Psalm 23:4 - Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Get ready, sheep. This is a rather contrasting thought for today. The rod = shepherds carried a small, wooden, club-like stick with a knob on the end. They would tuck this rod into their belt. The staff = picture a longer, stick with a hook on the end. The shepherds would use these two objects to protect their sheep....and to discipline their sheep. If a predator was noticed by the shepherd, he would use the rod to throw at or strike the predator in defense of his sheep. If a sheep got caught in a thicket or in a crevice, the shepherd would use the hook of the staff to pull him free. Now that sounds quite comforting - right? But wait! These same comforting, protective utensils were also used in disciplinary ways as well. How? If the sheep were fighting each other, or wandering too far from the flock, that same rod was used to whack the rebellious animal on the head or rump. That same staff was used to poke the trouble-making sheep in the side or hook him by the neck to yank him away from others. Same objects.....different uses. No real conflict there. As a child, my personality was never warped by the supposed "inconsistency" of being spanked by my father with the same hands that hugged me in comfort or put on a band-aid. Both a spanking and a protective hug came from the same hands. No problem. No warping of my pliable young mind! (Some might disagree with me on that point!) We humans...like sheep...need to be hugged and spanked as needed. Our divine Shepherd knows what we need - when. His love is demonstrated in both uses of the rod and staff. And, he is always right in his assessment and timing. How about you....right now? Do you need a hug? Or a whack? Now THAT is how His rod and staff comfort us! F.H.P. Pastor Tim "Baaaah!"
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:31:41 +0000
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