Lessons From the Secret Place – Intimacy- Lesson 7a: Comfort in Christ
Today we will begin looking at Psalm 23:4b as we continue our study on intimacy with Christ.
Psalm 23:4b, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The rod and staff are symbols of the shepherd’s office. With them he comforts the sheep.
His word and Spirit shall comfort them-his rod and staff, alluding to the shepherd's crook, or the rod under which the sheep passed when they were counted (Lev. 27:3), or the staff with which the shepherds drove away the dogs that would scatter or worry the sheep. i.
Today we will focus on the shepherd’s rod.
The Rod (The Word- Jesus)
The shepherd’s rod served four purposes: protection, discipline, guidance, and counting.
First, the shepherd’s rod was used protection.
Proverbs 30:5, Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
2 Samuel 22:3-4, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
Romans 8:31, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Hebrews 13:6, So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
1 John 5:18, We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
2 Thessalonians 3:3, But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
Regarding the faithfulness of the Lord, Matthew Henry wrote, “He is faithful to his promises, and is the Lord who cannot lie, who will not alter the thing that has gone out of his mouth. When once the promise therefore is made, performance is sure and certain. He is faithful to his relation, a faithful God and a faithful friend; we may depend upon his filling up all the relations he stands in to his people.”
God’s Word is true. We know that Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), it is He who protects us. He is our Rod of Protection!!
Second, the shepherd’s rod was used for discipline.
Proverbs 3:11-12, My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
Proverbs 6:23, For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Hebrews 12:11, For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
We must look at the results of discipline rather than focusing on the discipline itself. God disciplines all who are His. Discipline is intended to produce the fruit of righteousness in our lives. All lives produce fruit. In Genesis 1:28, God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. Multiplication will happen, but what kind of fruit will it produce? Fruit of righteousness leading to life or fruit of unrighteousness leading to death?
When we yield to the Lord’s discipline and learn from our mistakes, we will begin producing good fruit. However, if we refuse to receive the discipline and learn the lesson it is intended to teach, the fruit that is produced will be the fruit of unrighteousness.
As our Rod of Discipline, Jesus’ goal is to bring us to a place of obedience and discipline where we produce righteousness fruit which leads to life and peace.
Third, the shepherd’s rod was used for guidance.
John 8:31-32, So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Colossians 3:16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
The gospel is the word of Christ, which has come to us; but that is not enough, it must dwell in us, or keep house -enoikeitou, not as a servant in a family, who is under another's control, but as a master, who has a right to prescribe to and direct all under his roof. We must take our instructions and directions from it, and our portion of meat and strength, of grace and comfort, in due season, as from the master of the household. It must dwell in us; that is, be always ready and at hand to us in every thing, and have its due influence and use. ii.
To be guided by the Word, we must know the Word. It must have supreme authority over every area and facet of our lives. The Word is the Rod the guides our lives.
Fourth, the shepherd’s rod was used for counting.
2 Chronicles 16:9, For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.” (NASB)
Job 31:4, Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps? (NASB)
Jeremiah 16:17, For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes. (NASB)
Zechariah 4:10, For who has shown contempt for the day of small things? But these seven will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the eyes of the LORD roaming throughout the earth.” (NASB)
Hebrews 4:13, And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer. (NASB)
As I was studying, I came across this idea of the shepherd’s rod being used for counting. Every evening the sheep were gathered into the sheep fold to keep them safe from predators. The shepherd would stand at the entrance of the fold with his rod held horizontally across the entrance. Each sheep had to pass under the rod as it entered the fold. This gave the shepherd a position from which to count the sheep as they entered. If the shepherd found that one sheep was not in the count, he would leave the others and go and find it.
Matthew 18:10-14, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
In the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18, Jesus is teaching about the value of each life. He is trying to convey the deep love and desire of God toward mankind. God’s desire is for us to walk in intimacy with him. As we learn how much he cares for us we can walk in comfort knowing that our Good Shepherd is watching our lives and so attuned to his children that he notices if even one goes astray or is struggling. The Rod of Counting is ever keeping “count” of his sheep.
In conclusion, our Good Shepherd is the Rod of Comfort. He comforts us through, protection, discipline, guidance, and counting.
Note: all scripture is ESV unless stated.
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