Jehovah Raah- Lesson Eight

"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever."

Psalm 136:1

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In this, our final lesson already, we will look at the Lord's mercy toward His people...His flock...and how our participation in His presence is the ultimate gift He gave us.

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD

Forever."

Psalm 23:6

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We have looked at God as our Good Shepherd these past lessons. We have seen just how He provides for His flock, He protects His flock, and He dwells with His flock as an example of what shepherds of His people should be and do.

Please read:

Ez 34:22-24

God tells us that it is He who shall save us and judge us according to His perfect righteousness. We are no longer prey subject to destruction by the beasts of the field. No, He took care of that for us.

He appointed David as the earthly shepherd who was a foreshadowing of the Messiah to come. But David did fail because he was a man afterall. That is why we do not pray in the name of David.

So, God Himself condescended toward man by walking the earth to leave us with an example to follow. An example of perfect submission and obedience, Christ Jesus conquered death once and for all that we, His flock, might live with Him forever.

David knew of this peace. He sang of it and wrote of it long ago.

Psalm 100

Psalm 101

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Seeking God's mercy and goodness should be the goal of every Christian walking the earth today.

But we should also long for the day when we shall be in His presence forever.

John 14:23

Ez 34:25-26

Showers of blessing. Can you just smell the clean rain that will fall all around us? That fresh clean smell that comes with the clean rain will surround us....except there will be showers of blessings all around us.

Psalm 145:8-9, 15, 16

Rom 2:4

His supreme goodness and kindness was shown when He forgave us sinners while we were still in sin....still in rebellion against Him. We were His enemies and yet He forgave us.

Rom 5:5-8

Rom 8:32-39

Eph 2:1-10

People, like David, will let us down. We will fail those around us. People lie, cheat, steal and kill.

But our God is faithful to the end. His promises endure forever.

Lam 3:22-23

Psalm 36:5

Psalm 89:1-2, 14, 24, 33

Just think of the despair of the disciples when they watched Jesus die. All their hopes went with Him into that tomb. But then they saw Him again...the risen Christ, just as He said He would come!

We have that hope. His faithfulness endures forever. King David knew he would dwell with the Lord forever. That was his hope. It should be our hope as well.

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We have that Good Shepherd who puts all earthly shepherds to shame. He is perfection. In Him alone should we rely.

But our earthly shepherds need our prayers. We should lift them up to the Lord daily not because we hope they won't fail us....but that when they do we will love them support them as they do when we fail.

Pray for your shepherd that he might be strong and courageous in times of battle. But also that he would be responsible for his flock and provide for them.

One day we will see our Good Shepherd as He is. And we shall be like Him. What a glorious day that will be when all striving ceases and that covenant of peace will be complete.

Thank you for joining me on this short journey through Scripture where we see God as our Good Shepherd.....our Jehovah-Raah.

I pray you have been encouraged through the reading of God's word. Take it with you and share what you have learned with other believers who may not know that they have a Holy Shepherd who loves them, protects them, watches over them and longs to dwell with them in peace.

Blessings,

Ruth

Jehovah Raah- Lesson Seven

"Bless the LORD,

O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits;

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your mouth is renewed like the eagle's."

Psalm 103:1-5

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Jehovah Raah

The Lord My Shepherd

Good morning! As we read and study God's word today, take time to pray and ask Him to speak to you. I want you to glean all that you can from today's lesson.

In our last lesson we looked at how the Lord protects us with His discipline. It can be hard to take, but we know His discipline is perfect because He is perfect. So, David wrote that the Lord's discipline and guidance is a comfort to him. It should be to us as well.

Today we will look at Psalm 23:5-

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over."

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You Prepare a Table Before Me

We can see in this verse how the Lord God treats David as an honored guest at His table. All the provisions have been placed there by the Lord. The psalmist takes no credit, nor should we for any of the blessings bestowed upon us by God.

