Warm up in pairs: How has the Lord shown himself to be your Shepherd in your life.
- What insight would David have about been a shepherd? 23:1
- What other aspects of the Lord being the Shepherd of Israel do the following Scriptures give us? Psalm 78:52; Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11-14.
- When David said, “I shall not want,” what does that statement tell us about another aspect of the Lord being a Shepherd?
- For people that do not have the Lord as their Sheperd, what or who do they have as shepherd OR do they have no one to be their shepherd? Fill in the blank: ____________ is my shepherd.
- For people who do not have the Lord as their shepherd, can they say, “I shall not want”?
- What do green pastures and quiet waters represent for a sheep? For David? For us today? 23:2 Daily provision
- In 23:3, what does “soul” refer to? The Hebrew word is nephesh and means living being.
- According to 23:2-3, what four things did David say the Lord did for him as his Shepherd?
- Were there times David needed his soul/life restored? What about us? Barnes says this: When we are exhausted, wearied, or anxious, the Lord reanimates us, excites to new effort or fills with new joy. 23:3
- Would a shepherd use a rod or a staff to guide the sheep along a treacherous path? The rod was used for protection against wild animals. 23:3-4
- An alternate translation for “paths of righteousness” would be “tracks.” What visual image comes to your mind when you think of sheep and tracks? Would it have been possible for other animals to have left tracks the sheep would have tempted to follow?
- What does being guided onto the right path have to do with the Lord’s name sake? 23:3b Cornerstone Commentary: Your shepherd is motivated by what benefits you, but what benefits you is also what brings honor to his name.
- What insight does Psalm 32:8 give us about the Lord leading us to the right or best path for life? Why do we sometimes not believe that his path is the best path?
- Is the context for 23:4 important to properly interpret it? Taking it out of context does change the meaning.
- Why could David say he feared no evil or harm? Because of the Lord’s presence with him. Why can we say that we fear no harm or evil when we walk through a dark valley? 23:4
- David changes metaphors in 23:5-6-from the Lord being Shepherd to Host. How was David overwhelmed with the goodness of God? It was Jewish custom to anoint the heads of those attending certain feasts or sometimes guests in their homes as a sign of blessing. See Luke 7:46. Have there ever been times in your life you felt like “your cup runneth over”? Is that what David is saying here?
- How could David rejoice in the goodness of God even in the presence of his enemies? He was in God’s presence.
- What two things did David say would follow him ALL the days of his life? 23:6. If the Lord is our Shepherd, can we say the same thing? Did David mean he was going to spend the rest of his life in church or what? 23:6b
General and application questions
- Can this psalm also apply to Jesus being our Shepherd? See John 10:11, 14.
- Can the Lord be a Shepherd to someone who is not one of his sheep?
- If the Lord is the one who can meet our needs (see 23:1), why do we often look other places and not to him?
- When our Shepherd leads us through a dark path, is it because he wishes to harm us or because it is the path to higher ground and green grass and still waters?
- Are we in the presence of the Lord on a dark path just as we are in the midst of green grass?
- What other metaphor does Peter use in conjunction with Shepherd in I Peter 2:25?