The Valley of Darkness-Psalm 23:4

Sermons on Psalm 23: Nothing I Lack (Ps 23:1-2) and Only God Can Bring Me Back to Himself (Ps 23:3). Next, is the valley of darkness and death that everyone has to pass through it in our live, often more than once. It’s unavoidable. We can’t walk around it or bypass it. Those who try to avoid it won’t succeed, while still not be able to overcome the fear and dread of it. Why do we have to walk though this “deadly” dark valley?

The climax of Psalm 23 is the center not the end (Ps 23:4) because of its inverted structure (chiasm/ring composition) which ancient readers of the psalm know:

• 1. Lord/shepherd/No wants (Ps 23:1) [First person/I]
• 2. Food & Drink (Ps 23:2) [Third person/he]
• 3. Rescue/security (Ps 23:3) [Third person/he]
• 4. Dead/evil/no fear (Ps 23:4a) [First person/I]
• 5. Security/comfort (Ps 23:4b) [Second person/you]
• 6. Food & Drink (Ps 23:5) [Second person/you]
• 7. Goodness & Mercy/Lord/house all my days [First person/I]

“…the valley of the shadow of death” (KJV, RSV, ESV) or “the valley of deepest darkness” [NRSV] (Ps 23:4) is at the bottom of a valley where streams have cut long, deep, narrow crevices in the rock. It is a section of the trail that cannot be avoided. There is no bypass road and no magical escape. The only way forward is through the valley of sin and death.

Anticipation of fear cripples. The psalm doesn’t say “This valley is where the trail ends, get used to it!” Rather it is a valley through which the psalmist needs to pass. But he knows that his journey doesn’t end there. Some people endure loss and allow themselves to be trapped in the middle of that dark valley. The major problem of the valley is the fear it can generate. Such fear cripples the traveler long before a valley appears on the journey. The journey itself through a valley doesn’t destroy joy as much as the fear generated by the anticipation of the valley. The psalmist knows that he must one day pass through the dark valley, but he never contemplates dwelling in that fearful gloom. To shift metaphors, the psalmist is willing to “cross that bridge when he comes to it,” knowing that the bridge is intact and that it’ll lead to safety on the other side. The reality of fear is specifically mentioned in 3 of the 9 texts (4OT, 5NT). In most of the others it is assumed. In Psalm 23 fear surfaces twice.

1. is the unspoken fear experienced by the lost sheep. Once the sheep senses that it is lost, it is paralyzed by fear as noted. This is why the shepherd must “bring me back” to safety (Ps 23:3a).
2. is the fear experienced in the valley of death itself (Ps 23:4a). In this case the sheep is not lost; it is simply afraid as it moves through the valley. “I will fear no evil” affirms the psalmist.

God dramatically “walks on stage” at this “point of turning” in the psalm and the psalmist addresses him directly (Ps 23:4b). In this rhetorically constructed psalm, for the first time in this text, David addresses God directly with the stunning statement, “for you are with me!” (Ps 23:4b) If my deepest sense of security is in the efficiency of the police force in my community or the power of the military might of my country, then when they stumble, my fears easily overwhelm me. But if the Lord is my shepherd, I know that he will lead me through the darkest valley and I am delivered from my anticipatory anxiety. What then brings this assurance and confidence?

Sheep have a special problem: They have no defenses. Cats have teeth, claws and speed. Dogs have their teeth and their speed. Horses can kick, bite and run. Bears can claw, bite and crush. Deer can run. But the sheep have no bite or claws and cannot outrun any serious predator. They can butt other sheep, but that ability will not protect them from a wolf or a bear. The sheep’s only security is the shepherd. Indeed, “you are with me.”Incarnation implied. Israel was proud of God’s constant presence, saying, “What great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?” (Dt 4:7) The gods of the nations around Israel lived in temples built for them to inhabit. To talk to the god the worshiper was obliged to visit his “house” where he could be found. An idol was fashioned, and that idol was the god. Not so in Israel. They also had “the house of the Lord,” the temple, yet at the same time the psalmist (Ps 139:7-10) could ask, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, And your right hand shall hold me.” It is the same theology in Ps 23:4. Incarnation is clearly implied even though the details are missing. How and where God is uniquely with us is not discussed. More details will appear later in the tradition with the great affirmation “Emmanuel, God with us” (Mt 1:23). The two texts are profoundly related.

David then explains how the presence of the Shepherd delivers him from fear: “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Ps 23:4c). These two instruments need to be understood precisely.

The Hebrew word here translated “rod” (shbt) has a long history. Its meanings include rod, scepter and weapon. It does not refer to a “walking stick.” Rather it is the shepherd’s primary offensive weapon for protecting the flock from enemies, be they wild animals or human thieves. The instrument itself is about 2.5 feet long with a mace-like end into which heavy pieces of iron are often embedded. It becomes a formidable weapon. The various uses for this rod/mace mentioned in the Bible include the following:

1. To count sheep (Lev 27:32). When the shepherd count his sheep as he returns to the sheepfold in the evening, he holds his rod horizontally across the entrance just high enough for the sheep to pass under it one at a time to count them. If a sheep is missing, the shepherd will immediately begin a search. Thus the sheep (in the flock of God) can note the shepherd’s rod and remember that it is an “alarm system” used to assure everyone’s safety. If any sheep is lost, the shepherd will be alerted during the “evening count.” Thanks to the rod in the shepherd’s hand, if a sheep is lost, a rescue party of some kind will be on its way at once. This entire picture is invoked in Leviticus 27:32, where the sheep are counted by means of the herdsman’s rod.
2. To protect the sheep from wild animals and thieves. As noted, before the 20th century this rod (mace) was the standard weapon in the hand of the shepherd to fight off wild animals and thieves. David defended his ability to fight Goliath by telling Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him” (1 Sam 17:34-35). Clearly David was talking about an instrument in his hand that he could use to kill a lion at close range. That instrument was his rod (mace). The sheep/psalmist can meditate on the shepherd’s rod and say to himself, “I am safe from exterior harm. My shepherd has his rod and I know he is skilled in using it, when necessary, to protect me.”

