Baruch Ha Shem Adonai!
(Blessed be the Name of the Lord!)
This is the seventh in The CRIB's presentation of the Twelve Jewels of God ... a look at the wonderful, powerful, inspirational names of God.
The name before us is Jehovah Raah, "The Lord My Shepherd"; it also appears only once in this form in the bible. It does appear along with Elohim in Genesis 48:15. (both references follow below)
Jehovah is a compound Hebrew word meaning "The Self-existing One." You may go back to the post on Jehovah Nissi to read the whole of a brief description of the word.
Life can be a burdensome ordeal, even for Spirit-filled believers. Once in a while, our burdens become too much; we grow weary of being rational/reasoning creatures and wish we could just turn things over to someone else and rest.
Was it not Christ Jesus Himself who comforted us with these words ...
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."Are these not the words of a Shepherd? Was David not speaking as a type of Jehovah-Raah when he composed the first three verses of the 23rd Psalm?Matthew 11:28
The LORD is my shepherd (Jehovah-Raah, raw-aw'), I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.And Jacob, on his deathbed, was giving his twelve sons his blessings when he told Joseph (a shepherd himself and a type of Christ) this ...
He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God (Elohim) who has been my shepherd (Raah) all my life ... ."Genesis 48:15
In the Old Testament we are told over and over that Israel "went astray like sheep; (they) all have turned to (their) own way." [Isaiah 53:6a; Ezekiel 34:11-16] In the New we find the Lord "seeing the multitudes":
He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd.Speaking of these shepherdless sheep, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown say this ...Matthew 9:36
... their pitiable condition as wearied under bodily fatigue, a vast disorganized mass, being but a faint picture of their wretchedness as the victims of pharisaic guidance; their souls uncared for, yet drawn after and hanging upon Him.
Such a condition of the sheep of Israel moved the heart of their Messiah to deep compassion.
I see many commentators wax eloquent on the dull-wittedness of sheep and their lack of common sense, but the Lord is not, to my knowledge, moved by dull-wittedness or stupidity ... compassion is reserved for the powerless and innocent! At least it seems to be the case to me.
I'd rather know the Lord is moved because I'm in need and helpless rather than because I'm stupid or a dimwit!
And this is my prayer for my readers ...
May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
And remember the words of the elder in heaven, who said ...
"the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."Though this is directed to the tribulation saints, how could their Shepherd not be the same Shepherd of all?
Revelation 7:17
And please reader, do not any reader forget this ...
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.John 10:14-15
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