JEHOVAH ROHI – THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD (Psalm 23)
The word “Rohi is the Hebrew word for “shepherd.” Jehovah is God’s personal name in Scripture. So, Jehovah Rohi means “the Lord Is My Shepherd.” It is one of God’s many names in the Bible. The word “rohi” comes from a Hebrew root word meaning “to feed”, meaning a shepherd who feeds his flock. The image of God caring for us like a loving shepherd cares for his sheep is one of the most familiar and loved pictures of God in the Bible. Each of God’s names brings a revelation of God’s character. Elohim is the Creator. Jehovah is the God of the covenant. Jehovah Rapha is the Healer. Jehovah Jireh is the Provider. And so on… These names are all powerful, but none touches the believer individually like Jehovah Rohi, The Lord is my Shepherd. As a Shepherd, God cares for me, leads me, feeds me, protects and heals me. In good times and bad times, I know beyond every shadow of doubt, that I am not alone and God is with me to the end of my life. I am His sheep and He is my Shepherd. I am covered by His Love forever. Knowing this is the greatest encouragement that I can have. Selah!
Psalm 23 is the best-known example of Jehovah Rohi, describing God as our Shepherd. King David, the author of this psalm, had himself been a shepherd as a young man, caring for his father’s flocks. He knew from personal experience how vitally important it is to the safety and well-being of the sheep to have a good shepherd who would care for them even if it meant putting himself at risk of losing his life. David killed a lion and a bear that was attacking his flock (1 Sam 17:34-36). Drawing on his personal experience as a shepherd, David wrote this psalm to teach us important truths about God. We must experience God personally if we are to fully know Him as our Shepherd who cares for us and provides all we need. A good shepherd endures cold, heat, sleeplessness, tiredness and danger in caring for his sheep.
If God is our Shepherd, it means that we are His sheep. “Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Ps100:3). This is a command, to “know” that the Lord (Jehovah) is God, above all so-called gods. Jehovah is God’s name meaning “I AM”, the personal covenant name of God. Jehovah is the sovereign, eternal and unchanging God. He is our creator. Because “He made us” He has authority and ownership over humanity. God is like a potter, and humans are the clay (Isa 64:8). God is shaping and forming us individually. “We are His people”. We belong to God who created us for Himself, in a personal relationship with God. In the Old Testament, Israel was chosen to be a holy nation (Deut 7:6). In the New Testament, all believers in Christ are called “a chosen people, a royal priesthood” (1Pet 2:9). In Christ, we are a community of believers as God’s chosen people. We are “the sheep of His pasture”. The Church is called The Flock, the Body or the Bride of Christ! Selah!
Jesus is Jehovah Rohi. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own… I lay down My life for the sheep” (Jn 10:1-30). Jesus is the fulfillment of all that the Bible says about Jehovah Rohi—our Shepherd: He cares for us. He leads us in paths of peace and righteousness. He seeks and saves His lost sheep. As the Good Sheperd, Jesus fulfils this image by laying down His life for His sheep. No matter how often or how far we wander away, Jesus will always keep searching for us. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us. He died, that we might live forever. And He is coming again to take us to heaven so that His sheep will be with Him forever. Amen!
Lessons: Because the LORD is God, He has ultimate authority and power in our lives. As believers, our identity comes from our relationship with Christ, thru God’s Word and by the power of God’s Spirit. We are created by God and belong to Him. That gives us purpose and value. As His people, we are called to live in obedience and trust, reflecting God’s character in our daily lives. Like sheep, we must rely on God’s guidance and provision, seeking His will in all circumstances. Being part of God’s flock means we are not alone; we are part of a community that supports and encourages one another in love and faith. It is our duty and privilege to attend a local church, serving God there. Stay with the flock! Study God’s Word and apply it daily! Choose paths that keep sight of the Shepherd. If a choice takes away your emotions and time away from Christ, it leads toward weeds, not pasture, towards danger and not safety. Following Jesus is the only way!
