It is beautiful and evocative spiritual poetry, and that is why Psalm 23 is loved and recited so much.

Crazyheart - like you, I"ve struggled with this psalm.  On the surface it paints a pretty picture:  green fields, still waters, fluffy white lambs being cared for by a gentle shepherd.  Peaceful.  Reassuring.  Rest. 

Like you, I don't know any real shepherds.  I've only seen sheep from a distance, or at an agricultural fair.  But I understand that sheep are rather stupid animals completely dependant upon humans.  Their coats get tangled, matted, full of burrs.  And dirty.  They are so clumsey that if one falls over on its back it waves its hoofs in the air but often cannot right itself.  And shepherding was, and maybe still is, a low class job - the type you take if you can't get anything else.

Shepherds in Palestine 2000 years ago lived out in the hills with the sheep.  They guarded them against wild animals, or getting lost, or falling over ledges, or onto their backs.  They had no access to a bath, a change of clothes, a shelter other than perhaps a lean-to.  They grew as dirty, shaggy, and smelly as their sheep. 

They were paid a pittance for the long hours they worked.  They put themselves in danger to protect the sheep.  And people stepped out of the way when they came into town for supplies. 

To this we are called upon to compare our Lord. 

It doesn't fit the Sunday School picture.

And that, to my mind, is a good thing. Anything that snaps us out of our preconceptions and makes us think deeply about God can only improve our ourstanding of and connection with Him.

Some thoughts follow. I'm not going to pretend that these are right or are the be-all and end-all of exploring the shepherd image. Just thoughts.

Like Jesus, the "God as shepherd" image brings God down to Earth. In that day and age, it was a more meaningful image, of course. I actually did know someone who raised sheep (she was also a part-time library clerk in a small rural library that was part of a larger system that I worked for). To be a shepherd means being caring, to be sure, but one also has to be somewhat rough and ready. Birthing lambs is not a job for the faint of heart, or so I've heard. Finding sheep wandering away takes some energy, stamina, and patience (think of the parable of the Lost Sheep). Even herding them around from place to place requires effort and a knowledge of how sheep behave.

Thinking of God as a shepherd means abandoning the "old guy in the sky" for a more rugged, robust human image. A guy who tries to protect us, to keep us on track, to get us back on track if we stray. Less of a father figure and more of a guardian and guide. It also means a God who knows our way (our behaviour) and tries to use that knowledge to help us or at least move us in the right direction. He is also willing to put in the time to find us and put us back on track when necessary.

Mendalla

For those interested in plumbing the subtle depths of this psalm, I strongly recommend W. Philip Keller, "A Shepherd Looks at the Twenty-Third Psalm."  A used copy can be purchased on Amazon for $2.70.  As for the Lord's prayer, it almost seems blasphemous to quote this psalm from any Bible but the King James Version--and I normally dislike the KJV.

An example of a nuance I like is embedded in 23:5: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."  "Table" refers to high tablelands for future grazing.  The Shepherd goes on ahead of the sheep and looks for predators up there and also plucks noxious weeds that might make sheep sick or even prove fatal.  So this image invites preemptive prayers (e. g. for safe tarvel mercies) or prayers for protection to the God who goes on ahead of us and seeks to correct our penchant for praying only when needs or crises arise.  God anticipates such threats, and yet, promises to nourish us spiritually in any case. 

The image of God going on ahead of us is used at key points in Scripture. 

Shortly before his death, Moses reassures his replacement Joshua about the need to take the risk of crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land:

"The Lord Himself goes on ahead of you and will be with you. (Deuteronomy 31:8)." 

Jesus teaches: "When He (the Good Shepherd) has brought out all His own (sheep from the sheepfold), He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow because they know His voice (John 10:4)."  The image of Christ going on ahead of us acknowledges our fear that we will feel abandoned, but offers as comfort that we can learn to recognize His guiding voice in the distant horizon.

Sheep don't eat other animals or attack them. They are social and like to flock together. They require a shepherd to survive because they have evolved over time through man's interventions to be totally dependent through domestication.

They graze and graze all day and don't spend time plotting how to kill wolves when they are attacked.

Seems they're not all that stupid.

waterfall - do you compare yourself to a sheep? 

Well not literally, no. I'm not a farm girl. Sheep are only something I encounter in petting zoos and read about. I appreciate the metaphor though. I like the fact that sheep do not allow the wolves to change their very nature of living a peaceful existence and they do this in cooperation with and through the necessity of the shepherds watchful eyes. I want to say it's a symbiotic relationship except I'm not sure that God depends on us for survival.

I'm reminded that Jesus is also referred to as both the good shepherd and the lamb.

The imagery of this Psalm is beautiful.

Hi crazyheart,

I respectfully disagree with the statement as you then go on to offer two modern analogies of Shepherd.

