehovah leading him beside still waters, he is speaking of the guiding direction of the Word of God.  Still waters are not rushing waters.  Rushing rapids provided great dangers to careless sheep which often were swept away downstream and drowned.  The still waters were calm pools.  These were safe places.  When believers follow the directions of God Word and stay on the pathways of righteousness, they will find themselves in places of safety and protection.  That does not mean there is not a roaring lion roaming around in the shadows trying to snag a drifting wanderer.  The point is: STAY CLOSE TO THE SHEPHERD!

He restoreth my soul

          The human soul is the essence of our being.  The soul is the combination of our knowledge, thoughts, emotions, and spirit.  The soul can grow weary and weak.  The soul can be discouraged and anxious.  The soul can be filled with doubt and worry.  When any of these things happen to a soul, that soul needs to be restored.  The Hebrew word translated “restoreth” means to be turned away from what is doing the damage and returned to faith in what makes the soul whole and wholesome.  The greatest weakness of the human soul is our ignorance of God and God’s will.  God delights in making the souls of sinners whole.  Eliphaz describes to Job the workings upon the human soul by the Great Physician:

“¹⁷ Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: ¹⁸ For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole” (Job 5:17-18).

          Rest in the calm assurance that there will be no spiritual surgery upon your soul if there is no need for it.  If God opened you up for spiritual surgery, you needed to be opened up.  However, the Great Physician is also the Great Healer.  Your soul will be better and stronger after God’s surgery.  He is the only Restorer of souls. 

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

          There is a presumption that those whose profess faith in God will follow Him and the directions He provides.  To profess faith in God and not follow the directions He provides is a contradiction of the profession – FALSE FAITH!  The point is that God is leading.  If you are following God’s leading, you are obeying the teachings of Scripture, which will be evident by your living on “the paths of righteousness.”  You will walk on the “paths of righteousness” to bring glory to God’s Name. 

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

          The context of this proclamation of faith in this verse is not about the moments just before we die.  The context is living each moment of our lives within the understanding of the eventual moment of our deserved physical death.  For the unbeliever, the event of death is a fearful experience because he can never be sure of what awaits him.  For the believer, death offers nothing but the surety of hope in the promises of God.  Therefore, “I will fear no evil: for thou {the presence, power, and victory in Christ of God} art with me.”  Evil has no power over us even though it lies within our corrupted spirits.  John the Apostle iterates the confidence of faith in Christ in his first epistle.  “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome {by trusting solely in the finished work of redemption in Christ Jesus} them {the spirits of antichrist in false teachers}: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4). 

The words “for thou art with me” is a proclamation of the presence of the Holy Spirit of God with the Old Covenant believer and the presence of God in the New Covenant believer.  Jesus taught this, and it is recorded in John chapter fourteen.

“¹⁵ If ye love me, keep my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:15-17).

The Spirit of God is God’s seal upon our soul until the day of the redemption of our bodies.  This is God’s promise of His eternal presence with the believer and why we need never again fear evil. 

“¹³ In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

The great truth of Psalm 23:4 is that death has been reduced to nothing but a shadow for the “born again” believer.  There is no remaining substance that can ever harm us.  The substance of death has been borne in the body of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary.  We need not fear a shadow that has no substance.  All that remains is the shadow to reminds us from what we have been saved.  Rejoice in that reality!

“²⁰ For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. ²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: ²² {Now here is our example} Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: ²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: ²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. ²⁵ For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (I Peter 2:20-25).

Jesus is not everyone’s Shepherd.  Jesus is only the Shepherd of those He has redeemed.  If Jesus is not your Saviour, He is not your Shepherd.  That is why the Saviour Psalm (Psalm twenty-two) precedes the Shepherd Psalm (Psalm twenty-three). 

The “rod and staff” of Psalm 23:4 respectively represent the sovereignty of God and the grace of God.  Sovereignty is God’s divine authority and power while grace is God’s mercy and love to the sinner.  God’s sovereignty means He still has everything under control even though the world appears to be in chaos.  Grace means God is operating under mercy and out of love even towards those that ignorantly blaspheme His Name and oppose all the good He seeks to do amid the curse.  Those facts “comfort me.”  They “comfort me” because there is hope for the worst of sinners, for I was once the worst of sinners. 

