TITLES OF GOD: JEHOVAH-ROHI
DR. JIM DIXON
PSALMS 23
NOVEMBER 12, 1989
More than twenty years ago, I was riding in a car with some of my college friends in Hollywood, California. It was Saturday night and we’d come down from Santa Barbara to cruise the streets of Hollywood. Now when you’re cruising, your car is more than a means of transportation. When you’re cruising, your car is kind of a statement, an extension of your own personality. Unfortunately, our car was a Ford Falcon. But, you see, the way that we sat in that car, the way we were seated in the car, made it very obvious that we were beyond cool, borderline awesome. I’m sure that everyone who looked at us that night, and there probably were one or two people who looked at us, probably suspected that, in some sense, we were indeed borderline.
I remember that Hollywood was very crowded that night. Saturday nights it usually is. The intersections were congested. I remember that as we were sitting in the car, one of my friends turned to us and said, “I can go out in the intersection,” told us he could go out in the intersection and direct the traffic. We dared him and he did it. To our amazement, he went out into the middle of an intersection, a busy intersection in Hollywood on a Saturday night. He put his hand out and he stopped a lane of traffic. Then he turned another way and he went like this and a lane of traffic just went right on through. We were amazed. Now he only did this for a short period of time. That’s why he’s still alive today.
I remember when he got back in the car. I’ll never forget. He looked at us and he smiled, and he said, “They’re sheep.” He said, “They’re all sheep.”
Theologically, what he said that night is true because, you see, biblically and in the sight of God, all the people in Hollywood, all the people in Denver, all the people of the United States of America and all the people in the world are sheep. Some people are sheep that are lost. Other people are sheep that are found. But all are sheep. Now in the Bible, lost sheep are sometimes described as sheep without a shepherd. Jesus referred to the multitude on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in this way as he looked upon them and their aimlessness, their lack of purpose. He called them sheep without a shepherd.
Sometimes in the Bible, lost sheep are described as sheep that have gone astray and are led by false shepherds. Jim Jones was a false shepherd and his sheep wound up drinking poisoned Kool-Aid in a South American jungle. The Bible tells us there’s only one true Shepherd. The Bible tells us truly there’s only one good Shepherd and that one is Jesus Christ. It’s only as we look at Christ that we begin to understand that God is Jehovah-Rohi. If you’re a Christian, if you believe in Christ as Lord and Savior and you’ve entered the flock of God, you say Jehovah-Rohi. You say the Lord is my Shepherd.
This morning as we examine this title, I’d like us to do it in the context of the 23rd Psalm. I’d like us to examine two statements in the 23rd Psalm. In doing this, hopefully, we’ll be able to understand better the meaning of this title Jehovah-Rohi.
First of all, the statement, “I shall not want.” Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.
I know you’ve all heard of Aaron Burr. Aaron Burr was born in 1756 in Newark, New Jersey. He was brilliant. He was ambitious. Few people, few people in all of history have wanted more than Aaron Burr wanted. He graduated from Princeton in 1772 at the age of 16. From 1775 to 1779, he fought in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. In those few years, he rose, he ascended, from Private to Lieutenant Colonel. But, of course, he was not satisfied. He wanted more.
In 1781, he became a lawyer in New York City. Soon he was recognized as one of early America’s finest attorneys. By 1789, Aaron Burr had served in the State Legislature in New York and also served as State Attorney General. In 1791, he was elected to the United States Congress. In 1796, he ran for President of the United States with Thomas Jefferson on the same ticket. He lost, but in the year 1800, they won. Of course, the intention was the Thomas Jefferson would be President and Aaron Burr Vice President, but things were done differently then, and Aaron Burr decided that he wanted to be President. It took the House of Representatives 36 ballots to finally decide that Thomas Jefferson would be President and Aaron Burr Vice President. Aaron Burr almost became President of the United States of America.