Valid questions which do not disprove the validity of the 23rd Psalm so much as they reveal a failure of Church to be what they are called to be.

It does make it possible.  Status quo might make it improbable.

I believe it does.

Yes, it does.

First and foremost the imagery employed by the Psalmist places me into a trusting relationship (which doesn't mean that I have to see sheep as derogatory descriptor).  At minimum it means that God is watching over me and that God, knowing me well leads me to where I need to be even if I don't particularly want to go there at any given moment.

Secondly it teaches me that even in the midst of hardship I am not alone and God is preparing  a banquet/celebration/party for me even in the midst of opposition.

With this understanding I don't need to be feral and ferocious.

While domesticated sheep are different in terms of temperment there are some traits bred in the bone.  Most domestic sheep are vulnerable because shepherds are no longer ever present and rams are often kept from the flock.

Ram being a rather apt name for the male of the species.

With Jesus present and protecting rams aren't necessary in the Church.  We still have them and that causes consternation and difficulty since a ram thoroughly convinced that you are a threat cannot be reasoned with in any way short of the threat backing off.

While sheep are not given a great deal of credit for being intelligent.  This may be due to observations of flock behaviour.  I believe in barnyard intelligence sheep test slightly lower than pigs and equal to cattle.  Studies also suggest that sheep have a fairly strong long-tem memory and are able to recognize other sheep and humans by facial features alone.

In short, we probably know squat about actual sheep and only imagine we know a lot about them based on stories we repeat that may have no basis in knowledge.

With respect to goodness and mercy, that is also a trust component.  It isn't a garden path hope it is an awareness that with God as my shepherd I can count on all I need to be provided as I have need of it.

Grace and peace to you.

John

For myself, to the extent that the sheep is dependent on the shepherd, yes, I'm very happy comparing myself to a sheep. recognizing that "The Lord is my shepherd." And given that even those who have suggested that the analogy doesn't work anymore and say that it doesn't speak to them are quite able to explain what the analogy means, I would suggest that the analogy works just fine.

The age old conflict of too many sheep thinking of themselves above the need to be shepherded.

Hi not4prophet,

Interestingly individual sheep will not exhibit flock behaviour.  Before Flock behaviour is noticeable to the observer one needs three to four sheep and they need some proximity to one another.

In the Biblical narrative the problem sheep were the prodigals and note that the narrative always has the prodigal stand alone.

How does that one sheep in a flock of 100 get lost?  It wanders off from the heard until flock instinct no longer guides it and it has to make decisions isolated from its support group.

I don't know that the prodigal thinks it is above the need to be shepherded.  It just happens that there is suddenly no shepherd around to be the needed guide or protector.  I expect it starts with a tuft of grass and another and another until the sheep looks around while munching happily away to notice that the flock it belongs to has wandered off without it noticing.

And flock behaviour suggests that the prodigal also tends to be fairly low down on the heirarchy otherwise other sheep would have trailed after it.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Could be a double edged sword. Sometimes staying with a flock can lead to ruin also.

Hi not4prophet,

Sheep, being a prey species are always somewhat at risk.

Grace and peace to you.

John

THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM EXPLAINED

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© August 2012, The Center For Development

http://drlwilson.com/Articles/23rd%20psalm.htm

One of the most healing prayers that I have ever found is the Twenty-Third Psalm of David.  Repeated often, it can help turn around negative thinking and assist a person with fears, as can few others, in my experience.

This article is worth reading

Hi Crazyheart-- 23--Psalm . I don't understand your problem with it.This was writen by a great shepherd, he new what it was like to sett day and night , and watchover sheep.To be ready to die for his sheep, if the need should arise. Non shell steal them from him. If a bear, or lion ,should make an attack He was the person that would jump up, with his stick or staff or rod, and he would defend the sheep , he may have a sling shot, even a knife. but thats about it. Now as far as David goes, I fine him to be . A  great  child or young man, and  man, of GOD. I also find him to make, many mistakes in His walk with GOD. But again with all his mistakes ,I believe he was a good shepherd, and new what he was talking about. Stupit he was not. A chosen of GOD HIMSELF --Listen to the words of a Person , that was a shepherd by birth . Talk to his GOD. Who he sees as his" , an our , Shepherd.

	Psa 23:1	¶	[[A Psalm of David.]] The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.
	Psa 23:2		He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
	Psa 23:3		He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
	23:4		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.
	Psa 23:5		Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
	Psa 23:6		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.

David in all his troubles, understood ,were he was with God. I believe more than many Christions, I have ment in my life today. A child ,a person , who lived life an tryed in the flesh, to listen to GOD , and walk in GODS will, an failed. As we also have done. But we today walk with the great  Shepherd . The Lamb that is to become, the leader of ALL, and Shepherd, for ever an ever.   .--- Read  Davids  Psalm --23. --David  wanted you to, I believe so dose GOD.