Jehovah Rohi – The Lord My Shepherd

As David sat down to compose the twenty-third Psalm, what was on his mind? Was it memories of cold nights huddled with his flock, cool mornings on the green grass, scorching summer afternoons as he led them looking for water, or encounters with predators seeking a lamb to eat? Whatever shepherding experiences he recalled, as he reflected on the Lord’s activity in his own life, he would write, ‘The Lord is my shepherd’, v. 1.

With some caution, we address this title of Jehovah, which is not only well known, but has been deeply loved and a great encouragement to God’s people for centuries. We truly can have nothing new to say; instead let this serve perhaps as a reminder of things long enjoyed. Jehovah Rohi, the Lord my Shepherd,¹ is a wonderfully personal and comforting title, for ‘no other name of Jehovah has the tender intimate touch of this name’.² Although Psalm 23 is the only place where the title occurs, the scriptures ring with it, and the Lord Jesus clearly applies this title to Himself, John 10. 11.

Shepherds and shepherding imagery are consistent themes running through both testaments. Many individuals, especially in the Old Testament, were shepherds; Abel is the first to be identified as ‘a keeper of sheep’, Gen. 4. 2. There are many others, including Abraham, Isaac, Rachel, Jacob, his sons, Moses, and, of course, David.³ This is perhaps not a surprise. After all, the patriarchs were nomads - ‘pilgrims on the earth’, Heb. 11. 13, both physically and spiritually. Their very lifestyle was one that lent itself to shepherding. Once the people of Israel were settled into the Land, ancient societies revolved around that which the land could supply, and this included the wool, hides, and meat from well-tended sheep, so the shepherd was an indispensable member of society.⁴For this reason, it seems fitting that our God would link Himself with this concept of one who is integral to the fabric of life.

Psalm 23 - the pattern for the Shepherd

David knew what it meant to be a shepherd, and there are two things a good shepherd gives his flock -provision and protection. The psalm traces something of these two themes in its description of Jehovah Rohi.

First, there is provision in verses 1 to 3 - indeed, ‘I shall not want’, v. 1, indicates that there is no lack of any provision from this Shepherd. As a shepherd would provide food and water to his flock, so this Shepherd provides nourishment, refreshment, and rest ‘in green pastures . . . [and] beside the still waters’, v. 2. Similarly, He provides restoration of the soul, and guidance to and in the ‘paths of righteousness’, v. 3. Lest we think that this is somehow all centred on the sheep, we are reminded that He is the Lord, and it is ‘for his name’s sake’, v. 3. He is the one who gets the glory!

The emphasis then turns to protection in verse 4, for in the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ He is present - ‘Thou art with me’. It is at this point that the pronoun changes; in verses 2 and 3 the Lord is ‘He’, now in the latter part of the psalm it is ‘thou’. Isn’t it often in life that it is in the valley that the One who is the Shepherd, is experienced more personally as my Shepherd? So, despite the difficulties that we may face, we too can say, ‘I will fear no evil’, v. 4, for He will never leave us or forsake us, Heb. 13. 5.

David knew what it was to protect his flock. He could say to Saul before going out to face Goliath that when he ‘kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb . . . I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth’, 1 Sam. 17. 34, 35. So there is comfort to be found in the shepherd’s skilful use of his ‘rod’ and ‘staff’, v. 4, and we see there is correction as well as protection. After all, ‘whom the Lord loves He corrects’, Prov. 3. 12 NKJV; He protects us from ourselves as well as our enemies.

The psalm ends with a return to the theme of the Shepherd’s provision for His people. First, a table of fellowship made ready, even ‘in the presence of . . . enemies’ against whom the Shepherd is providing protection, v. 5. There is also a supply of oil, to soothe and heal, along with an overflowing cup to refresh and gladden, v. 5, perhaps picturing the provision of the Holy Spirit, and the word of God.⁵Goodness and mercy ‘all the days of my life’ are prepared, v. 6, as is a place ‘in the house of the Lord for ever’, v. 6. What a Shepherd, who leads His flock all the way through this world and then on to eternal rest.

Other Old Testament Passages

Although the 23rd Psalm is the most direct and concentrated portion of the Old Testament dealing with the theme of the Lord as Shepherd, there are other passages where it is found. We can only touch on a couple of these.⁶ The 80th Psalm begins with the cry, ‘Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel’, identifying Him as the one who leads ‘Joseph like a flock’, Ps. 80. 1. He it is whom Isaiah, looking to a future day, identifies as the One who will feed ‘his flock like a shepherd’, who ‘shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young’, Isa. 40. 11.

