Psalm 23 Covenant PromisesНамуна

Psalm 23:4b-5a Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

The last part of verse four gives us another of His covenant promises by giving us another of His covenant names, Jehovah Maooz; the Lord is our strength. The scripture continues by saying, the rod and staff comfort us. The shepherd kept these with him at all times to help protect his sheep. The shepherd used his rod (club) to beat off wild animals and his staff (crook) to rescue and guide his sheep in the right direction. The shepherd never used the club on his sheep. In the same way, God never does evil to us. But, like a shepherd with his flock, God is always there caring for us, offering protection, and guiding us.

Christians often don't have the protection because they're not allowing God to do it. God says, "I'll use My rod and My staff to bless you if you allow Me to." That rod and staff will protect and direct us, and it becomes a tremendous comfort that takes away fear. The sheep is a helpless animal. It doesn't have any claws or sharp teeth; it can't run fast, nor does it emit an offensive odor like a skunk. The shepherd is the sheep's only real protection. We can't protect ourselves, much like sheep. John 15:5 says, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." He has to be our strength, our protection. Yet, we're striving and trying to protect and provide for ourselves many times. Let's remember; He is our Jehovah Maooz.

In the first part of verse five, He prepares a table before us. That is like feasting on the Word, coming to the Lord's table, and taking communion. It also reminds us of the marriage feast of the Lamb. Feasts were a big part of the Old Testament festivals. Today, as believers, we are seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. When we come into His presence and in the protection of His shelter, we can partake of everything He has for us. We feast on all of His provisions literally in the presence of our enemies.

Incredibly, God has analogies through the Bible that tell us precisely what He will do for us. He's showing Himself in these verses to be our Jehovah Maooz, our strength.

Now is a great time to come into God's presence and give Him all areas of our lives. Will you allow Him to become your strength?