Please read:

Ps 104:14-18

Acts 14:17

1 Tim 4:3-4

God warns us that if we obey Him we will have blessings....but if we disobey:

Deut 11:12-17

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In the Presence of My Enemies

It is important that we see how David tells us that not only is the table provided by the Lord and he is the honored guest, but that this is a victory table because the battle is won. This table has been set before the enemies of David.

We know that it is the Lord who scatters the enemies away from His people:

Num 10:35

Ps 3:3

Ps 5:12

Ps 18:48-49

Ps 27:6

Ps 68:1-2

Notice how the psalmist describes the Lord. He is our shield that protects us from the enemy. He lifts us up above those who attack us. He is the intense heat that melts the enemy like wax!

Praise God!

Our enemies have been conquered once and for all by the Lord who conquered death for us when He rose again. Take time today to really thank the Lord for fighting the battle for us.

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You Anoint My Head With Oil

As the honored guest at the table, it was the Jewish custom to anoint him with oil as a way of setting them apart, or sanctifying them, from other guests. Here we read how it is David whose head is anointed at the table provided by the Lord.

Ps 92:10-11

Notice how Jesus was treated when He was a guest at a Jewish table...

Luke 7:36-50

Compare the two. Jesus should have been treated as the honored guest by the Jewish leaders. He was their Messiah. He was there to sacrifice Himself that they would be reconciled to God.

Yet it was the woman with great sin who saw Jesus as the honored guest. She not only anoint his head, but His feet as well and with the oil of great price too.

Have we taken time to anoint our Lord as our honored guest? Is He welcome at our table? Would He feel welcome in our homes? Take time to meditate on what you have learned here today.

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My Cup Runs Over

We have seen how the Lord scattered away the enemies of His people. As humans, we desire justice from our enemies:

Ps 27:1-3

But how does God speak of our enemies?

Ex 23:4

Luke 6:27-36

Matt 5:44-45

Here we read what God says about enemies. He shows mercy and grace and tells us to do likewise.

Man wants justice taken out on his enemies by God:

Ps 55

Vengeance- That is the human reaction.

My son, Nathan, read this Psalm and said it shows a contradiction in Scripture in that Jesus was saying that we should love our enemies, but David asks God for vengeance upon the heads of his enemies.

I ask you, is this a contradiction in Scripture?

I asked my son, "Who is speaking in Luke, Matthew, and Exodus?" He answered, "God." Then I asked him, "Who is speaking in Psalm 55?"

And he answered, "David."

I was able to show him that man's desires for his enemies are far different that God's. Therefore, there is no contradiction. Had God been speaking in Psalm 55, then we would have a clear contradiction. But instead we see how man desires vengeance on those who have wronged him.

How does God respond to those who have wronged Him?

Luke 23:34

Luke 23:39-43

And why is this important to point out?

How did God see us before He saved us?

Ro 5:9-11

We were the enemies of God before the blood of Christ reconciled us to God! Now can you see why God tells us to love our enemies and pray for them? He tells us to lend to them and not to sue them. Why? Because that is what He has done for us.

And that is why our cups run over with all the blessings that the Lord has given us! Praise Him today with all your heart and soul.

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Covenant

So what is the greatest provision that the Lord bestowed upon us?

Salvation from His wrath and judgment. We are now reconciled to a holy God because He Himself became the propitiation for our sins. He Himself, knowing that only a perfect sacrifice would do, came down and became that spotless Lamb of the Passover for us.

Jesus overcame death for us. It was Jesus who conquered our enemies once and for all.

Luke 1:67-71

That's how much He loves us.

Now that's a Good Shepherd!

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"Loyalty is essential to leadership. The wise leader cultivates loyalty by being loyal- loyal to the Lord, loyal to the truth, and loyal to the people he leads. Nothing is more destructive of leadership that the leader who compromises his own loyalty."

-John MacArthur (The Book on Leadership, 2004, p. 70)

Blessings,

Ruth