Then he was Vice President and he was not satisfied. He wanted more. But, you see, the problem was he had a political rival. He had a political adversary and his name was Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton just didn’t like Aaron Burr. He had made many statements quoted in the media criticizing Aaron Burr. Aaron Burr hated Alexander Hamilton and wanted to kill him. Finally, Aaron Burr decided he would do that. He challenged Alexander Hamilton to a gun duel. This was in a time when conflicts between gentlemen were sometimes resolved with a duel with pistols though even at this time America was growing weary of this practice.
Alexander Hamilton agreed. Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton with a single shot and America was stunned. The Vice President of the United States had removed his political adversary in a gun duel. Aaron Burr completed his term in office as Vice President but his political future in America was ruined. His ego, however, was still intact. It was swollen and he wanted more.
He formed an alliance with a man whose name was James Wilkerson, a United States Army General. They hatched a plot to conquer Mexico and the western territories of the United States and to form a new country with Aaron Burr as President. They had convinced a man named Harman Blennerhassett who was among the wealthiest men in early America to fund the whole deal. It was said of Blennerhassett that he had every kind of sense but common. He was willing to fund this whole deal, but Thomas Jefferson found out about it and Aaron Burr was humiliated and he fled America.
He made his way to Europe and he went to England. He met with royalty there. He went to France and he met Napoleon Bonaparte himself. He tried to convince England and France to support him, to join with him, so he could conquer Canada and what had been the Louisiana Territory and form a new kingdom where Aaron Burr would be king. He promised to align this new kingdom with England and with France. England and France turned him down. As the year went by, Aaron Burr did not cease to want more. He always wanted more but finally, in the year 1836, he died. His final words were, “I cannot die”, but he did die, as all men must.
But a little bit of Aaron Burr lives on in all people. There’s a little bit of Aaron Burr in each and every one of us, each and every one of you. You don’t want, perhaps, as much as he wanted, but you do want. Maybe you only want a new car. Maybe you want a different house. Maybe you’re single and you want a particular girlfriend, or you want a particular boyfriend. Maybe you want a particular wife or a particular husband, and you really want them. Maybe you want a particular job. Maybe you want a certain amount of money. Maybe you just want health. Maybe you want power. Maybe, if you’re really honest, what you want is prominence, but you want something.
What does it mean for us as Christians to say Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. What does that mean to say, “I shall not want?” Some have said “Well, it simply means that we’re trusting God to provide for us.” Some have said, “It simply means that we trust God to provide all of our needs, and of course God does provide for his flock, and he does provide our needs.” As it says in Matthew, chapter 6, “The Lord promises as he feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, he promises to feed and clothe you who believe in his Son.” We have already seen that he is Jehovah-Jireh, he is the Lord who provides.
But I want to suggest to you this morning that when we say, “I shall not want,” it is not simply a reference to the promise of God to provide for us. It says more than that. When you say, “I shall not want,” you are making a commitment. You are making a commitment towards contentment, that you will be a contented flock. You will be a contented member of that flock. “I shall not want.”
Phillip Keller wrote a book called A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm. Phillip Keller was a shepherd. In that book, he describes how, when he was a shepherd, he had one sheep that he had called Mrs. Gadabout. He says that this particular sheep was never satisfied. She was never contented. She was always looking for other pasture. He says that this particular sheep, even though she was a beautiful sheep and her coat was unusually pretty, she bore lambs and those lambs were healthy. Nevertheless, she had this one problem. She was not satisfied, and she was not contented. He would always find her out by the fence. Wherever he had taken his flock, she would wander off and she would be by the fence or somewhere trying to get out, trying to get on the other side of the fence. Sometimes he would find her, and she had gone under the fence and she was trying to graze on barren ground. Sometimes he would find her, and she would be on a precipice somewhere, near a cliff and in great danger. Mrs. Gadabout.
The problem was, she didn’t only put her own life in danger, but her lambs would follow her and other sheep in the flock would begin to follow her astray. Finally, Phillip Keller said he had to get rid of her for the sake of the flock. He said “You know, I really believe this sheep is kind of like carnal Christians, Christians who are never satisfied and never contented. Though they say they’re Christians, they really can’t say, ‘Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.’” There are Christians who really can’t say “I shall not want” because they’re not contented.