Shepherding is also used metaphorically in the Old Testament for those who were to act with protection and provision for the people of God, and the failure of these men stands in contrast to Jehovah Rohi, the divine Shepherd who never fails. Jeremiah chapter 23 outlines condemnation against shepherds⁷who had failed: they ‘destroy and scatter the sheep’, who have ‘driven them away, and not attended’, Jer. 23. 1, 2. Tellingly, the Lord calls them ‘my flock’, v. 2; despite human failure, God was their faithful, unfailing Shepherd. Verse 3 points forward to a time when this Shepherd will ‘gather the remnant . . . back to their folds’, NKJV. Though these words are directed towards Israel, we have the comfort that God does not change, and that He who was faithful then, is faithful still.

Jehovah Rohi in the New Testament

Is it any wonder then that when our Lord Jesus was born the first recorded visitors to see Him were the shepherds who were ‘abiding in the field’, Luke 2. 8? Given the prominence of shepherds and shepherding in the scriptures, there could hardly be a more suitable group to visit the infant Christ, for here was none other than the One ‘who will shepherd My people Israel’, Matt. 2. 6 NKJV.

When we come to the New Testament, the title Jehovah Rohi finds its full meaning and glory - for when the Lord Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd’, John 10. 11, the claim of the divine title (‘I AM’), linked to the idea of ‘shepherd’ is a clear allusion to Psalm 23. In four passages in the New Testament, Christ is directly identified as Shepherd, each throwing further light on the description in the psalm. These will need to suffice for our consideration, though there are several other passages picturing Him as Shepherd.⁸

The Lord, my Shepherd is the good Shepherd. In John chapter 10, He identifies Himself as the ‘door of the sheep’, v. 7, and the ‘good shepherd’, v. 11. Just as with Psalm 23, He is a Shepherd who provides, for the flock ‘shall go in and out, and find pasture’, v. 9. So too, does He protect the sheep from the ‘thieves and robbers’, v. 8, and from ‘the wolf’, v. 12. There is not only protection from these dangers, but ultimately from sin itself, for He said, ‘I lay down my life for the sheep’, v. 15. Moreover, the Shepherd who died to save the sheep, also keeps us - for no one is able to ‘snatch them out of My hand’, v. 28 NKJV.

The Lord my Shepherd is also the ‘great shepherd’, Heb. 13. 20, 21. The benediction of the Epistle to the Hebrews is a reminder that the ‘the God of peace . . . brought again from among the dead our Lord Jesus’, v. 20, Newberry margin. He is One who has been through the ‘valley of the shadow of death’, Ps. 23. 4. Indeed, He has been through it and out of it. He now is ‘that great shepherd of the sheep’. Here, the writer’s prayer for his audience is that God would make them ‘perfect in every good work to do his will’, Heb. 13. 21, echoing David’s phrase, ‘He leads me in the paths of righteousness’, Ps. 23. 3 NKJV.

The Lord my Shepherd is ‘the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls’, 1 Pet. 2. 25 NKJV. We were ‘going astray’ but now have returned to Him. We were lost but now are found, and it was He who found us. This is pictured most graphically in the parable recorded in Luke chapter 15 - the Lord Jesus Himself is the Shepherd who goes out looking for the sheep, vv. 1-7. Peter goes on, for He is also the Overseer - the One who searched and looked for the sheep is now looking over, and out, for His flock, just as a good shepherd would. We are never out of His sight, or beyond His care, for ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them’, John 10. 27.

Finally, the Lord my Shepherd, is the Chief Shepherd. 1 Peter chapter 5 is the last of the references to the Lord Jesus as Shepherd. The context here is instruction given to elders, and, in verse 2, Peter’s exhortation is for them to ‘shepherd . . . serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly . . . [and] eagerly’, NKJV. These under-shepherds were to behave like the Chief Shepherd providing for and protecting the flock. The encouragement and challenge for them is that when He ‘shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory’, v. 4. That there is reward for those who shepherd like Jehovah Rohi, indicates not only the preciousness of the ‘flock of God’, v. 2, but that ultimately it is for ‘his name’s sake’, Ps. 23. 3.