Jehovah-Ro‘eh – “The Lord My Shepherd”

by Chris Simmons

David was a man that knew about difficult times. In the Psalms, David referred to his life as a “walk in the midst of trouble” (Psalms 138:7). His life included walks through the “valley of the shadow of death” (Psalms 23:4). Though much of David’s troubles were due to his own sinful choices, he needed, and sought, divine help to “press on” (Philippians 3:13-14). To David, God was his “refuge and strength” and a “very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1). Perhaps written after he had experienced many of his troubling days, David wrote the well-known twenty-third Psalm which began with the declaration, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” For David to speak of the Lord as his Shepherd is to speak of a special relationship that was such an important part of his life, for David himself was a shepherd (I Samuel 16:11; 17:15).

In that verse the Hebrew name used for God is “Jehovah Ro‘eh” – the Lord, my shepherd. The verb form of that Hebrew word means “to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it…generally to rule” (New Exhaustive Strong’s Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary). Though there are few of us who have experienced what is required of one who tends a flock, we can easily understand the basic concepts involved. With an understanding of these basic concepts, we must look to Jehovah as our Shepherd.

We need such a loving and caring shepherd in our lives. We need a direction in our lives. We need a purpose. We need hope. Jesus looked upon mankind as sheep needing a shepherd and He stated that He came to provide such things. We read in Mark 6:34-35, “And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.” It’s important to note that Jesus as our shepherd, leads us through that which He taught – not through temporal provisions (i.e., food and fun, etc.) of this life. We need a divine shepherd. In first Peter chapter two, in the context of discussing how Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross (verse 24), Peter describes our situation both without and with our Lord Jesus Christ when he wrote in verse 25, “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” Without Him, we are like straying sheep doomed for destruction, wandering from God’s will as we pursue our own sinful pleasures and passions. Through His grace and His sacrifice for our sins and our obedience to His voice, we have been blessed to be able to return to His fold with Him as our Shepherd and Guardian. It’s interesting to note that the words for “Shepherd and Guardian” in the NASV are from the Greek words “poimen” and “episkipos” respectively which are most often translated “shepherd” and “overseer” in reference to the divinely designated office within the Lord’s church of an elder. Jesus is He who oversees all within His kingdom having been given all authority (Ephesians 1:20-23) and it is He alone who is to rule or shepherd His flock (cf. Hebrews 13:20). We would be remiss not to note here our responsibility to make the choice to make the Lord my Shepherd. Jesus extended the invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 to all men, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” God will not force us to be under the yoke of Christ or under His leadership as our shepherd. It is by our personal choice that we take His yoke upon us and by our decision that we submit to the “good shepherd.”

Jesus said He is “the good shepherd” in John 10:11. “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” Not just any shepherd, Jesus is the “good” shepherd. According to Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the Greek word translated as “good” has two connotations to it, both of which apply to Jesus' role as our shepherd. First it denotes that which is “well adapted to its circumstances or end.” No one is more capable of being our shepherd than He who is the Son of God who also knew what it means to live life in the flesh (Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:14-16; Colossians 2:9). Secondly, it denotes that which is “ethically good, right, noble, (or) honorable.” As referenced above, Jesus overcame all sin (II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:22; I John 3:5) and is our righteous shepherd. As our Shepherd, Jesus noted that He came to give His life for His flock. There are many other reasons Jesus is “the good shepherd.”

Solomon taught in Proverbs 27:23, “Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds.” Jesus is the “good shepherd” because no shepherd has known the condition of his flock better than Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 10:14-15, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” David accurately stated God is “intimately acquainted with all my ways” (Psalms 139:3). Jesus knows His own not only in terms of who they are but what their every need is. On the other hand, it’s imperative then that we know, and heed, the voice of our Shepherd. God said we are to “listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5). Scholars suggest that it was common for several shepherds to keep flocks together in a common location at night for safety and security purposes and that in the morning, the flocks would be separated by each shepherd calling out in his own unique voice and message. Each sheep would then seek out his shepherd's voice and respond immediately. Jesus went on to say in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Jesus is the good shepherd because He is our faithful deliverer and Savior. We read in Psalms 28:6-9, “Blessed be the LORD, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him. The LORD is their strength, and He is a saving defense to His anointed. Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance; be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.” Jesus came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10; I Timothy 1:15). We need the salvation only found through the great Shepherd.

A shepherd is responsible for leading the flock to its ultimate destination. Jesus so leads His flock. We are responsible for following the leadership of the Shepherd (John 10:4; Luke 9:23). David wrote in Psalms 80:1, “Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, Thou who dost lead Joseph like a flock; Thou who art enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!” To speak of the leadership of the Lord, my shepherd, is to necessitate that we achieve a heart of humility (I Peter 5:5-7; James 4:6-10). A sheep in the fold can not afford to reject the leadership of the shepherd and go in his own direction. Jesus is “the way, and the truth and the life” and “no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6).

The shepherd is also the protector and provider. In Psalms 23:1, the association David makes to the fact that the Lord was his Shepherd is that “I shall not want.” The word “want” in this passage means “to lack, to be without, to decrease, to be lacking, to have a need” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon). There wasn’t anything necessary to David’s physical and spiritual life that he did not have faith that God would supply (cf. Philippians 4:19; Luke 12:30). David knew he would not be lacking in any necessity. Jeremiah the prophet wrote in Jeremiah 31:10, “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare in the coastlands afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’” The Hebrew word for “keeps” His flock is “shamar” which means “properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc” (New Exhaustive Strong's Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary). The Lord “keeps” in the sense of tending and caring for His flock. Psalms 121:4-5, “Behold He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper (Jehovah Shamar), the Lord is your shade on your right hand” (cf. Nehemiah 1:5; Psalms 127:1).

The Lord will shepherd, guide, lead, protect and provide for all those who willingly choose to submit their will unto His and take His yoke upon them.