Psalm 23: Another Look
With Questions and Proposed Answers
The Text
1A ballad to David. Yehovah is my shepherd. I shall not lack. 2He will couch me in pastures of green. He will lead me beside waters of rests. 3He will restore my being. He will conduct me in the cartpaths of righteousness for the sake of His Name. 4Indeed when I will walk in Death-Shadow Valley, I will not fear bad. For Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff—they will console me. 5Thou shalt order a table to my faces in front of my afflicters. Thou hast greased my head with oil. My cup is abundance. 6Only good and grace will chase me all the days of my lives. And I will dwell in the House of Yehovah to the length of days.
Questions and Proposed Answers
1. a) Why is this a ballad? Since a ballad tells a story in song, this song will be sung during the Millennium. It describes a particular set of events that has good guys and bad, danger and rescue, and other aspects typical of an American Western.
1. b) Is this ballad about David? No. David is a prophet. True prophets rarely speak of themselves in their prophecies, but always state what Yehovah commands them to state regarding any topic of Yehovah’s choosing. Particular statements later in this Psalm describe what cannot refer to David if this Psalm is understood literally. For example, verse two uses the verb couch, which only describes a physical position of a four-footed animal at rest.
1. c) Why are some Psalm writers identified, while others are not? A reader can compare or contrast the Biblically described experiences of the named writers with their Psalms, in some cases, to correctly conclude that the events are not about their writers. The reader can then begin to understand that the Psalms must refer to another, and then consider who. Some Psalm writers are not identified in the Psalms, but are identified elsewhere, in the ‘New Testament’, for example:
Acts 4:25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
Psalm 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Not all Biblical writers must be identified for the texts to be the Word of God. Yehovah has a vital purpose for the identification, if they are identified.
1. d) Who is saying, “Yehovah is my shepherd”? To answer this question, one must be identified who will dwell in the House of Yehovah to the length of days. If an individual person dwells in His House, a bedroom must be provided unless he sleeps on the floor. The House of Yehovah is not that large, and won’t be that large. Only the appropriate priests can even enter the House of Yehovah. What priest can sleep inside it? Jerusalem the city will be where the House of Yehovah is located, so the city won’t dwell in the House of Yehovah. Israel as a nation, however, will continually dwell in the House of Yehovah, since a priest of Israel will enter and work in this House on a continual basis throughout the Millennium. Whatever one Israeli does, being part of Israel, he or she represents all of Israel, just as David did when he took on Goliath. If, when one Israeli sins, all Israel has sinned, if one Israeli will always be occupying the House of Yehovah throughout the Millennium, Israel will dwell in the House of Yehovah throughout the Millennium. Thus, I propose that Israel is the dweller. Israel is described as a singular ‘sheep’ in Jeremiah 50:17.
1. e) If Israel is the speaker, what does “Yehovah is my shepherd” mean? How is the speaker being viewed? The speaker is being viewed as a sheep, and Yehovah is being viewed as a shepherd over this sheep. Yehovah is therefore doing for this sheep as a good human shepherd would do for his sheep. Some shepherds have even given their lives for their sheep.
1. f) What do shepherds do? They have a range of responsibilities, including directing the sheep to good grazing, good water supplies and shelter when necessary. They must tend the sheep during lambing, if necessary. They must guard the sheep from predators. They must tend sick or wounded sheep, and either keep sheep from wandering or seek them out. They must shear them. They must deal with sheep that cause harm to the flock.
1. g) What are the implications of being shepherded by Yehovah? Since Yehovah’s shepherding would be absolutely perfect, any sheep under His care will prosper, be protected, be always directed to the best places, and will produce very good wool.
1. h) Does this mean that anyone being shepherded by God now will always prosper and be in good health? This text does not refer to being shepherded by Yehovah at the present time. Saints are vulnerable to disease, attack, deprivation and many other things. This Psalm refers to another time and another individual (like Israel, the people) when Yehovah will do these things in an absolute way. The Bible is not designed for application to one’s life, but for one to apply himself to it. The Bible will only make consistent sense to the degree that it is taken literally (unless it otherwise specifies).
1. i) Does Yehovah’s being the speaker’s shepherd eliminate Him from being the shepherd of others? No. He can be the shepherd of more than one.
