Jehovah-Rohi - The LORD Our Shepherd
Part of The Names Of God
September 2, 2020

JEHOVAH-ROHI - THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD

Text: Ps. 23:1

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

1. The Occasion of Jehovah-Rohi

  • The name of God in Ps. 23:1 is Jehovah Rohi. Jehovah means “the eternal, self-revealing one,” and rohi means “to tend, pasture, shepherd.”
  • Jehovah Rohi means “Jehovah is my Shepherd.” It is the most precious designation of Jehovah. This perhaps is not so much a name for Jehovah as it is a designation of
    Reveal Answer
    and
    Reveal Answer
    Jehovah is to His people, a Shepherd.

2. The Meaning and Use of Ro’eh

1) The literal meaning.

  • The primary meaning of this word is to
    Reveal Answer
    or lead to pasture, as a shepherd does his flock. (Gen. 37:2, Gen. 47:3-4, 1 Sam. 17:15)

2) The figurative meaning

  • The word is used figuratively to indicate a

    Reveal Answer
    between people. Such as between:

    1] Prince and people (2 Sam. 5:2)

    2] Priest or prophet and people (Jer. 3:15)

    3] God and His people (Ps. 23:1; Isa. 40:11, Jer. 31:10, Ezek. 34:11-16)

Nathan Stone: The Scriptures give us some intimate glimpses into the life of the shepherd and the sheep, but fortunately the preservation of this relationship to this very day enables us to better understand all that Jehovah may mean to us as Shepherd. A recent traveler in Palestine observes: “Shepherding does not change much in Palestine where wild beasts may descend still upon unprotected sheep and suddenly destroy them. The Palestine shepherd lives night and day with his animals. He establishes a degree of intimacy with them which is touching to observe. He calls them all by their names and they, knowing his voice and hearing his only, heed. He protects the sheep from thieves and preying animals who would devour them at night, by sleeping in the opening of the often makeshift sheepfold and they, sensing his watchfulness, fear ‘no evil.’ He provides pasture and water even in the wilderness and the presence of enemies and they, casting all their anxiety upon him, are fed. There is singular communion between the shepherd and his sheep which, after one has visited Palestine and observed it, makes the symbol of the good Shepherd peculiarly apt and the Twenty-third Psalm strangely moving.”

3. Jehovah Rohi (Psalm 23)

1) He is my Shepherd

  • Note here in verse 1 how David uses the present tense. He says here that God

    Reveal Answer
    his shepherd. He doesn’t say that God was. He isn’t saying God used to or has in the past taken care of me. He is emphasizing that God currently, presently, right now is continuing to take care of and tend to his needs.

  • David also used a personal pronoun to describe God as “my shepherd.” God is David’s personal shepherd.

  • “I shall not want” means that God has covered all my needs.

  • God expects a shepherd to feed the flock, strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring back the strays, seek the lost. That’s what being a shepherd means to God.

  • This is what God does for His sheep.

2) He restores my soul

  • What a picture of peace – green pastures and still waters.
    • He led David to have a soul life, an inward life, that was likened unto green pastures and still waters.
    • Our peace is not dependent upon what happens outside of us. Our peace is about what is going on inside of us.
  • David wasn’t speaking of a peaceful location. He was speaking of a peaceful appropriation.
  • When God is your shepherd, He leads you, He guides you in such a way that no matter what is happening around you, peace is abounding in you.

3) He leads me in righteousness

  • It’s not so important where we are as is

    Reveal Answer
    we are with. As long as we’re in close proximity to Jesus everything is OK. (cf: Disciples on stormy sea.)

  • God is to us spiritually what our navigation systems on our phones or in our cars is to us physically.

  • A shepherd needs to guide his sheep because sheep are prone wander. Left to their own, they will wander away and get lost, stuck, in trouble, need rescue, etc.
  • We must recognize that we are like sheep, that He is a Shepherd, and then seek to follow Him.

4) I will fear no evil

  • At this point things change in the Psalm. It isn’t so much the leading of the Shepherd as it is the

    Reveal Answer
    and protection of the Shepherd. Jesus is with us wherever we go. He is with us on the mountain and in the valley.

  • In Psalm 23 David teaches us that the solution to our fears and discouragement is God, Jehovah Rohi.

  • We have to make up our minds when we’re in the valley to focus on God, not the shadows.

5) I will dwell in the house of the Lord

  • Jehovah not only prepares a meal for us, we’re invited to His table as honored guests.

  • Here is a truth to ponder: because we know that in the end we will be blessed, we can have confidence that we will be blessed all along the way.

  • When you know the power of the name, Jehovah Rohi, you will discover that God is able to meet all of your spiritual, directional, physical, emotional, and eternal needs.

4. Jesus is Our Shepherd (John 10:11-16, cf: John 1:29, Rev. 13:8, 7:15-17)

  • John 10:11, 14 - I Am the good

    Reveal Answer
    .

  • The Lamb of God is the Good and Great Shepherd, the Bishop of our souls. (1 Pet. 2:25)

  • In His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus makes all the provisions of PS. 23 in our lives. He is Jehovah Rohi.