Fathers shepherd your family

Fathers shepherd your family

This was a sermon preached on 9 October 2011, you can listen to the audio here�and download the text�in a neat PDF here)

Psalm 23:4

Introduction

Today we will be looking at Psalm 23:4 . This psalm is virtually universally known. J A Alexander observes that it “is so constructed as at the same time to express the feelings of the Psalmist, and to serve as a vehicle for those of every individual believer and of the whole body of God's people for whose use it was intended.”[1]

But, we must pause here a minute. How we read and understand the Bible is important. It will shape how we apply it to our life as a church, society, families and individuals. Often we hear that the Bible must be understood literally. This misses the point a little. Scripture is divinely inspired and inerrant literature. Now, literature has different types of genres; poetry, history, theological proposition etc. “You see, we cannot understand what the Bible really (literally) means unless we appreciate its use of literary styles.”[ii] A picture paints a thousand words. God often uses symbolic language to paint a glorious picture in few words. Let me illustrate this with a couple of well-known examples:

Psalm 23:2 says; “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures” and in John 1:29 we read; “The next day he [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”

I don’t know of anyone who thinks that Christ takes His people and literally lays them down in green pastures. Nor do I know anyone who understands John the Baptiser to mean that Jesus has a fluffy tail, four hooves and a woolly fleece. This would be absurd. Rather we recognise the literary device employed by the Spirit to bring rich meaning to the text without repeating all of what He has already revealed.

The structure of the text

I want to point out two major structural aspects to Psalm 23 :

1. Extended metaphor

The major literary device used by the Spirit is an extended metaphor. A metaphor compares two things that are not literally connected. An extended metaphor simply continues weaving the metaphor through the sentences that follow.
In this Psalm there are two extended metaphors:

“The image of God as a shepherd”[iii] and His people the sheep. This metaphor extends through the first four verses of the Psalm.

This image of shepherd and sheep runs throughout Scripture. It is used as one way to describe the relationship between God and His people. The patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob owned flocks and herds (Gen 24:35 ). Moses and David spent years shepherding flocks. God led the people in the wilderness “like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (Ps 77:20). Before he died, Moses requested God appoint a successor to him so that; “the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd” (Num 27:17 ). In Psalm 78:70-72 this metaphor is used to show the parallel between shepherding and leading people.

Even wicked leaders, who feather their own nests instead of directing, guiding and protecting the people of God (Ezek 34:3-5 ; cf. Zech 10:2-3 ; 11:15-17) are described as shepherds (Jer. 25:34-36 ); but they will be judged and God Himself will become the shepherd of His people (Ezek 34:11-16 ).

Jesus is the ultimate, “good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11 ). Jesus is the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep in the open field to go and rescue the one whom is lost (Lk 15:1-7).[iv]

God as the good Host is the second extended metaphor in this Psalm; it stretches verses 5 and 6.

I won’t say much about this extended metaphor as it goes beyond the one dealt with in verse 4. Briefly, in verses five and six God is described as the good host. His hospitality is not trifle nor minimalistic. He provides a banquet of food and drink. This is the model for the church. The Host metaphor of God in Psalm 23 is paralleled with how the people of God must be hospitable to each other, strangers and the needy. In Romans 12:13 we are commanded, to be “given to hospitality.”

Pastor Steve Wilkins makes this observation; “one of the most common complaints against churches is that they are unfriendly, and it is the most common complaint because it is true. We have lost the sense and the spirit of the Scriptures on this topic. The problem can be traced back to the simple neglect of hospitality. God’s people have drifted away from what the Bible teaches and what God expects of them in this area…. Regardless of personality, circumstances, wealth, or social standing, this is an obligation that requires discipline and diligence, like any other difficult part of the Christian life. God commands it of us for our own good, for the edification of the church, and for His own glory, and it is slack carelessness to leave it to happenstance or convenience.”[v] As a church, we must be challenged by the pattern of the faithful Host to be hospitable to each other (Rom 12:13 ) and strangers (Gen 19:1-11 ; Exod 22:21 ; 23:9, Lev 19:34 , Heb 13:1-2 ). Ultimately, as much as we are hospitable to the least of those who belong to Christ, we have been hospitable to Christ Himself (Matt 25:40 ).

2. Five-fold covenant pattern

The second literary structure of this Psalm is that it follows a five-fold covenant pattern. According to 2 Corinthians 1:20 “all the promises of God find their Yes in Jesus.” These promises are God’s covenants. So, God works in history by covenants or promises. Covenants describe how God develops relationships with His people and what He requires of them. The five-fold covenant-structure is one structure that can be identified all through Scripture. Psalm 23 follows this five-fold structure as follows

1. �
   1. God is the sovereign who initiates things by becoming the Shepherd – we see this in verses 1-3a. The Lord is the sovereign who becomes my/David’s/Israel’s shepherd.
   2. God creates a hierarchy to delegate the covenant responsibility of maintaining the honour of His name to David/Israel. This is seen in verse 3b.
   3. God establishes ethics for the kingdom – the rod of verse 4 refers to rulership of tribes and the staff is used to nurture the people.
   4. God sanctions or vindicates His people is seen in verse 5 when we/David are brought to the table of the Lord.�
   5. God provides for succession in verse 6 where David/Israel/us will always live in the house of God, as long as we are covenantally faithful.[vi]

With these things in mind, lets work through some of the things that flow out of the text:

What is the valley in the context of Scripture?