The Greek equivalent (LXX) is rhabdos, which is the word Paul uses in 1 Cor 4:21, where he asks “Shall I come to you with a rod or with love?” In its verb form Paul uses the same word when he affirms in 2 Cor 11:25, “three times I have been beaten with rods.”

Next is the “staff.” The traditional shepherd’s staff is lighter and longer than the rod. The shepherd leans on his staff, climbs with it and often directs his sheep with it. It is long enough that he can reach some distance and guide the edges of the flock in the right direction. The Hebrew word is sh‘n, which means “press down” and “lean on,” along with “support oneself on.” When a lamb cannot scramble down from a ledge or falls into a crevice or down a bank into a stream, the shepherd is able, with the crook in his staff, to catch the lamb by a leg or a shoulder and gently lift it back onto the path. A ceiling fresco in an early Christian catacomb in Bosio (northern Italy) depicts Jesus as the good shepherd with a sheep over his shoulders while holding a staff. With his left hand he holds the four legs of the sheep over his chest, while with his right hand he leans on just such a staff with a crook at its top. The shepherd’s staff is not for defending the flock from any external threat, but for caring for the sheep as he leads them daily in search of food, drink, tranquility and rest.These two instruments are a pair.

1. The first (the rod) is used to protect the flock from external threats.
2. The second (the staff) serves to gently assist the flock in its daily grazing.

The sight of these two instruments comfort the sheep. The psalm continues with unit six (Ps 26:5).

Reference:

1. Bailey, Kenneth E. The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament. IVP. Downers Grove, IL 60515. 2014. [Bailey’s greatest strength is the investigation of the original Middle Eastern context of each passage. Besides his own experience and knowledge, Bailey employs some noteworthy tools: commentaries on Psalm 23 written by Middle Eastern authors (M. P. Krikorian, Faddoul Moghabghab, George M. Lamsa, Stephen A. Haboush, Abrahim Mitri Rahbany, Nerses the Graceful of Lambron) as well as Western missionaries to the Middle East (William Thompson and Eric F. F. Bishop), four Arabic NT commentaries (Ibn al-Tayyib [d. 1043], D. Ibn al-Salibi [d. 1164], Ibrahim Sa‘id [1970], Matta al-Miskin [1999]), and twenty Arabic translations of the Bible (translated into English by the author).] {Trouble and rebellion arise not only from the lost sheep, as in the original metaphor, but also from the hired human shepherds (Jer 23) and the sheep who never strayed from the flock (Ezek 34). Zechariah 10:2–12 also elaborates the political interpretation of Psalm 23 by depicting sheep as soldiers.} [Turning to the NT, the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:4–7) recasts the sinner (represented as a sheep) in an active position, being able to turn back from wandering by one’s own choice. By contrast, the passage in Mark 6:7–52 weaves the literary motifs of Psalm 23 through the context surrounding Jesus’s feeding of the five thousand; in this context of John the Baptist’s death and the political disorientation that ensues, Jesus plays a multifaceted shepherd’s role for Israel. Matthew 18 adds to the Markan account a focus on the “little ones” as the object of the shepherd’s particular interest. From a different perspective, John 10 makes the most of the close relationship between sheep and shepherd and envisages the shepherd as sacrificially protecting his sheep. The book’s last chapter tackles 1 Peter 5:1–4, where the apostle applies the great qualities of Jesus the Great Shepherd to the elders, the shepherds entrusted with the church of Christ.] {Several improvements could have sharpened the argument of the book. First, Bailey’s preference for new terms which replace some classical terminology may confuse the reader, such as “ring composition” for chiasmus and “cameos” for chiasmus components. Second and following Bailey’s own criteria for selecting the texts, it is surprising that he has left aside important texts such as 2 Samuel 7:8–16, Psalm 80, Zechariah 11:4–17, and Acts 20:18–35.} [Bailey shares his experiences of watching and asking questions to shepherds with their sheep for fifty years in south Egypt, the mountains of Lebanon, and near Bethlehem in the west bank, Israel/Palestine; preaching ten years with rural churches of the Egyptian Evangelical Church in the Minya province; teaching twenty years at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon, and ten years at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Bethlehem. He is fluent in Syriac, Armenian, Arabic, Hebrew and cites obscure sources from the 11th to 13th centuries C.E. and 19th and 20th centuries containing compelling concepts. B.’s sensitive, penetrating, profound, perceptive, unexpected, unique insights and comprehension of the functions and roles of shepherds and sheep motivate thinkers to gain fresh understandings of the good shepherd and his flock.]