The Good Shepherd’s Rod and Staff, Part 1

“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23: 4).

The beloved Psalm 23 speaks of the relationship between our Good Shepherd and His sheep.  We can understand this better, if we understand the tools of the shepherd.

In the Middle East the shepherd carried only a rod and staff.

The Rod

“The rod [a crude club] was, in fact, an extension of the owner’s right arm.  It stood as a symbol of his strength, his power, his authority in any serious situation.  The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger.  And it was, furthermore, the instrument he used to discipline and correct any wayward sheep that insisted on wandering away…

It will be recalled how when God called Moses, the desert shepherd, and sent him to deliver Israel out of Egypt from under Pharaoh’s bondage, it was his rod that was to demonstrate the power vested in him.  It was always through Moses’ rod that miracles were made manifest not only to convince Pharaoh of Moses’ divine commission, but also to reassure the people of Israel…

Just as for the sheep of David’s day there was comfort and consolation in seeing the rod in the shepherd’s skillful hands, so in our day there is great assurance in our own hearts as we contemplate the power, veracity, and potent authority vested in God’s Word.  For, in fact, the Scriptures are his rod…”

“What a comfort to have this authoritative, clear-cut, powerful instrument under which to conduct ourselves.  By it we are kept from confusion amid chaos.  This in itself brings into our lives a great sense of quiet serenity…

It is the Word of God that comes swiftly to our hearts…to correct and reprove us when we go astry.  It is the Spirit of the living God, using the living Word, that convicts our conscience of right conduct…

Another interesting use of the rod in the Shepherd’s hand was to examine…the sheep…Because of their long wool, it is not always easy to detect disease, wounds, or defects in sheep…But the skilled judge will take his rod and part the sheep’s wool to determine the condition of the skin, the cleanliness of the fleece, and the conformation of the body…

Wool in Scripture speaks of the self-life, self-will, self-assertion, self-pride.  God has to get below this and to a deep work in our wills to right the wrongs which are often bothering us beneath the surface…

Finally, the shepherd’s rod is an instrument of protection both for himself and his sheep when they are in danger…The skilled shepherd uses his rod to drive off predators like coyotes, wolves, cougars, or stray dogs…

In every situation…there is comfort in the knowledge that God’s Word can meet and master the difficulty if we will rely on it.”

–W. Phillip Keller in “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23“

This series will conclude next week.

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