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Bible Study in Psalm 23

I am starting a new Bible study in Psalms and Romans. To avoid copyright infringement, I'll be using the King James version of the Bible. I will also use quotes from Biblehub.com. Here is a short quote from Biblehub.com on using quotes on websites. “You will not need to write us for permission to quote from the site”. I also am now using NIV but with Cites.

Psalm 23 Study

I will be using the Interlinear Bible quotes from time to time from Bible Hub.  I will use https://biblehub.com/interlinear/ reference when using a verse from Bible Hub

Before I start my verse by verse study using Hebrew from Biblehub.com I wanted to mention that, though obvious to some, I see myself as a sheep in this Psalm. Sheep always need community. Sheep need a leader or shepherd at all times. I will expound on this more later. But Psalm 23 came alive to me when I read it as if I am a sheep.  

I have a tendency most of the time as thinking myself as a shepard trying to keep my life and others together. It has been spiritually helpful to view myself more as a sheep with the Lord as my shepherd. This study will bear this out in more detail.

Let's look at Verse 1 from NIV in https://biblehub.com/interlinear/

The Hebrew word for Lord in verse 1 is Yahweh. The Hebrew word for shepard is ra'ah.  The primitive root of ra'ah is defined as - to tend a flock, pasture it in.  This is the shepards job description to tend a flock , to keep it safe and to fully manage all aspects of the flocks needs.  Here below is a photo of a shepherd in Israel tending a flock of sheep in modern times.

As mentioned earlier I picture myself spiritually as a sheep. Sheep were never supposed to protect themselves. They were created by God to require someone to look over them.  Also mentioned earlier - I picture myself too many times as a shepherd or someone that is spiritually in charge of what is around me. This actually is not correct.  I am more like a sheep and sheep require a shepherd at all times. 

I read this online somewhere about sheep. I apologize for not having the URL reference.

“Sheep will readily follow one another; will move away from things that frighten them; will move better around slight corners or curves; will move away from buildings; prefer to move uphill; prefer lighted areas and resist dark barns, alleys, and chutes; and will respond to well-trained herding dogs.”

Clearly sheep need their shepard at all times. Sheep are vulnerable to attack and many other dangers without the shepard always watching over them.

There is no one better to be my shepherd then the Lord Himself. Today I will focus on being a good sheep and following our Lord who is our shepherd.  This takes some mental energy to re-think what I am doing and how I am doing it each day. To change my view of myself from a shepherd to more of a sheep with the Lord in charge.  This could in fact affect every moment of my day today. 

Day 2 - Verse 2

2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

Again I will provide a reminder to think of ourselves as the sheep in Psalm 23 study here. Our Lord is our shepherd. 

He makes me to lie down is all in one Hebrew word. There is a lot of information in just that one word.  The Hebrew for lie down is RABATS.  In BDB the definition of RABATS is stretch oneself out, lie down, lie stretched out. 

Strongs Exhaustive Concordance - https://biblehub.com/strongs/hebrew/7257.htm - also talks about the primitive root of RABATS.  

A primitive root; to crouch (on all four legs folded, like a recumbent animal); be implication, to recline, repose, brood, lurk, imbed -- crouch (down), fall down, make a fold, lay, (cause to, make to) lie (down), make to rest, sit.

We get a picture here of the sheep stretching out and lying down in full rest and without much worry.  The shepard is no doubt near by and watching over the sheep with complete protection on his mind. 

Question - What does this picture in your mind of a sheep fully protected and resting stretched out on a very green area like this make you feel or imagine? 

My answer - I imagine a very rested sheep feeling protected and loved and watched over having been taken here by the Shepherd for that very purpose.

With all the rushing around in our lives to get to point A and then point B and get all our daily to-do items completed on time and within budget we can all get pretty stressed at times. This verse of the sheep relaxing in safety is a good goal of us to remember during these times. Take time daily to reflect on being a sheep with our Lord as our shepherd and being safe and protected and unrushed and fully watched over by Jesus.   Tomorrow we will look closely at the next line in verse 2 - he leads me beside quiet waters,

Day 3 Verse 3 part 1

Here is the Hebrew Interlinear just to get us started today. This is for Psalm 23:3 ( https://biblehub.com/interlinear/psalms/23-3.htm)

3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.

Let's look at the first phrase here in verse 3. - He refreshes my soul.  This is an interesting phrase in this Psalm because it is an internal attribute being mentioned while most of the other attributes of the Psalm 23 are external in nature. It is almost kind of a surprise to see it.  It is something like having a list of food items for example that might include watermelon, hamberger, cheese, milk, a metric wrench and soup.  It is like one of those Sesame Street skits that asks the children which one of these are not the same?  Most of the items on the list of this Psalm are external in nature, but this one is very different - He refreshes my soul.

