Your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4b
Comfort. What do you think of when you think of comfort? Honestly, I think of my soft sofa and a good book. Comfort. Do you think of a hard, wooden rod and staff as tools of comfort?
In Biblical times, the shepherd’s rod and staff were tools of protection, care, discipline, compassion, correction, and guidance. The rod and staff offered comfort because the sheep recognized the authority of the shepherd. They trusted their shepherd…and we can also trust our Shepherd, our Good Shepherd. We can trust that our Good Shepherd will use His tools for our good and comfort, even if the use of these tools brings temporary discomfort.
Sometimes the shepherd used the rod for the purpose of examining the sheep. Ezekiel 20:37 refers to this as passing “under the rod.” Phillip Keller describes the Shepherd’s examination by writing the following.
“As each animal comes out of the corral and through the gates, it is stopped by the shepherd’s outstretched rod. He opens the fleece with the rod; he runs his skillful hands over the body; he feels for any sign of trouble; he examines the sheep with care to see that all is well. This is a most searching process entailing every intimate detail. It is, too, a comfort to the sheep, for only in this way can its hidden problems be laid bare before the shepherd.”[1]
Do you feel comfort when undergoing an examination? Just this week, I postponed a doctor’s appointment because of the possible discomfort the appointment might cause. An examination can be fear-inducing and cause avoidance. Trust me, I understand. But what kind of discomfort might occur if I keep postponing the appointment? What kind of hidden problems might an examination lay bare? Perhaps this is the fear, but ultimately, the examination brings comfort because examination brings health and wholeness.
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalm 139: 23-24
This Psalm offers a prayer for spiritual examination. The Psalmist cries out to the Good Shepherd and seeks the Good Shepherd’s examination. The Psalmist trusts the Good Shepherd. The Psalmist longs to be whole. Wholeness occurs as we allow God to search our hearts and reveal our hidden unrighteous ways. We must not run from examination but run to examination.
In Ezekiel 20:37, God tells the wayward Israelite people of their coming restoration saying, “I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.” God promises to take note of His people. God promises to see us, all of us. The examination comes first. Then God brings the Israelites into the bond of the covenant, just as He brings us into the bond of the covenant. The Good Shepherd’s examination, exposure, and healing of sins and wounds… brings restoration and transformation, which leads us into abundant and flourishing life.
Are you willing to walk under the rod of examination? Are you willing to seek God’s word, open your heart to the Holy Spirit, and trust the Good Shepherd? As we trust the Good Shepherd to use His rod and staff, we will find comfort in the discomfort.
[1] W. Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2007), 116.
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