1. Enemies - in the Bible, the “valley” is consistently a place where the enemies of the Lord are encamped (e.g. Judges 1:19 ; 6:33; 7:1, 8, 12 etc).
2. War - it is a place where wars between good and evil take place (e.g. Gen 14:17 – the wars of the five kings verses the four, wherein Abraham’s nephew Lot is kidnapped. Joshua 8-10 the war against the Amorites was fought in a valley. Saul and Israel fought the Philistines in a valley - 1 Samuel 17:19 ).
3. New life - it is also a place where water wells, which represent new life, were dug by the righteous (Isaac’s servants in Gen 26:19 ). But in the Old Testament they are often filled in by the unrighteous literally or by occupation of the land (Josh 17:16 – the Canaanites who occupied the valley had chariots of iron and could not be driven out according to Judges 1:19 ).
   Jesus is the ultimate spring or well of water (Jn 4:1-26 ) that the unrighteous cannot cover in with dust (i.e. the curse – Gen 3:17 ). Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of Ezekiel’s (37) valley of bones being restored. Through Jesus Christ Israel has been restored and transformed in the Church.
4. Worship antithesis - the valley is thus contrasted to the mountain in the Bible. The mountain is the place where God meets with His people. Eden was on a mountain (the four rivers flowed down from it into the land); Moses met with God on Sinai; Jesus was transfigured on a mount and preached His sermon on a mount.

All of these aspects of the valley are relevant to us today. We are still in a war, with the enemies of God, “powers and principalities” (Eph 6:12 ). Our courage and comfort must be in the fact that the Lord is our Shepherd and thus we are to fear no evil. It is more than this though. When in hand-to-hand combat with sin and the world around us remember that the Great Shepherd has defeated the enemy, He is now the King of kings and Lord of lords. He rules with His iron rod and all the nations of the world have come under His authority (Matt 28:18-20 ). Even though we go through extremely tough times, periods of great trial and tribulation we must take comfort that the Great Shepherd who rules the universe is our Shepherd.

The text also highlights that it is the shadow of the valley of death. Why would the Spirit reveal this in the text? Well, Paul tells us that death has lost its sting in 1 Corinthians 15:55 . It has lost its power over us. The curse, in the Garden of Eden, of in dying you will surely die has been reversed. Death lost its sting through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and all authority now resides with the resurrected Christ. All experiences, including death, which we go through are mere shadows. A shadow of a gun cannot shoot you. A shadow of the wallabies cannot defeat the Springboks! Whatever we go through cannot remove us from the love of God, which is in Christ (Romans 8 ). So be comforted Christian, love God, His people and do His Word because He is Your Shepherd, He comforts you and protects you.

Also note that this application can be drawn out for our church. God loves his bride and will protect her and cherish her. We, as a church, must be faithfully obedient to our Shepherd and He will protect us, mature us and strengthen us by His rod and staff.

Rod and staff

God uses His rod and staff to direct, protect and care for His people and elsewhere He uses them against His enemies (e.g. Isa 10:24 ). The rod is the tool that symbolises authority and rulership. David and ultimately Jesus, rule with a rod or sceptre of iron according to Psalm 2:9 . Thus the rod symbolises authority and draws a close analogy between shepherd & ruler.

The staff was the tool used by shepherds to direct their sheep and flock away from danger. The context of verse three tells us that God directs His people in His Law/Word, i.e. righteousness. Thus God “leads us, restores us, and directs us in the right paths.”[vii]

There are four fundamental institutions in Scripture: individual, family, church and the state. Each has been ordained a means to rule by. The individual’s rule is the conscience, the church posses the keys, the state the sword and the family the rod (Pr 13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15). In the sense of authority and rulership Psalm 23:4 thus speaks to the family; and in particular to fathers. The authority and rule of fathers over their household can be paralleled with God the Shepherd.

Father’s, you must shepherd your flock by: directing them in the paths of righteousness, protecting them, providing for them, and nurturing them. In other words, you are to be as Jesus to your wife and children. For the husbandless and fatherless, there are plenty of fathers and husbands in the Lord here. How can you fathers do this?

What does this mean?

