Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me

One of my favorite memories as a child takes me back to simpler days, when the Children’s Christmas Pageant was a straightforward re-enactment of the Nativity.  I miss those days.

Somehow, I always ended up being a shepherd!  I loved that role.  I had the bath robe, and the towel to wear on my head.  I was sure I could have passed as an “Official Shepherd of the Nativity” except for one problem:  I had no staff.  In my mind, a long stick just wouldn’t do, because every Christmas card I saw that had a shepherd showed him carrying a long staff with a curved end.  My Grandpa offered up one of his canes, but it would have been too short! 

But my Dad, seizing the opportunity to be my hero one more time, came to my rescue.  Taking a long metal pole, Dad gently curved the end into a hook, and somehow covered the metal with something that made it look like wood.  I was all set!  I don’t remember the pageant, per se, but I do remember that staff!  I don’t have it anymore, except in my memory, but what a treasure it was to a young boy who wanted to be a shepherd!

If anybody knew a thing or two about a shepherd’s tools, it was David.  In this Psalm, referring the Lord as his Shepherd, David says, “Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.”  This is a beautiful illustration of submission to God’s divine authority.

The Rod

The first instrument that David mentioned was the rod.  The shepherd’s rod was more like a club.  It was thick and was made of a solid piece of wood that had been specially chosen for its purpose.  It had an enlarged base that was smoothed into a rounded head of hard wood.

The shepherd used the rod as a weapon of defense for himself and for his flock.  For a skilled shepherd, the rod was basically an “extension of his right hand.”  It was a symbol of his strength, power, and authority.  Any sheep that foolishly decided to go astray would be met with discipline from the rod before it could get itself into mortal danger.

The Bible says that Moses had been a shepherd in Midian, after he fled from Egypt, and before he returned to Egypt to lead Israel to freedom.  In the process of confronting Pharaoh, Moses used his rod to demonstrate God’s power to Pharaoh.

The rod is symbolic of the Word of God, and represents the authority of divinity.  Thinking of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, the rod in His hand is like His Word.  When He wields it, it is as if He is proclaiming, “Thus saith The Lord!”  There is nothing that can stand in power against that authority!  Our Holy Scriptures are just like God’s rod in that they are an extension of His mind and will.

W. Phillip Keller writes, “In this world of many convincing, yet false ideas, it is not hard to get sidetracked and off-course, like the sheep who is distracted and wanders away from following the shepherd.  The Shepherd uses His rod to turn the sheep back on to the correct path, much like God’s Word guides us back to the correct path when we choose to heed it.”

Like the Shepherd uses the rod of correction, the Holy Spirit uses the Word to discipline us.

It’s an instrument of protection, used to drive off predators.  Remember, David defeated both bears and lions.  In similar fashion, Jesus used the Word as a rod to counter Satan (the wandering lion) during His temptation in the desert.

The Staff

But the shepherd has another instrument as well, which I already touched on: the staff.

If the rod was symbolic of the Word of God, then the staff draws comparison to the Holy Spirit, in that it is used to draw us closer to the Shepherd.  If the rod represents discipline and instruction, then the staff represents concern and compassion.  If the rod represents justice, then the staff represents mercy.

How would a shepherd use his staff?  Going along the path, the shepherd provides guidance by gently laying the staff against the sheep’s side.  The sheep is reassured of its correct path, and so are we.

When a sheep would find itself in trouble, perhaps fallen into a body of water and weighed down by its own saturated wool, the shepherd would use the hooked end of his staff to “grab on” to the sheep, lifting it to safety.  When we find ourselves in despair, weighed down by anxiety and circumstances, it is the Holy Spirit, the Helper, who reaches down to help us find solid ground again.

And in an act of affection, the shepherd uses the staff to draw the sheep closer to himself, displaying a tenderness and an assurance to the sheep that everything is ok.  Likewise for us, while walking along the path with our Good Shepherd, He gently and playfully draws us closer to Himself with the crook of His staff, whispering to us, “I am with you always.  Even to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:20)

And so it is for the Shepherd and His instruments.  The Word and The Spirit.  Discipline and concern.  Instruction and compassion.  Justice and mercy.  Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me!

Blessings,

Pastor Bryan 

P.S. Why not take some time today to read a passage from the Bible and spend a bit of time in prayer.  That way, you, too, can experience the comfort of the rod and the staff.