1. j) Can another sheep rightly declare everything in this Psalm? This can apply to another sheep if it will also dwell in the House of Yehovah to the length of days. I know of no other group that will dwell there, however. The other races and peoples will live in their own lands that have been suitably designed for them. They will freely come to visit the House of Yehovah, but how could they dwell in it? No other priests are allowed to enter. This Psalm is only for one group.
1. k) Doesn’t this eliminate every other reader of the Psalms, except Jews, from reading this Psalm, since it isn’t pertinent? This Psalm cannot be pertinent to any living Jews today, since it is describing Tribulation and Millennium events. It does what most prophecies do, giving Truth regarding the plan of Yehovah. Few Biblical prophecies apply to us in our time, but they are still Truth and must still be learned. Folks who insist upon applying texts to themselves will never understand the Word of God, and do not believe or receive the Truth.
1. l) The speaker states, “I shall not lack.” Has he lacked before? Yes! No matter who the speaker is, he or she has lacked before, being experienced with bad (verse 4).
1. m) What will the speaker not lack? This is described in the following verses: grazing, water, rest, safety, righteousness, consolation, oil, a full cup, good and grace. The inference is anything.
1. n) What is ‘Israel’? Israel can refer directly to Jacob; it is the name that Yehovah gave to him when they wrestled. It is also the name by which he will be exclusively called in the Millennium. Israel can also refer to the land that Yehovah promised to Avraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel can also refer to the nation (the same as the race), all who directly descend from Jacob. Israel can also refer to more than just the direct descendants by referring to the ‘people of Israel’. Ruth was a Moabitess, yet she became part of the People of Israel. Israel can also refer to the northern split in the kingdom, with Judah being the southern. Israel is the name given at the blessing by Yehovah, and therefore is a blessing to Jacob and the people of Jacob (especially those in faith, since the others will be cut off nevertheless). Israel cannot refer to the general category of all folks together in faith. Some claim that ‘the Israel of God’ refers to the popular ‘church’, and this violates the texts. The wife of Yehovah refers to Jerusalem:
Ezekiel 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3And say, Thus saith the Lord Yehovah unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite…. 8Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Yehovah, and thou becamest mine.
2. a) What does “He will couch me” mean? The couching position is the restful position of four-footed creatures, when their legs are either in front of them or folded under them while their belly is on the ground. Yehovah will place this sheep in this position.
2. b) Why does Yehovah have to do this couching? The sheep either has been wounded or starved, or it is being told to couch there. Verse 3 indicates a needed restoration, telling me that the sheep has been wounded or starved.
2. c) A sheep that is couched cannot do much grazing. What is the benefit of being couched in pastures of green? Since pastures are plural, this sheep is being moved so that it can do grazing while it is recuperating. The text shows movement, since the sheep is being led beside waters of rests.
2. d) What does “He will lead me beside waters of rests” indicate? The rests are plural, showing that the sheep and the shepherd are on the move. The sheep is now tired, whereas it was previously in bad condition, lacking what was necessary for life.
2. e) Why will the Shepherd lead the sheep beside waters of rests rather than bringing water to the sheep, or taking the sheep into waters of rests? The Shepherd is strengthening the sheep by good exercise. Bringing the sheep water would provide no exercise. Bringing the sheep into waters could endanger the weakened animal. Sheep do not do well in swiftly moving waters. They can lose their footing, fall in and drown.
2. f) Where are the shepherd and the sheep going? The text does not say, but because of the destination of the House of Yehovah, it sounds like they are going back to the Land of Israel, to Mount Zion where the city of Jerusalem will be located, in which is found the House of Yehovah.
3. a) What does “He will restore my being” mean? This sheep cannot get entirely better on its own. The being is any combination of the body, soul and spirit. This shepherd must do for the sheep what naturally would not occur; the sheep would naturally die.
3. b) What are cartpaths, and what do they show? They are paths made by ox drawn carts, showing that others have traveled there before. These paths are not new, and are often very old.
3. c) What is a cartpath of righteousness? It is an old path that has been traveled by others who are ‘in the way of’ righteousness.
3. d) Why does this sheep need to be conducted in this righteousness cartpath if the path is clearly cut into the territory? Other paths divert from this righteousness path, so that the shepherd needs to guide this sheep to keep it from wandering from the path on which he has been commanded to walk.
