Psalm 23

“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.”

I love the book of Psalms, it contains both the depths and the heights of following after God through this fallen world. While reading them we travel along with the psalmist as he wades through the swampy mire of desperation grappling with the harsh realities of life. Then often within the same Psalm we are brought up to the tops of mountains amidst the clouds catching glimpses of the heavenly courts above as the psalmist gives praise to the only One who can help. And it is there that we witness signs of the path from which His help would come.

Psalm 23 brings us on a journey with the psalmist as he envisions the depths of the providence of the LORD. He begins by considering himself as a sheep and the LORD his Shepherd. Like a Divine Realtor, this Shepherd brings His sheep to beautiful riverfront properties. These places provide such refreshment and tranquility, they restore the soul. A sign was then set in place, for an even greater water was to come and whoever drinks from it will never thirst again, John 4:13-14.

He then showed the psalmist paths that lead further into His presence; further into where restoration can truly begin. Like a Cartographer of the soul, He lead the way to places deeper than what can be experienced outside; for one can be surrounded by beauty but if peace is not within then even the most tranquil of places cannot be enjoyed. When followers of this Shepherd align their lives with His will, He leads them to paths that refine as they teach, paths that lead to where Wisdom dwells; they find that there is indeed a right way to live. Another sign was then set in place, for One was to come and bring fulfillment to these paths so that His followers might become what they could never otherwise achieve: the righteousness of God, 2 Corinthians 5:21.

The psalmist then followed the Shepherd into a darkened place; it is there that we are brought face to face with evil and death. We notice though that the psalmist did not stumble, lose his step, or even slacken his pace. Confidently he marched onward, noticing it with as much attention as one would show to an interesting historical landmark. We are told what gave him such boldness. One cannot simply pass by a lion that is devouring people left and right, one cannot so casually dismiss an incoming tidal wave or an erupting volcano, unless that is, you walk with One who is stronger than the lion, Daniel 6:22, mightier than any wave, Psalm 93:4, and can make mountains skip away or melt like wax, Psalm 97:5. Like a sheep trusting in the shepherd’s rod and staff for safety while it follows Him through a valley, so the psalmist depended on God, his Vanguard, in the face of fear. A third sign was set in place for though the psalmist was to walk through this valley, another was to come and conquer it. For Death is doomed to be swallowed up in victory, 1 Corinthians 15:50-57.

The path opened up ahead; it had taken on a festive livery and the psalmist was greeted with a curious sight: a table with a seat prepared just for him. The Shepherd, that Divine Realtor, Cartographer, and Vanguard, turned into a Maitre D’ as He escorted the psalmist to his table. Others were also present but they were not there to join in with the merriment. They were the enemies of the psalmist and God had something He wanted them to see. In their hunger, they witnessed the psalmist seated at a table and presented with a bountiful feast. They watched as he was honored in kingly fashion anointed with oil. And in their thirst, they watched as his cup overflowed with drink; it splashed on the table and fell to the floor. A fourth sign was then established, for One was to come and give His followers an even greater seat in the heavenly realms, Ephesians 2:6, and even greater power over the enemy, Luke 19:10.

With a toast to his Host, the psalmist concluded his journey with a raise of his goblet and said,

“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23:6

It is at the house of the LORD that the signs converge. He gave to the world His Son who would fulfill all things written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, Luke 24:44. His Son Jesus was the One who opened the door for it is He who offers living water, He who gives His righteousness to those who enter in, He who defeated death and rose again, and it is He who seats us with Him in the heavenly realms giving us power over the enemy. Goodness and love came down and is the Savior of all mankind, Titus 3:4, and by Him we are ushered into a greater celebration, a greater feast:  the supper of the Lamb, Revelation 19:9.

Jesus is the depth of the Providence of the LORD, Ephesians 3:17-18. Wide are His arms and long is their reach. High He lifts us from no matter how deep. May His goodness and love lead you to salvation in Him for He is the Good Shepherd who did not run from danger; He laid down His life for all of us. Come and join Him at the table, He has a seat waiting for you.

Numbers 35:15

“These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.”