I hope you understand what this means. Truly to be contented is even more than to be satisfied with his pasture. Truly to be contented means more, that you’re willing to accept what he wants, truly to be contented. To really be able to say “I shall not want” means this. That you’re willing to embrace what he wants. Not merely willing to accept it, but willing to embrace it. To really be able to say, “I shall not want,” you have to reach the point where you are seeking only his will and your wants decrease and you begin to be concerned more and more with his wants. Your will is kind of lost in his will. It’s not what you want anymore. It’s what he wants. It’s not your kingdom anymore, but it’s his kingdom. You begin to live and to strive and to work and to toil for what he wants. “Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.”
I think this is what our Lord Jesus had in mind when he said, “Seek first my kingdom and I’ll give you everything you need.” Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.
Secondly and finally, I’d like us to take a look at another statement in the 23rd Psalm. “I shall fear no evil.” “Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want, and I shall fear no evil. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.”
Al Greenwood is a man who lives in Long Beach, California. There in southern California he is known as the bedspread king. He sells bedspreads in southern California. He’s marketing a new bedspread called the “bulletproof bedspread.” He says you can be snug as a bug in your bulletproof comforter. He offers different types of bulletproof bedspreads. He says he can customize your bedspread to meet your neighborhood’s specific crime rate. He has made a bedspread that he says is actually resistant to mortar shells, shotgun blasts and hand grenades. I suppose you’d had to live in a pretty tough neighborhood to need a bedspread like that.
The reality is, though, that there’s people all over this world that go to bed at night and they are afraid. People all over the world go to bed at night and they have fear. Some of them are fearful physically. They’re afraid as they go to bed at night that something physically is going to happen to them. There are other people who when they go to bed at night, have other fears. Some are afraid of emotional things. Some have relational fears. Some have spiritual fears. We are a nation, psychologists tell us, in a world riddled with fear, with phobias. Every kind of phobia from autophobia to zenophobia. Zenophobia is fear of strangers. Some people are afraid of strangers. Autophobia is fear of self. Some people are literally afraid of themselves. There’s monophobia. Some people are afraid of being alone. Automonophobia, afraid of being alone with yourself. All kinds of phobias. Psychologists actually today speak of cherophobia. Cherophobia is the fear of fun, fear of having a good time. Southern Baptists are particularly afflicted with this particular phobia!
But, you see, God doesn’t want us to be people of fear. “I’ve not given you a spirit of fear,” our Shepherd says to his flock, “but of power and of love and a sound mind.” He doesn’t want you to be people of fear. He doesn’t want you to go to bed at night afraid. He doesn’t want you to wake in the morning afraid. He doesn’t want you to live your day afraid. He wants you to have all the joy, all the day-by-day joy that trusting in him brings.
I know you’ve all heard of Goliath. Today, when we use the word Goliath, we’re speaking of something that is gargantuan, something massive. Of course, we need to remember that 3,000 years ago, Goliath was the name of a man, a man who had aligned himself with the Philistine people, a giant of a man. A man, the Bible says, who stood 6 cubits and a span – a man who was more than 9 feet tall, and you should not question that such a man once lived.
Archeologists have actually unearthed skeletal remains of men that size in the region of Palestine, carbon dated to the time of David. Some question “Well, was he part of a nephilim?” More likely, he was part of a race called the “rephaim” or the “anakim.” He was a giant. His battle armor weighed more than 150 pounds. He was the Philistine champion and he stood in the valley of Elah, somewhere between Bethlehem and the Mediterranean Sea. There, as he stood in the valley of Elah with the Philistine army behind him, he challenged the armies of Israel. He challenged them to bring forth a champion of their own to face him – one-on-one in personal combat. “The people of the loser,” he said “would serve forever the people of the winner.”