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over” (Psalm 23:5).

It is a sad testimony for a believer who claims to be a faithful warrior of God but has no enemies in the world.  The world hated Jesus.  Why would we think the world would love us if we are teaching what Jesus taught and living like Jesus lived.  It is one thing to love the world by trying to evangelize the lost.  It is another thing to try to court the world and earn its respect.  Nowhere in the Bible are the redeemed told to court the world, cater to the carnality of worldly people, or employ worldly tactics to gather a crowd of seekers.  If the vast majority of the world does not hate you for the loving message of redemption that you lovingly preach, you are probably doing it wrong. 

“¹⁸ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19).

Amid this spiritual tension with the enemies of those who are faithful, God paints this scene of tranquility and peaceful fellowship.  Three acts of God are manifest for the faithful.  They refer to both physical/temporal needs and spiritual/eternal needs during the Kingdom Age.

1. A bountiful table is prepared by God to refresh the faithful warrior.  A mere Shepherd boy was now feasting as a king.  Do not be discouraged by the number of your resisters.  Be encouraged by the One that is constantly there to support you and enjoy His fellowship.  Remember, that during the Kingdom Age, all faithful believers will rule with Christ in glorified bodies as kings and priests.

2. The faithful believer’s head is anointed with oil by God.  God anointing is God’s consecration and acceptance of the faithful believer commissioning that believer with overwhelming and significant responsibilities of service to Him.  The oil represents the crowning empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

3. The faithful believer’s “cup runneth over.”  This expresses a state of existence where abundance is common to the faithful believer in that there is no want because the Creator is the Supplier.  This is a statement of faith by which a faithful believer lives.  Just as Jesus created new wine from water at the marriage feast of Cana, the faithful believer’s needs will be constantly and consistently met.  David said in Psalm thirty-seven verse twenty-five, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:6).

“Goodness and Mercy” are often regarded as the twin angels of God’s grace.  “Surely” is a verily, verily promise of comfort and encouragement to the faithful believer.  This does not mean that the life of faithfulness to God will have no difficulties or discouragements.  This means the presence of God’s “goodness and mercy” will always be there during every difficulty and discouragement to lift us back up and set us once again upon the high ground of living faith.  No matter how faithful we become in our lives, we do not deserve the attendance of God’s twins of grace.  Therefore, they are called the twins of grace.  Yet, the promise of God, and therefore the knowledge of faith, can rest in the calming assurance that these twins of grace “shall follow me all the days of my life.”

The last proclamation of faith in the Shepherd’s hymn is “I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”  This statement is more than a mere statement of fact.  This is a proclamation of thanksgiving.  This is a glory to God in the highest kind of proclamation.  It reminds me of Paul’s last statements to Timothy, his faithful son in the faith in II Timothy 1:6-14 to stir him up and refresh his excitement about serving the Lord.  There is a culmination time to serving the Lord and that day will be glorious.  

“⁶ Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. ⁷ For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. ⁸ Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; ⁹ Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, ¹⁰ But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: ¹¹ Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. ¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. ¹³ Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us” (II Timothy 1:6-14).

Paul was a Roman citizen, a “Hebrew of Hebrews. As touching the Law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5).  These were no longer things for which he was proud.  He considered them as “dung” compared to his new life of service to Christ.  He was going to die a criminal’s death at the hands of the Roman government.  He was not ashamed of the curse of the world when he knew the blessings of God upon his life.  Thousands of souls were “born again” due to Paul’s faithful preaching of the Gospel and his consistent invitation to sinners to repent, believe, confess, call upon, and receive Christ.  Thousands would “hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of” Paul and thousands of thousands down through the ages would be added to the faithful.  Paul’s cup was running over, and he knew it!  He could face death with rejoicing. 

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Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at: http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/ 
Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist. 
He has served the Lord for over 40 years.