Husband’s and fathers you are to love your wife as Christ, the great Shepherd, loved the church, according to Ephesians 5:25 and you are to train up your children in admonition of the Lord according to Ephesians 6:3 . This is the work of a shepherd. Men the shepherding of your family, whether you have children or not, is important to Christ and His kingdom.

In fact we need to get this picture in our mind: it is only part of your job to make money and provide for your family. It is half the picture and is certainly not the centre of our calling. For those of us who are husbands and fathers the very centre of our calling is not taking dominion in the jungle of our employment; rather it is our homes. Our family should not be some separate slice or aspect of our lives. It should be the very centre of our calling to exercise dominion and the primary place where we make manifest the kingdom of Christ. Our attitude should never be; wife you do the family thing and I will kiss the kids on the head, if they are awake when I get home late at night. If we desire families that honour Christ then we must examine the role of husbands and fathers in the light of being a shepherd.

So what does this look like? Let’s see what it’s not. Imagine with me for a moment. I tell Susannah that I love her and will lay down my life for her as Jesus did. In fact I tell her, suppose that one evening I take you for a romantic dinner and then for a lovely sunset walk along Blackman’s Bay beach. Imagine the sky is rosy red and the birds are chirping. The sand is soft and warm. We are arm in arm hand in hand; it is just beautiful. You are cooing. But suddenly from behind the sewerage pipe jumps a thief in a balaclava. He pulls a gun from his jacket, points it at Susannah and says ‘money or your life.’ I tell Susannah, imagine that if all of this happens I would step between you and the thug and take the bullet for you as you escape. Thus I would lay down my life for you if all of that happened! Now this is a silly reduction but it is not what our responsibility is!

Laying down your life for your wife and children is more than taking a theoretical or real bullet. The job is much, much harder and a lot dirtier. In Ephesians 5 we are instructed to sanctify our wives and present her without spot or blemish. This is what Christ does to His church, as accomplished on the cross and in history. Now, obviously we cannot save our wife or children. God does that. As husbands, however, we are to copy what Christ does for His bride. He sanctifies His bride. So our major ministry focus as husband, as shepherd, is to be a tool in the sanctifying of our wife and children. This is a harder job than making a living or taking a bullet. It is a lifelong, uninterrupted job of faithful obedience to Christ. And the amazing thing is that God uses faithful fathers to bring revival to His people and the world. In the last book of the Old Testament we read that revival comes when God turns the hearts of fathers to the Law and their family/children. We read this very same thing in Luke 1:17 – God is in the business of transforming the world through His church, the family of families and He uses the tool of the faithful, family/children focussed father to do this. What a frightening call we have – but again the Shepherd comforts us and gives us what we need to be faithful. We must but ask it of the Lord in prayer.

How do father’s do this?

Calvin & others have pointed out that fathers do this by being prophet, priest and king to their family.

Prophet – brings to bear the word of God on His people. We are to wash our wife in the Word and teach our children. How? Through daily family worship. Everyday lead your family in: reading the Bible, singing Psalms, memorising Scripture, prayer & teaching them a little about what you have read. All husbands and fathers should be able to find 20 minutes a day to do this, preferably in the morning and the evening.

Priest – a prophet brings the word of God to His people. The role of the priest is to take the word of the people to God. This means prayer. Men – you are to pray for you and your family and your nation. Daily prayer life on your own and in family worship is essential.

King – the concept of kingship is not that you are the authoritarian ruler who has all his desires met, Your wife is not required to feed you grapes while you lie back and enjoy her fanning you! The king is responsible for all in his kingdom, is protector and servant of his subjects. Men, whatever occurs in your house is YOUR responsibility. As king you must take responsibility for all in your home. In other words, all things that occur in your house are your responsibility. They may not be your fault but are yours to teach through as prophet bring before the Lord as priest and correct as king.[viii]

In closing - it is important to note that since we are in relationship with Christ we are expected to walk in righteousness. Because we are in Christ’s Kingdom we must live by His standards. We do not enter the kingdom by being a good husband or wife or child. Entry to the kingdom is by the Shepherd finding us. How do we know that the Lord is our Shepherd and loves us? Because He directs us to be united with His body/the church and be obedient to Him. He disciplines us. In other words because God has saved us we will desire to love Him and His people through faithful obedience to His Word. We will constantly be transformed by the Holy Spirit and constantly repent of our sins.

Again, these principles and patterns can and must be applied to us as the church as well. God does all of these things for us as a church as well as individuals.

Restate:

1. We must read the Bible on its own terms. Identify what literary structures are being employed by the Spirit and then work within them.
2. God works in overarching covenants. Covenants describe how God develops relationships with His people and what is required of them. These covenants give overall context flow to the Scriptures.
3. Psalm 23:4 comforts us to know that Jesus Christ is the great shepherd who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He guides us, leads us and directs us by His Word through the Spirit to bring glory to Himself.
4. Finally we drew the conclusion that fathers are to shepherd their wife and children through being prophet, priest and king to them.