3. e) For whose sake is the Shepherd conducting the sheep in the righteousness cartpath? The Shepherd is doing this for the sake of His own Name.
3. f) How is this for the sake of His own Name? The Shepherd has a Name that is associated with His reputation, that He does not want ruined. If this sheep either dies or never makes it to the House of Yehovah, the Shepherd’s reputation will be destroyed. Yehovah promised Avraham certain things, including a very large offspring and the Land of Israel. Were Avraham returned to the Land of Israel after his resurrection, only to find it devoid of his offspring, he would find Yehovah unfaithful. Israel must be turned to righteousness before Messiah will return. If Israel is not turned to righteousness, Messiah will not return and Avraham will still be waiting for the fulfillment of the promises.
3. g) Isn’t the Shepherd also doing this for the sake of this sheep? The text does not say so!
3. h) Identify the Shepherd’s Name: This Name is a person: Yeshua. Israel the people is being conducted by Yehovah the Father for the sake of Yeshua. The Name is declared to be a person in a number of texts, including the following:
Isaiah 30:27 Behold, the name of Yehovah cometh from far. Burning is His anger, and the burden thereof is heavy! His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue is as a devouring fire.
4. a) This sheep has now been restored. It knows that it will walk in Death-Shadow Valley. What is this valley? It is a place where attackers can easily hide and attack with immunity, since it is known for its high rock ledges on either side of the valley. Actual Death-Shadow valleys exist, and one particular place seems to be being described in this text. This is apparently the only way this sheep can come to return to Jerusalem. The Shepherd will completely protect this sheep.
4. b) Why will the sheep not fear bad, walking through Death-Shadow Valley? The Shepherd is with this sheep, and the Shepherd is not susceptible to harm or to defenselessness.
4. c) The Shepherd’s rod and staff are used to console the sheep. Why would the sheep need consolation? The sheep is not exhibiting fear of the circumstances, so the consolation is not because of fear that isn’t present. It must be because of loss and/or suffering that the sheep has endured. This area must be very dangerous, especially if the Shepherd were not present.
4. d) What uses do a shepherd’s rod and staff have? They are used as tools for walking on dangerously stony or unstable ground and for dealing with sheep, either to pull them out of binds or to ‘convince’ them to do as the shepherd directs. This sheep is being conducted in cartpaths of righteousness, so I do not assume that it is wandering. The rod and staff, then, can be used against enemies that would attempt to destroy the sheep. It can also be used for miracles:
Exodus 4:20 And Moses took his wife and his sons. And he set them upon an ass. And he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
It is called ‘the rod of God’ because he will do miracles with it:
Exodus 7:9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, “Show a miracle for you!” then thou shalt say unto Aaron, “Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent!”
This rod is also mentioned in terms of the End Times:
Psalms 110:2 Yehovah shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion.
Yehovah’s rod proceeds out of His mouth:
Isaiah 11:4 But with righteousness shall He judge the poor. And He will reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth. And with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.
If the sheep is Israel, the sheep will have been beaten with the Assyrian’s rod:
Isaiah 10:24 Therefore thus saith the Lord Yehovah of hosts, “My people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian! He shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 25For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. 26And Yehovah of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb. And as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. 27And it shall come to pass, in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck. And the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
Yehovah’s rod will be against His enemies. His staff, on the other hand, has also been used in miracles:
Judges 6:21 Then the angel of Yehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of Yehovah departed out of his sight.
The staff is used in walking, and pictures something upon which one can lean (depend), but in the above text it is used in provision (the fire of the acceptable sacrifice, for example). If the staff is faulty or weak, it can do much damage:
Isaiah 36:6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
The sheep will find consolation in Yehovah’s staff, since it is fully dependable.
4. e) The previous statement was, “For Thou art with me” (present tense). Yet the rod and staff “will console me” (future tense). Why doesn’t the text read, “Thy rod and Thy staff—they console me”? Yehovah will use these items when necessary, like when they enter into Death-Shadow Valley. Justice has not yet come, and enemies are still around.
