If The Lord is My Shepherd - Provision

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

https://bible.com/bible/113/psa.23.1-6.NIVUK This is such a peaceful picture of a sheep resting, surrounded by lush green grass, drinking from quiet, safe waters and gaining spiritual refreshment. We discovered the benefit of this type of experience when we discovered some beautiful woodland close to our home during Lockdown. A walk in places like that really does restore your soul. But yet concentrating on the beauty of this picture dismisses the reality of how the sheep would have reached there. It is hinted at within the passage itself: 'lie down', 'quiet waters', 'restores my soul'. Why would lying down be so important? Because the Middle East is largely desert. There are areas of greenery around rivers and streams and oases, but shepherds might have to journey far with their sheep to find them. David had been a shepherd boy, and may have even been nomadic to a degree. He would know all about this. Both sheep and shepherd would likely have been tired by the time they found the lush green grass.

Also, the green pastures were not permanent. Pastures around Jerusalem were only there during the wet season. For much of the year they would be dry and barren. This is why the shepherds had to be nomadic - they had to travel to find food for their sheep. And why was the 'still water' so important? Because much of the desert lacks water. Both shepherd and sheep would have been parched by the time they found such a place as this. And why was restoration of the soul so important? Life as a shepherd would have been risky. There were wild animals and bandits everywhere. Finding a safe place like this to rest would have been practically invaluable. But there is also a contrast in Scripture, in Ezekiel 34: ‘ “As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet? Ezekiel 34:17‭-‬19 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/ezk.34.17-22.NIVUK What could this mean? Imagine you take a bunch of young children on a long bus journey to somewhere they love to go, like an amusement park or a chocolate factory or a playground. What happens when you open the door of the bus? They are very excited, they run around like crazy and it becomes difficult to control them, right? Now imagine how a bunch of sheep could react when they come across green grass and quiet water in an oasis. Sheep aren't clever enough to be self-controlled. The stronger ones could push the weaker ones out of the way. They could stampede towards the water, trampling down and dirtying all the sought-after grass for the weaklings and the stragglers. They could rush headlong into the water to cool themselves, forgetting that the dust and sand from their feet and bodies would muddy the waters for the other sheep. In other words, they could spoil what the shepherd had provided just so they could get what they want. In a world that has been aggressively over-exploited, over-fished and polluted; a world where the rich dress in finery which the poor supply, the dyes from this finery poisoning their water; a world where cattle ranchers routinely destroy the forests - the lungs of the world - so we can eat more burgers; a world where the profits from the fuels for our cars and planes do not benefit the people whose lands are ruined to obtain them... can we honestly say that we as a race have no part in the sin described in Ezekiel 34? What about the poor children exploited for perverted pleasure, the girls kidnapped in India at the rate of one every eight minutes that serve like slaves in the houses of the rich - if they are fortunate, the poverty of the migrant workers who build our electronics or man our telephone lines? We need to heed the stark warning that follows: ‘ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: see, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. Ezekiel 34:20‭-‬22 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/ezk.34.20-22.NIVUK Or worse, in James: Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. James 5:4 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jas.5.4.NIVUK What Psalm 23 teaches us is that the Lord has provided for us, and it is enough. But when we want more, and more, and more, then we can end up spoiling what He has given for others. This is what has happened in our world. I don't think there is any doubt whatsoever about it. If the Lord really is our shepherd, if we really are following Him, then we should have compassion for the poor and the vulnerable and weak. We should not seek to exploit them for our own selfish gain. The Lord does lead us through the desert to green pastures, still waters and places where our soul can be restored. But these places should be shared, not hoarded. So firstly we see that if the Lord really is our shepherd then this will shape our attitude to His provision. Secondly, this will shape our attitude to His DIRECTION, which we will see in my next blog.