Rod and Staff

Psalm 23:4

New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

My grandmother had me memorize the 23rd Psalm as a child for the incentive of a dollar, so it holds a special place in my heart. This week though, something struck me when reading this, specifically about the rod and staff being of comfort. It inspired me to delve in a bit more.

This Psalm is likely written by David and the first 4 verses use the metaphor of a shepherd for God, an occupation David would have been very familiar with.

Verse 4 starts with "Yea though" or "Even though", notice it's not "If". By using the Hebrew Gam the writer acknowledges this isn't a hypothetical, it will happen. A Shepherd knows that to get to the next pasture, a journey must be taken, and going through a valley would be a must.

The valley mentioned in the NIV is "darkest valley" in the KJV it's "Valley of the Shadow of Death".  The actual Hebrew is Tsalmaveth taken from the two words Tsel meaning shadow and Maveth meaning death. Interesting that this word can be found often in Job.  In Job 16:16 it references dark shadows ringing his eyes after crying and in Job 24:17 it references fear, as the word is translated into terrors of darkness.  This  may not be a specific place, but we can understand what kind of a valley this was; the darkest emotional place we can imagine - either in terror or in sadness. Think as black and as bleak as possible.

When in this time, David says to fear no evil.  The word evil here is Ra and is translated as evil, distress, misery, injury or calamity.  Despite being in the darkest valley possible, he doesn't fear calamity or injury, which could certainly befall a sheep in this situation.

Why? Simple. The Shepherd is there, someone else to take responsibility, to take control. This alone should bring comfort, but David specifically mentions to shepherding tools that bring comfort as well; the rod and staff.

The rod, Hebrew word Shebet, was a club, rod, or scepter.  It was a shorter than the staff and bulky, used mostly to protect sheep by clubbing predators. The staff, Hebrew word Misheneth, was a walking stick, long and skinny and often with a little curve on one end. The staff would not have been used as a weapon, as it was too flimsy, but was used for correction, to gently guide a sheep back to the heard or to rescue a sheep from an entanglement.

It makes sense that in our darkest places that we can find comfort knowing someone greater than us is there, protecting us from danger and guiding us to safety  The more subtle point is that the guidance the staff provides, can at times feel confining or restrictive as the hook gently pulls us from a certain path. Some may even say the staff provides discipline. Interesting that in psychology they have found that parents that have delineated good boundaries, structure and discipline actually foster less anxiety and more feelings of security than families that have little structure of discipline.

I think David knew this truth thousands of years ago; in times of crisis, we ultimately need all three. We need a greater authority to take charge and be in control, we need to know we are protected, and we need to know we will be guided, even if by correction and gentle discipline.

Affliction

Lamentations 3:32-33

New International Version (NIV)

³² Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.
³³ For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.

This could be part II to the post Not Consumed.

The phrase for 'brings grief' in Hebrew is Yagah, and is a verb meaning to afflict, vex, cause grief. What's surprising is this isn't passive, God's not just allowing something to happen he is doing it. Some translations start with "if", others "since", but there's no question on the person doing it.

To me it's not if, but when; so when affliction comes, then what? It says he will show compassion. Unlike this verse, the word for compassion used in Lam 3:23 comes from Racham from the root 'womb'. In this verse it also is translated out as Racham but there is a little apostrophe on the Hebrew word which changes the root to 'fondle'. This is a compassion of tenderness, a gentle touch, a soothing hand.  Why the compassion? It comes from his loving kindness or unfailing love which is abundant.  The Hebrew word for this unfailing love is Chesed which means mercy, and comes from the word Chacad which means to stoop or bend one's neck in deference to another.  To me this implies a respectful or deferential love.  Though hard to believe, God lowers his head to us with merciful love.

The order in Hebrew has the next word as Anah which means to be bowed down, or let's say pushed down. The other times this exact word was used in the bible it was translated as violate, in regards to a woman. It's not just pushing someone to the ground, but defiling them. A pretty harsh word.  The verse then says God does not force us down, willingly. This word is Mil lib bow from the Hebrew word Leb, meaning heart.  In fact the only other time this word is used like this is 2 Kings 9:24 which talks about an arrow going through the center of someone's heart. This implies that the intent of God's heart, at the center, isn't to push us down and cause grief.

Although the NIV ends with 'anyone' I find it interesting that the Hebrew uses the phrase 'son's of man' or 'children of man'.  By referencing children, isn't there an added element of paternalism?

Thinking like a parent helps me visualize this passage.  While at first glance the causal factor seems cruel and unjust, I keep thinking about this in parenting terms.  Specifically the image of immunizations for my kids comes to mind. When I and the nurses hold down (anah) my child and inflict pain/cause grief by injecting a vaccination, the intent of my heart is not to cause harm, yet I do it knowing it's for their good. As they cry and grieve in pain, I absolutely cradle them with compassion (racham). In fact it is my abundant love for them that allowed me to cause them grief in the first place.

Blind Guides

Matthew 23:23-28
New International Version (NIV)

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean

This chapter is the start of the judgment discourse. Jesus was in the Temple when speaking this, yet not directly to the Pharisees. First, who were the Pharisees? Recall there were two groups - Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees were the teachers of the Law, they were middle class individuals and had great influence on the people. This was much different than the Sadducees who were from wealthy families and had more of a political role.

The Pharisees are who the people looked to as role-models on how to live righteous lives. 

There are actually 7 "woes" that Jesus condemns, but I was drawn to these two. In vs 23 Jesus ridicules the Pharisees on their behavior. Tithing, or giving a tenth of your income/harvest etc was a practice of the time, though there was some dispute on if this applied to herbs. The Pharisees thought so, and by deliberately going above what may have been required made them look good. However, there are more important things, Jesus says, like justice, mercy and faithfulness. These three things he describes as weighty, or Barus in Greek, which means oppressive or heavy. They are both important, he says, but the Pharisees are missing the point.

The next illustration explains this. There was an actual Rabbinic teaching of the time that required liquor to be strained for gnats, because even accidentally swallowing one was a sin. The problem wasn't straining the gnat, but missing the camel. It's good to note that a gnat was the smallest known creature of the time, and a camel, the largest animal in Palestine.The Greek word for swallow is Katapino which is a devouring, or gulping down motion... a greedy swallow. In their haste to follow the law exactly, Jesus implies by ignoring justice, mercy and faithfulness, they actually are committing greater sins, for there was no doubt that the camel was forbidden animal to eat. 

The next woe addressed is really the heart of the matter. The reason Jesus is so hard on this group is that their motives are wrong. They look good on the outside. On the inside, however, as the Greek implies, you find things acquired selfishly or Harpage meaning through plundering or robbery and from Akrasia or lack of self control.

Ironic that the one thing the Pharisee's prided themselves on would have been self control. Their ability to follow the law to such exacting measures shouts self-control, and yet Jesus says it's an illusion and doesn't matter because it's based on selfish motives.

What's the take home message then? It's all about motives.  How do we try to show our righteousness today? It may be by being overly concerned with the do's and don't of religion, but it may be more subtle. Perhaps getting involved in projects to look good? What camel's are we blindly gulping down, all the while so focused on some petty gnat?