Accidents happen all the time, from spilling a glass of milk to tragic and deadly car accidents. It is a part of life some are all too familiar with.  In the Old Testament, “cities of refuge” were designated as places you could flee to if you killed someone by accident.  You would find protection there from what was considered legal vengeance- a family member of the victim acting as executioner, called the Avenger of Blood.  If you stayed in the designated city, they weren’t allowed to kill you.  If you left it, they could.

What happens if you accidently killed your own child?  What happens if in warfare you accidently shot and killed a fellow soldier, a friend?  What if the Avenger of Blood lives in your own mind trying to find a way to blame you for living while others died?  Roberta D. Calhoun described this as “Survivor’s guilt”.  In her article called “Survivor Guilt: What Long-Term Survivor’s Don’t Talk About” she states that it is a “common experience”, a mental state of those trying to find the path to continue living after surviving tragedies that claimed the lives of others.

American author Darin Strauss wrote of such a tragedy in his life that has haunted him for 23 years.  As a young man of 18, he was driving his car with friends when a young girl of 16, named Celine Zilke, swerved her bike out in front of him.  She was killed instantly.  At her funeral, Celine’s mom came up to Darin and gave voice to his “survivor’s guilt” that stayed with him for decades.  She said, “Whatever you do in your life you have to do it twice as well now.  Because you are living it for two people. Can you promise me, Darin?”  Years later after living his life to fulfill those words he wrote describing the futility, “Regret doesn’t budge things; it seems crazy that the force of all that human want can’t amend a moment, can’t even stir a pebble.”

Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Shrader in his article “Friendly Fire:  The Inevitable Price” describes the psychological toll experienced by survivors as a “lingering fear”.  It effects every decision afterwards; avoidance because of distrust becomes the modus operandi.  Shrader closed his article with a quote by Major General Matthew B. Ridgeway following the worst incident of friendly fire in WWII, “Deplorable as is the loss of life which occurred, I believe that the lessons now learned could have been driven home in no other way…”

As Christians, we celebrate the death of an innocent man who died in our place, but instead of living under Survivor’s Guilt, which some describe as slow suicide, we now live under our Savior’s Grace and are freed as it states in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  We trade regret for faith; exchanging an inability to stir pebbles for that which can move mountains, Mark 11:23.  And much like the lessons of friendly fire, the lessons that came from His sacrifice of love “could have been driven home in no other way” than on the cross.  Colossians 1:19-20, “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,  and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”  And it is through faith in Jesus that we are ushered into the Kingdom of God, a place of far greater deliverance than the cities of refuge, 1 Corinthians 4:20, “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”

Everyday we come face to face with a world where accidents happen, lives are lost, and tragedies never seem to tire.  But even greater than the stubbornness of this fallen world, there is a Love that keeps singing songs of everlasting peace beyond this grip of pain.  For those of us who are given the opportunity of another day, another day of, as American poet Gregory Orr puts it, the “terror of existence”, we can either live it in “lingering fear” or join in with the song.

To Be Alive, by Gregory Orr

To be alive: not just the carcass
But the spark.
That’s crudely put, but…
If we’re not supposed to dance,
Why all this music?

Mark 5:41

“Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, ‘Talitha Kum’!  (Which translated means, “Little girl I say to you, get up!”)

So much of this life is based on timing.  If you don’t time it just right, you will burn your meal.  If you don’t make the play before time runs out you will lose the game.  Relationships are formed and destroyed because of timing.  Jobs are lost and plans fall through, billions are made and wars are too all because of timing.  Or as in the case of Mark chapter 5, if you don’t get help in time, you will die.

Jesus had just come off the boat after rescuing a man from many demons on the other side of the sea.  As soon as He landed, people surrounded Him including a synagogue official named Jairus who in verse 23, fell to Jesus’ feet with a desperate plea, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.”  So He went with him, however in verse 27, a woman with her own problem intercepted Jesus.  She reached out and touched the hem of His robe for she thought, verse 28, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.”   Immediately, it says, she felt in her body that she was healed.  Jesus felt that healing power had gone out from Him; He turned and asked who had touched Him.  The woman came forward and though she was scared, told Him her whole story.  And Jesus said to her in verse 34, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

Things had finally worked out for this woman who had spent 12 years and all she had going from doctor to doctor with no cure in sight, but as Jesus was speaking to her, someone came from Jairus’ house with the sad news that his daughter was dead.  We understand why, she died because help didn’t come in time.  Even if you don’t believe Jesus is who He says He is, you can feel the pressure in this story.  We become caught in the same place as Lazarus’ sisters, saying “If only…”, and we feel the weight of our common slavery to Time, that faceless oppressor.  But as in Lazarus’ story, it doesn’t end there, for like Mary and Martha, God had more in mind than letting us suffer as slaves to anyone, even to Time itself.