Let's look at the Hebrew word for refreshes more closely now.  The Hebrew word for refresh  is SHUB and  per the BDB English, German dictionary it means turn back or return.  In Strongs we see SHUB as a primitive root to turn back and has the idea of return to a starting point.  So David in this Psalm in verse 3 is saying the Lord restores, or turns back his own soul back to its original state.   In trying to come up with an analogy of sorts I came up with this idea.  It is like having your iPhone with many apps and many things stored on the phone. This would be more or less a factory reset. Then you decide one day to restore the iPhone back to its original state. That might be a good way of looking at this.   

So David is mentioning here that the Lord restores his own soul, or as we have been discussing, the Lord sets David's soul back to its original state. I think this is a very interesting and powerful concept that in this Psalm David is asking the Lord to restore his own soul back to what it was when he got it, rested, trusting, not afraid. The list can go on for some time.

Question of the day:  If you ask the Lord today to restore or return your soul back to its original state of rest and trust and peace and so on - what might that look like to you today?

Prayer for today:  Lord please do a factory reset on my soul today back to the creator and authors original intent and state of trust and rest and being close to you. Thank-you. 

Day 4 - verse 3. 

He guides me along the right paths

He guides or leads me Hebrew is NATCHAH.  This word means to lead or guide. Strongs says - A primitive root; to guide; by implication, to transport (into exile, or as colonists) -- bestow, bring, govern, guide, lead (forth), put, straiten.

Sheep need to be guided to water and safety and the Lord Himself guides us and leads us. 

Question:  How has the Lord guided you this week?  Also, what are some practical ways we can daily listen to the Lord to know how He is guiding us?

3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.

Note that verse 3 says “for His name's sake”. That is an attribute of the phrase “He guides me along the right paths”. The right paths would refer to how the Lord as our shepherd leads us daily. There is movement of the sheep to no doubt find new areas for feeding and for water.  

It is for our Lord's sake that He leads us as sheep. Everything focuses us back to our shepherd and He leads us but for His purpose and His will.  

May 18, 2024

Day 5 - Verse a.

4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]

Yea, even though.  The Hebrew word is gam and it means something like Yea. In BDB it states gam is again, also and so forth so it is connective in nature.  

The Hebrew word for though is ki and is a conjunction which can mean that, for, when.  Strong's notes it's meaning as foreasmuch, inasmuch, whereas, but, certainly and so on.  I believe the use of this word shows a near certainty that the sheep reading this Psalm (us) will in fact find themselves at times in the darkest valley. Sort of a given I think. It should be noted that it is more then likely the shepard here has led the sheep into the valley. This might  be because the shepard needed to move from one area to another and the shortest way to get there would be through a valley. 

Sometimes we hear teaching that God always wants us to be wealthy and comfortable, but I don't see that in the Bible. What i see is a loving shepherd that sometimes has to lead us as sheep through some pretty scary locations to get us to another place. 

Valley in Hebrew is gay. In BDB this word is translated valley. In Strong's says the root word is the same root used as a gorge with lofty sides and narrow. That root in Hebrew is gevah. 

“of the shadow of death” is the description of this valley. The Hebrew here is tsalmaveth which means death-shadow or deep shadow. Strong's notes tasalmaveth as shadow of death. 

There are a few observations we can make here.  I would like to first point out that the Shepherd is in charge and for some important reason had to take the sheep through a very narrow and scary valley to get to some desired location.  I think sometimes I am tempted to say that if something bad happens to me , it is for sure because of a wrong decision I have made or something I did wrong. But that might not always be the case. The Lord Himself might have to lead us , as sheep, through some pretty rough valleys. 

Note also that it is only a shadow of death. Sure it is scary and terrible to go through a valley of a shadow of death, but it is only a shadow. And as we will soon find the Shepherd is with us all the way and even leading us. I am reminded of a verse in James that says something like Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. Note that the author did not say “IF” you face trials, but when.  I think the same is true with our Psalm 23 here that the shepherd at times will lead the sheep into some pretty dark and scary places, but as we will see the shepherd is always with the sheep and leading and protecting. 

romans study

I am starting a new Bible study in the book of Romans. To avoid copyright infringement, I'll be using the King James version of the Bible. I will also use quotes from Biblehub.com. Here is a short quote from Biblehub.com on using quotes on websites. “You will not need to write us for permission to quote from the site”.

Romans 1: 1 - 2 (KJV)

1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

² (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans, traditionally known as the author of 14 of the 27 New Testament books.

This introductory section mentions an important attribute of Paul, namely that Paul served Jesus Christ. What does it mean that Paul was a servant of Jesus?

The New Testament Koine Greek word for servant is doulos. Strong’s Exaustive Concordance (Cite) defines doulos as bondman or servant or slave. A slave is one who is the property of another.  In the New Testament, they use another Greek word for servant - diakonos.

What does it mean that Paul then is a servant of Jesus Christ? It means primarily that he is not living for himself, but is completely taking direction and instruction from Jesus. His goal and aim is to please Jesus and not just live for his own interests. Paul’s whole life was to live for Jesus.

Here is a question for today from this passage: How can I today be a better servant of Jesus in all that I do? What practical ways can serve Jesus better today?