But you see, Israel was afraid and all the people in Israel and in their army were afraid. The days passed and there were forty days and forty nights. With every passing day, the humiliation of Israel grew. Finally, David came, a shepherd boy, the youngest son of Jesse, the youngest of eight sons. He came to bring cheese and bread to his brothers. He heard the voice of Goliath echoing over the valley of Elah. He said “What is this? How can an uncircumcised Philistine challenge the armies of the Living God?” He said, “I’ll go. I’ll be Israel’s champion and I’ll face this giant.”
They took him to King Saul, and King Saul said, “You’re not going to go. You will not represent us. You’ll not be our champion. You’re but a youth.” David said, “Sir, I am a shepherd and I have protected my flock. I have killed lions and bears, and as God has protected me and delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, God will deliver me from the hands of this Philistine giant.” Finally, King Saul said “Go, and God by with you.” He took five smooth stones and a slingshot. He went into the valley of Elah. When Goliath saw him coming, Goliath mocked. Goliath laughed. He said, “I’ll feed your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.” David said, “You come to me with spear and sword and javelin. I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts whom you have mocked.” The Bible tells us that David took one stone, one stone, and he slung it with his slingshot. The stone found its mark and the stone was imbedded in the forehead of Goliath. The Philistine giant fell dead to the ground. The Bible tells us that the Philistines, in panic, fled.
I think sometimes we forget that it was David who wrote the 23rd Psalm. It was David who wrote the 23rd Psalm. He knew all about shepherds. He knew all about sheep. He knew all about fear. The Holy Spirit inspired him to write this Psalm. I sometimes think, years later, as he was writing this Psalm and he said, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Surely when he wrote those words, there must have been some part of him that thought of the valley of Elah, because when David walked into the valley of Elah, it must have felt a little bit like the valley of death. He had to have a little bit of “fe-fi-phobia,” the fear of giants. But, you see, God was greater than that fear and his faith in God, as Jehovah-Rohi, was greater than that fear. “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall fear no evil.”
There are giants in your life, giants in my life, and God doesn’t want us to be afraid. He wants us to go in his power and face them. I don’t know your giants. You don’t know my giants. Maybe you’ve just lost your job. Maybe you’re afraid you’re going to lose your job. It’s a hard economy here in Denver. I think a lot of people are afraid they might lose their job. It’s a giant. Maybe you’re afraid you’re going to lose your spouse. Maybe you’re afraid that your wife doesn’t love you anymore, your husband doesn’t love you anymore. You’re afraid. Maybe you’re single and you’re afraid you’re going to always be single and you don’t want to be. You’re afraid you’ll not find the woman that you’ve always desired, or that you’ll not find the man you’ve always wanted, and you’re afraid.
Maybe you have cancer. Some people in our church, some people in this body do have cancer. Maybe you have cancer and you’re facing chemotherapy, and you’re facing radiation treatments. It’s a giant and you’re afraid. Or maybe you’re just afraid of death. You don’t want to die. Maybe you’re not so much afraid of dying from the perspective of your own needs, but you’re afraid for people you love. You wonder what is going to happen to them if you die. You’ve got a lot of fears. You see, God wants us, today, to release all of our fears. He wants you. If you take the name of Christ, you’re part of his flock and he wants you to release all of your fear. He wants you to know that if you’re part of his flock and he’s truly your Shepherd and you long to please him, he’s going to take care of you until your work in this world is done. When it’s time for you to go, he wants you to know that you’re going to dwell in the House of the Lord forever. He wants you to know that he wants you to know that when you leave this world, he’s able to take care of the people you love. He wants you to know he’s able to take care of all of your needs. He doesn’t want you to fear. He wants you to have the joy daily that you’re meant to have, and you only can have when you trust him completely.
“Fear not. I am with you. Be not dismayed. I am your God. I will uphold you, deliver you with my victorious right hand.” If you only knew how much he loves you. If you really understand how much he loves you, you will not fear because the Bible says, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” The Bible says, “Cast all of your anxiety on him because he cares about you.”
Jehovah-Rohi. The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want, and I shall fear no evil.