Unfortunately, just as sheep do not always follow their shepherd we, too—God’s sheep—have failed to follow Him. We often wander away. The Bible says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:6). Knowing that we are the sheep of God’s pasture practically affects our lifestyle and decisions. For example, about finances: Knowing that our Shepherd supplies all that we need, fear of poverty and love for material things goes away. We have enough money to tithe for God’s work and to pay all our bills. We work hard trusting God to bless and multiply our finances. We do not steal or cheat at our working place, because our Shepherd provides, defends and rewards our faithfulness. We guide our family based on God’s Word and not on the ideas of tradition or social media. If a believer is always worried about money, it means he is backsliding away from the Shepherd. Daily pray for wisdom asking God: “Where is the green pasture for my family?” Following Jesus thru His Word applies to all our daily decisions in marriage, parents, Christians and servants of God. We obey God’s command and choose to rest from labor to serve God during the Sabbath. That rest proclaims that we trust in God’s care. The Sheep that ignores rest forgets the Shepherd’s design. In case of problems, we pray. We do not retaliate in the flesh but allow the Shepherd to intervene and proclaim justice for us. Amen!
THE VALUE OF RELATIONSHIPS
God is a Trinity, three Persons in One: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They have an eternal relationship of LOVE and Trust with each other. God made man “in His image and His likeness” (Gen 1:26,27). That means man was created to be a spiritual being and to have an eternal loving and personal relationship with God and with other people. Selah!
A relationship is a continuing and often committed association between two or more people, as in a family, friendship, marriage or partnership in which the participants have some degree of influence on each other’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. People in a relationship spend time together, help each other and are emotionally connected. As with other relationships in life, the spiritual connection between the pastor (the shepherd) and members of the congregation (the sheep and the lambs) must be characterized by trust, warmth, respect, and understanding of each other, for the glory of God and for the good of all.
Relationships are very powerful. Imagine if you removed every connection from your life. Life’s very purpose would seem to disappear. Relationships give life meaning and create a sense of belonging. Without a relationship with someone, most would have little reason to live. It’s no wonder God created Eve for Adam; even with a relationship with God, he needed a human companion. Marriage between a man and his wife is the most intimate relationship man has on earth. Love is not lonely and is not selfish! Love needs another to love.
What was Jesus’ secret as a Lover of men, as a Friend of sinners? “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1Pet 2:21-23). Jesus is the best Lover and Friend, the Master of relationships. The reason why Jesus never failed in His relationships with God and men is because He was free from sin!!!
What is sin? It is breaking of God’s Law and breaking of God’s heart. Separation and Divorce happen because of sin, and the hardness of hearts (Matt 19:8). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). We are born selfish, greedy, lazy, and jealous of others. Sin unites us in a hopeless world. Sinners cannot love. Love is found in Christ alone. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you” (Isa59:1,2). Sin separates us from God and breaks our relationship with one another.
Sin is not just a breaking of God’s law. It breaks God’s heart. This very personal and emotional description helps us see that God does not see sin only as a moral failure; He sees it as a heartbreaking cause of distance in the relationship He longs to have with us. God’s grace is the only solution to be able to love God and one another. Free from the distancing effects of sins like prejudice, self-righteousness, pride, judgmentalism, bitterness, envy, and jealousy, Jesus looked past social and emotional barriers to see the true value and deep spiritual needs of every soul. He consistently broke through cultural, ethnic, and religious divisions that separated Him from others. Study the way Jesus related to different people, rich or poor, the Samaritan woman, Martha, Mary, the sinful woman who anointed His feet, the rich young ruler, Pontius Pilate and all His disciples. He never made mistakes in relating to these difficult and broken people. He loved them and challenged them to learn how to love. Let us pursue relationships intentionally; isolation denies God’s design. Let us invest in vibrant quality friendships and church fellowship upholding God’s “good” verdict over our lives. The more we look to Jesus, the more we can identify and remove the hindrances in our own marriages and relationships. We can build an inspiring friendship with God, and we can become a true friend who changes other people’s lives for better in incredible ways. May God help us! Worship the Lord!