Yea, though I walk through the valley

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Psalm 23

There are always valleys. You cannot escape them – even if you never climb a mountain. A flat tire on a busy day. A diagnosis from the oncologist. An empty chair at Thanksgiving. A zit. Valleys are part of what being alive is all about. And, sure, some valleys feel lower, feel deeper, feel more enclosed than others. The poet, David, mentions one of the darkest valleys – “the valley of the shadow of death” – but that by no means is the only one.

What valley are you going through right now? What valley have you come out of? What valley are you headed into?

David goes on to say that he “will fear no evil.” David’s poem mentions that God’s “rod and staff” give him peace. When I think of this rod and staff, I’m reminded of that verse in Proverbs: “He who spares the rod hates his son,” (13:24) which is not what I need to hear as I’m walking through the valley of the shadow of death! My parents used to quote that, right before the belt came down on my deserving behind….

I used to play a computer game: “Masters of Orion” in which you optimized your ship. You’d buy faster engines, more powerful shields, and you’d buy weapons – offensive and defensive. This whole poem is about a shepherd taking care of his sheep.

How many defensive weapons does a sheep have?

Maybe the “rod and staff” aren’t for chastisement as I had previously thought. Maybe the shepherd carries the rod and staff to ward off danger for me.

There is another approach to this portion of the poem. The word David uses for the phrase “though I walk” is a Hebrew word: yalak (str.H3212). Yalak can mean to walk, but it carries with it a sense of retreat, wandering, departure from a path. Yalak can also infer death. Seen this way, the sheep isn’t being guided through the valley of death, the sheep wandered off the main path and is now trapped – literally dead – in a valley. But in the nick of time, at the right moment, the shepherd reaches down into the valley with his staff and prods, pokes and hooks the willful sheep dragging it back to safety.

Did God lead me into a valley? Does God want me to suffer this way? Or is God in the valley with me, trying to rescue me from death?

There are always valleys. That’s the nature of a fallen creation – the world outside of relationship with God. Valleys happen. But, thanks be to God; He became the shepherd, descending into the valley, dragging us, bleating and struggling, to safety.

~ by sholander on October 15, 2007.