July 16, 2023
Jehovah-Shammah
Psalm 23:4 & Ezekiel 48:35
Changes in narrative are a potent tool in many different communication mediums. In movies, books, and music we see that narrative shifts can be used powerfully. For example, let’s look at worship music. We can either be singing about God or we can be singing to God. It’s a concept sometimes referred to as horizontal and vertical worship. When we sing a horizontal worship song we sing about God to tell others about Him. Some examples of this are Amazing Grace, How Great is our God, and Standing on the Promises. When we sing a vertical worship song we sing (or should be singing) directly to God as we worship Him. Some examples of this are How Great Thou Art, You Are My King, and Here I Am To Worship. A simple shift in singing about God to singing to God can make quite an impact and it’s something we see in the 4th verse of Psalm 23. In the first three verses, King David refers to God (the Good Shepherd) as He. He makes me lie down, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul, but there is a definite change in the 4th verse when instead of He, King David refers to God as You. It becomes much more personal at that point and with that change comes a change in setting as well. Instead of images of green fields and peaceful streams, we get a shift to images of darkness, dread, and fear. It’s at this point that the Psalm becomes the most intimate - there is darkness present and evil is all around. However we know we will be taken care of because of Jehovah-Shammah (meaning “The Lord is there”).
Throughout this series, we have continually gone back to the place in scripture where we see the name of God revealed first in the 23rd Psalm. Today I’d like to stay here in the 23rd Psalm and dissect it piece by piece before we talk about the first place we see Jehovah-Shammah mentioned (which is in Ezekial 48:35). So let’s take a look at some truths revealed in the 23rd Psalm and how Jehovah-Shammah meets us there.
Psalms 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
We will all walk through dark valleys.
Even though we use this verse a majority of the time at funerals where we are speaking of literal death, when David speaks of the valley of the shadow of death, he is speaking of tough times in our lives (including death itself). I wish it weren’t so, but all have to go through dark times in our lives, there is no getting around it. We will all have disappointments, frustrations, discouragements, loss, and every other difficulty you can think of. Jesus said in John 16:33 that not only will we have trials and sorrows, but He says we will have MANY trials and sorrows. All these problems are because of sin. We feel the consequences of our own sins as well as the sins of others. While we need to understand that we are all going to go through many tough times, we also need to understand that David said that we walk through those valleys of darkness. We move through those times. We don’t stop. We don’t hang out in them or live in them, but we walk through those valleys. Walking through valleys means that it is not our final destination, we just pass through for a season. This is very important to understand because when we are going through dark valleys in our lives it can seem that we are there to stay. We must understand that these times only last for a moment, especially when compared to all of eternity.
While we are talking about dark valleys only being temporary, I want to mention suicide briefly. In the USA, the suicide rate is 14.1 per 100,000 people. In New Mexico, it’s almost double that with a suicide rate of 24.3, and it is even worse in San Juan County with a suicide rate of 29.6. We are surrounded by people who are struggling without hope. They believe that the tough times will last forever and there is only one way out. That’s a lie that Satan loves to repeat into our ears over and over. If you are struggling with that right now, I beg you to talk to someone about it - come talk to our staff, talk to a counselor, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255), call 988 from any phone, or text “HOME” to 741-741. You are only in these valleys for a short time. I pray that the truth of today's sermon will be an encouragement to you to know that not only is this dark valley only for a season, but you have someone there with you, Jehovah-Shammah.
There is only a shadow of evil.
There is a specific reason that King David wrote that the valley contained the shadow of death instead of death itself. It’s because death (along with all of our other troubles) can’t stand in the pathway of God, it must stand to the side. Isaiah 25:8 tells us that through the coming Messiah (Jesus Christ) that death will be swallowed up. Revelation 1:18 says that Jesus conquered death and holds the keys to the grave. Death can’t stand in the Good Shepherd's way, because he’s a defeated foe. However death still likes to try to strike fear into the hearts of those who walk with the Good Shepherd. Death will one day be destroyed once and for all (Revelation 20:14) along with all other evil. For now he will try to make things in those valleys scary for those passing through. You need to remember that in order for there to even be a shadow present, there must be a source of light. 1 John 1:15 tells us that God is light and it’s the hope we have in Him that causes there to be a shadow at all. Without God’s presence, there would only be darkness and not a shadow. This is a great time to visit Ezekial 48:35
Ezekiel 48:35
“The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles. And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The Lord Is There.”