4. f) In many fairy tales and occult stories, rods and staves are used to cast spells, make light in the darkness, etc. Don’t texts like Psalm 23:4 have the potential for backing up the occult in these ways? Most occult stories and fairy tales seem to be directly linked to the Bible, describing what the Bible states, but in a manner not used in the Bible. For example, the Bible speaks of necromancers, and gives an example by having a witch bring Samuel from the dead. These texts, when put through the popular imaginations, have given rise to occult stories, like the search for the ‘holy grail’. The Bible is designed so that it can be used properly or improperly with equal ease, so that only one who desires Truth will see Truth. Psalm 23:4 can result in occult stories, or it can be read with Yehovah’s miraculous hand (or mouth) in mind on behalf of this sheep (Israel).
5. a) What is strange about verse 5’s use of table? Sheep do not utilize tables. This does not refer to a flat table land, but to some furniture for food.
5. b) What does “order a table to my faces” mean? The Shepherd will set up and prepare a place of food directly in front of the sheep while the sheep is watching.
5. c) Why will the Shepherd do this in front of the sheep’s afflicters? This is the beginning of payback to these afflicters. They will see all Yehovah’s provision for this sheep, yet will be unable or fearful to attack the sheep.
5. d) What does order mean? It means to arrange.
5. e) What is the purpose of greasing the sheep’s head with oil? It is normally used to keep bugs from safely landing and laying eggs or bothering the sheep. Even if Lord Fly (the meaning of BaalZvuv which is turned into Beelzebub in English) tries to distract the sheep, the grease will disallow any landing on the sheep’s head.
5. f) Explain, “My cup is abundance”: The easiest way to explain this is to look at other cups in the Bible:
Psalm 11:6 Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest—the portion of their cup.
Psalm 75:8 For in the hand of Yehovah is a cup, and the wine is red. It is full of mixture. And He poureth out of the same. But the dregs thereof—all the wicked of the earth shall wring out, drink.
Ezekiel 23:33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
The cup refers to what has been prepared for anyone. The sheep’s cup is abundance, not fury, desolation or shock. This fits the beginning text, “I shall not lack.”
6. a) Why is chase used in “Only good and grace will chase me all the days of my lives”? The sheep was being chased for destruction before the Shepherd began leading the sheep. Many chasers attempted to round up the sheep for slaughter. Now, only good and grace will chase the sheep!
6. b) If good and grace do the chasing, what will happen to the sheep? The sheep will always be pursued by these two wonderfully delightful aspects of Yehovah’s character. No matter where this sheep goes or does, good and grace will catch the sheep and bring good and grace.
6. c) What is good? This is a description of Yehovah Himself. All good comes from Him. It is the opposite of bad, and can be more easily described using this. Bad is some form of harm or destruction, so good would be something that is fruitful (in a useful way) and that builds. Messiah is called good, and this is a form of calling Him deity.
6. d) What is grace? First, it is not ‘unmerited favour’, since this describes mercy, not grace. Fervent, ardent zeal that actuates one toward or against another is grace, or put another way, a very strong and active, burning zeal that motivates someone to act on behalf of, or against another is grace. This word can describe a good action or a destructive action. Since grace is doing the chasing with good, only the good side of grace will chase this sheep.
6. e) Why is the word lives plural? Every individual, including this speaker, has more than one life. Before a baby is born, the baby has a life inside its mother’s womb. Once it is born, it has a life as a dependent breastfeeder. It then develops a new life as a toddler, then as a young child. The life of a teenager is again different, as well as the life of an adult, then a senior adult. In the meantime, the life as a father is different from the life as a husband. There are also lives after death: everlasting life being one, and everlasting damnation being another. If the speaker is Israel, Israel also has a number of lives. Israel will be responsible for teaching the world the Word of God, showing His plan through every aspect of dress, conduct, food, and so on, and by direct handling of the texts.
6. f) How long will these lives last? They will continue to the length of days, discussed in the next question.
6. g) To what does the ‘length of days’ refer? It refers to the period of time during which days continue on this planet. No Temple will be present on the New Earth, so this text does not refer to that period of time. Days will continue through the Millennium and after it has ended, when the great attempted rebellion lead by Satan occurs.
6. h) What does “I will dwell in the House of Yehovah to the length of days” show? Israel (if Israel is the sheep) will never be ousted from the House of Yehovah. During the time of the Assyrian’s false prophet, Israel was ousted from the House of God (Matthew 24 describes this). It will never happen again.