Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me

Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me

Continued study on A Shepherd Looks at Psalms 23 – by Phillip Keller

Last week we talked about the shepherd leading us through “the valley of the shadow of death”.  This week we will talk about the rest of verse four where the psalmist or the sheep says ” I will fear no evil for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me”

In order to understand this part of the psalm we really need to know what a “rod” and “staff” are/were to the shepherd. The shepherd only carried two pieces of personal equipment, one the rod and the other the staff.

In ancient times a shepherd boy just beginning to watch over his fathers flock would go into the bush and select a young sapling.  It is carved and whittled down.  The enlarged base of the sapling where it joins the root is shaped into a smooth rounded head of hard wood.  It is shaped to exactly fit the owners’ hand.  After it’s completed the shepherd boy would spend hours practicing with this club and it becomes his main weapon of defense for both himself and his sheep.  It actually becomes an extension of his right arm.

This would be used to discipline and correct the sheep.  The rod was a continuous comfort to the shepherd.  When Moses was called by God to deliver the children of Israel you will recall that it was Moses rod that was instrumental in showing Gods power to the Egyptian Pharaoh.  That rod demonstrated to pharaoh the power that God had vested in Moses.  So once again, the rod speaks of the spoken Word, It implies the authority of divinity.  The impact of “Thus saith the Lord”

When the shepherd see’s a sheep wandering away on its own or approaching poisonous weeds or getting too close to danger, this club would go through the air to send the wayward animal back to the bunch.  So it is with us that the Word of God will convict us of sin and send us running toward our Shepherd.

Another way the rod was used was in examining and counting the sheep.  This was referred to as “passing under the rod”.  When this happened a sheep was looked at very closely to make sure all was well with it.  Sometimes with their wool being long it wasn’t easy to see the defects so a shepherd would take his rod and separate the wool looking for blemishes.  You just couldn’t “pull the wool over the eyes” of the shepherd!

Psalm 139:23, 24 says Search me O God and know my heart; try  me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.    If we submit to God and allow him to pass the rod over us, we too won’t pull the wool over His eyes.  This is a hard process but one that we shouldn’t shrink back from.  We need God to examine us, search us and show us any blemishes that we may have.  God has our best interest at heart.  As with a sheep, if it had a blemish that could cause illness and even death, the shepherd needed to treat that so that his sheep would be healed.  So it is with our Shepherd.  He wants to cut out & cleanse any areas of our lives that could cause spiritual sickness and death.

The rod is also an instrument of protection both for himself and his sheep when they are in danger.  The shepherd would use his rod to drive off predators.  He would beat the brush with it to discourage snakes from attacking the flock.  In the book , Keller describes being in Africa with a young shepherd boy when they encountered  a cobra, coiled and ready to strike.  In an instant the boy lashed out with his rod/club and killed the snake and the rod never left his hand.  The rod was his comfort.

It was the rod of God’s Word that Christ, our good Shepherd used in his encounter with Satan during his desert temptation. Luke 4:1 – 13

In every temptation there is comfort in knowing that we can use the rod of God’s word in every circumstance that comes our way.

Now lets look at the staff and what it represents.  The staff identifies the user  as a shepherd.  No one in any other profession carries a shepherd’s staff.  It is uniquely an instrument used for the care and management of sheep and only sheep.  You can’t use it on horses, cattle or hogs.  It is designed, shaped and adapted especially to the needs of sheep and it is used only for their benefit.

It is a symbol of the concerns and compassion a shepherd has for his sheep.  It is for their “comfort”.  Where the rod coveys the concept of authority, power and discipline, the staff speaks of all that is longsuffering and kind.

During the tough journeys as he leads his sheep and the long weary watches, the shepherd leans on his staff for support and strength. It becomes his comfort and help with his duties.

So just as the rod is symbolic of the Word of God, the staff is symbolic of the Spirit of God.

There are three areas where the staff plays a significant role.  The first is how the shepherd draws the sheep together into an intimate relationship.  The shepherd will use his staff to gently lift a newborn lamb and bring it to its mother if they become separated.  He does this so the odor of his hands wont’ be upon it and the ewe will not reject her offspring.    He also will reach out and catch an individual sheep young or old, and draw them close to examine them.  How like our comforter the Holy Spirit to reach out to us and draw us together and to himself.

The staff is also used for guiding the sheep.  He will use the tip of his staff against the animals’ side and apply the pressure in the way the shepherd wants it to go.  In John 16:13 we are told that the Spirit will guide us.  As his staff shows us the way to walk and we comply and cooperate it brings with it a sense of safety and security.

Keller states that “The Christian life is not just one of subscribing to certain doctrines or believing certain facts.”  How true that is.  We have a living comforter in the Holy Spirit who will guide us in every aspect of our life.  We can rest in him knowing He is by our side.  It is when I don’t ask Him about situations or heed his voice when he speaks to me that I get into trouble.  But even then He will come to my rescue.  He draws me by his staff – his Holy Spirit and comforts me.