Jesus said to Jairus in verse 36, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”  Jesus then said to those who were mourning Jairus’ daughter’s death, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.”  When they heard Jesus say that, they laughed at Him.  We all know time shows no mercy; there is no forgiveness in the tick of the clock.  What’s gone is gone, and this girl’s time had come.  To all those that were present, they knew there was no way to get her back.  But Jesus went in to see her; He told the girl to get up, and she did.

There is freedom from time, freedom from the wages of sin, but it can only be found in the One who conquered it for us.  It is because of Jesus and His death and resurrection that we can say:

“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
1 Corinthians 15:55

For as it says in Romans 6:23, its through Jesus that we’ve been given the free gift of God, eternal life.  And this eternal life begins now for all those who will “not be afraid any longer, only believe.”  Believe in Jesus the Son of God, believe in the mission for which He was sent as in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Talitha Kum, such a short phrase, but said by the One with the power to change everything.  With it, He broke the bonds of death, bonds so strong they inspired laughter at the very idea that it could be done.  Jesus says it to you, do you laugh because of your fear or do you wake up and believe?

Ezekiel 37:11

“Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone…”

John 11:43

“When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.'”

Speaking of zombies, Lazarus was dead and in the tomb for four days before Jesus came to wake him up. Now Lazarus’ death wasn’t due to sinful living, or any fault of his own that we know of. In fact some understand his death and raising to be a fulfillment of Luke 16:19-31. If so, I wonder which crowd the Rich Man’s 5 brothers were with in John 11:45-57? Were they with those who saw Lazarus raise and then believed in Jesus, or were they among those who then sought to kill Him? Where would I be? One thing I know, you can believe and also not believe at the same time.

Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, are examples of those who straddled the fence of belief and unbelief. Luke 10:38-42 describes an earlier scenario of the sisters and Jesus. Mary was the one at Jesus’ feet listening to what He said while Martha was busy doing the chores. When Martha complained to Jesus that Mary wasn’t helping, Jesus told her that Mary chose what was better. Now in John 11:17-32 with the death of their brother Lazarus, it seems to have switched things a bit. Martha goes to Jesus and says, ““if you had been here, my brother would not have died”, we will hear this again from Mary, but Martha goes on to say, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus used her confession as a door to her faith and told her that her brother will rise. Martha responded with what she understood thinking He was referring to the resurrection at the last day. Jesus stepped further in and said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and asked her if she believed that. Martha responded and said, “Yes, Lord.” Martha then left to get her sister telling her that The Teacher was there and was asking for her. Mary got up and went; she returned to Jesus’ feet but this time it doesn’t say she came to listen. She fell at his feet echoing Martha, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jesus was lead to Lazarus’ tomb. “Take away the stone,” He said, to which Martha replied that by then there would be a bad odor. Jesus then said in verse 40, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” Jesus then thanked His Father for hearing Him, and called Lazarus out.

Perhaps the stone to Lazarus’ tomb was the doorway to Mary’s faith in a similar way that Martha’s confession was to her’s. For Martha, Jesus stepped in opening her mind to what she only partially understood. For Mary, something dead had to come out for her to realize what she only partially understood.

Belief or unbelief, are you still on that fence? Will you confess Jesus is Lord, or does something dead have to come out first?

When starting this post I found that it was difficult to stop because in the very next chapter, John 12, we have the sisters back in their places.  Martha was serving the food, but this time without complaining; Mary was once again at His feet, but this time her response to Jesus was an act of worship.  She anointed His feet with oil.  Jesus took her act of worship and incorporated it with His burial.  It was her worship as a result of seeing her faith come forth that Jesus used to anoint His mission to bring salvation to all.

Ephesians 5:14

“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”