The book of Ezekiel was given at a time when the first round of captives was taken into Babylon – Ezekiel was one of them. The prophecies that were given to Ezekiel at first were not pleasant. They were like those shadows in the valley. They were promises that not only would Jerusalem be destroyed, but that the temple would be utterly destroyed as well. The book ends not with darkness and destruction but with hope, with light, and with God’s promise. He promises that even though they would be going through a time of darkness (it was a time of judgment and correction) that there would come a time He would restore them, rebuild the city, and God would be there in their presence. He brought them a message of hope so they could focus on the light rather than the shadows. That’s what we are called to do as well. We have promise after promise, as believers, for hope. We are called to focus on them and not the shadow of evil or death. Many times in our lives this is difficult, but remember the larger the shadow appears to be the closer the light source is to us. When things seem almost overwhelming, Jehovah-Shammah is there.
There is a presence that makes us not fear.
When we travel through the valleys of darkness and death, we are not told to be brave in our own power, or even because of our own might. We are fearless only because He is with us, Jehovah-Shammah. 1 John 4:18 says that perfect love casts out all fear. It’s the perfect love that comes only from God that can do that in our lives as we walk through valleys. Ezekiel 48:35 was a message of hope and a promise that God was not going to leave His chosen people. As Christians we have the same thing (John 14:16-17, Matthew 28:20), God will never leave us or forsake us. Evil is all around us (in the context of things against God as well as trials and troubles), but we have a promise in Romans 8:38-39 that NOTHING can separate us from God’s love. Can evil? No! Can Satan? Never! How about our own sinful selves? Nope! Can death itself separate us from God and His love? Nope, for a believer, it actually brings us closer together with Him! Jesus is Jehovah-Shammah because He is Emmanuel - He is God with us. He is with us no matter what we are going through or where we find ourselves. God is with us and we don’t have to fear because the Good Shepherd is here. He has conquered everything we will ever face that might bring us fear and we are His. I will fear no evil because God is always with me.
There is comfort in the Shepherd's tools.
Psalm 23:4 finishes with the mention of a rod and a staff - the basic equipment that all shepherds of that day would carry. When David was faced with the giant Goliath there are only two things mentioned in 1 Samuel 17:40 that David took with Him - a sling (with some rocks) and his staff. The rod and staff were very important to David because of how they would be used to protect and care for the sheep. The rod would be a tool that symbolized the strength and power of the shepherd. It would be the tool that the shepherd would use to fight off enemies who would come to harm the sheep. There is comfort in a God who will do everything to protect us from our enemies. In Romans 8:31-32 we have the same promise given to us as Christians - if God is for us who can be against us? Since He gave His only Son to conquer the greatest enemy we will ever face (death), won’t He give us everything else?
The shepherd's staff was a shepherd's favorite tool because of its versatility. The staff could be used for almost everything the shepherd would need in the care of his sheep. There is one aspect that brings me the most comfort and possibly David as well because the staff is also used to pull his sheep close when they need special attention. We all seek after “Mountain Top” experiences with God, but in truth, it’s in those valleys of shadows that we have more true intimacy with God. It’s when we are fearful of evil that is casting shadows that the Good Shepherd pulls us closer to Him, as we walk through those times.
I find the most comfort in one more use of these tools and that’s the tool of counting. We see in the book of Leviticus that the sheep would have to come under the staff to be counted. As the shepherd would bring in the flock to the pen he would count them to make sure all his sheep were present. If the shepherd found one that wasn’t his, he wouldn’t let them enter, but when it would pass under the staff they meant they belonged to him. When we are saved by making Jesus the Lord of our lives, we are His. John 10:27-28 tells us that “My sheep (those who are saved) listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me”. Is there any greater comfort than to know that I am God’s and He is mine forever?
Time in the valley is never enjoyable, it’s hard, but in those times we need to remember that God is Jehovah-Shammah. He is there and is always present in our struggles. When we get discouraged and are tempted to fear. We need to focus on Him, knowing that He is pulling us close to His side to walk through this temporary time. Where He’s bringing us will be a much better place than where we were before. I pray that you will experience God as Jehovah-Shammah, not as a distant and impersonal God, but as a personal God who is always near.
