The readings you/we have just read are among my most loved passages from God's Word. I know that
you love them the most, too. Psalm 23, which we love so much, is, without any doubt, the song of our souls as we live this life as Christians.
Even if only we were made to recite and memorise the words of Psalm 23 as Sunday school children, they
still run deep like living waters in the depths of our souls, replenishing our souls as we journey through
this life.
In the Gospel reading from John, Jesus beautifully describes him as the Good Shepherd. It seems Jesus is modelling himself in the image in the Psalm he knew so well and offering himself to us as our Shepherd.
The passage from 1 Peter beautifully reiterates that the Lord is the Shepherd and the Overseer of our
souls (verse 25) while we traverse this fragile life on earth.
Today, I would like to draw on these three passages and share how the Good Shepherd oversees
our souls and guides us in this life. In particular, I want to focus on verse four of the Psalm: Even though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
This "valley of the shadow of death" mentioned in the Psalm is an actual place. For the best part of my life, for some reason, which even I cannot recall, I had imagined this valley to be a beautiful pathway to
Heaven.
The Arabic word for valley is "wadi", and many wadis exist in the Arab world. During my time in the
As the Senior Chaplain of the Anglican Church in the UAE (2010-2015), on a brief holiday in 2012, I visited the Al Shab Wadi in Oman. As you can see in the photograph, it is one of the most beautiful and exotic wadis. This experience reinforced my image of the valley of the shadow of death: that it is a beautiful pathway to Heaven.
Following my experience of this Al Shab Wadi in Oman, in 2013, I went on my first pilgrimage to the
Holy Land (only 2500 kms from Dubai) with forty church members. I asked the tour manager to include the Valley of the Shadow of Death in our itinerary to fulfil a long-held dream.
In Arabic, the valley of the shadow of death is known as Wadi Qelt (Nahal Prat, in Hebrew). It is seven
kilometres-long, narrow and deep gorge in the Judean wilderness that runs from Jerusalem down to
Jericho. Once we arrived there, I discovered that the valley was vastly different from what I had
imagined. The sidewalls are over 1500 feet high in places and are only 10 or 12 feet wide at the
bottom. Even on a bright and sunny day, the canyon's depths can be covered by a dark shadow,
making it difficult to see any danger lurking below. Hence, although we are accustomed to the phrase "the
valley of the shadow of death", a correct translation of the Hebrew term is probably "dark shadow" or
"darkest shadow" describing this valley.
Travel through the valley is dangerous because its floor, severely eroded by cloudbursts, has deep gullies.
This valley was nothing like the Al Shab valley I had experienced in Oman and the image I had imprinted
in my mind from my student days. We only walked about a kilometre into the valley and were
exhausted. We foresaw the physical injuries some of us would have suffered if we were to go further into
the valley unprepared, and soon returned to the coach and went on to the following site. Below is a picture of the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
Seeing the valley of the shadow of death with my eyes left me a lasting impression. More than ever
before, Psalm 23 echoed in my heart each day as I went by, spending the day engaged in challenging – at
times perilous – tasks in ministry in the UAE.
Six months later, I went on my second pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This time, I planned to be free
from the group for three days of the pilgrimage to go on an exclusive excursion through the
valley of the shadow of death. I did it: I joined forty-four people on tour. Our journey was over eight
hours, and we feared running out of personal provisions and physical stamina to see the journey through.
Throughout the entire trail, except for St. George's Monastery and one of the oldest synagogues in the world, there were no coffee shops or anything of that sort. There were no carved steps to climb on or streetlights to show the way at night.
Our Israeli guide, Zeruiah (interestingly, the name of the only sister of King David who wrote Psalm 23),
explained to us that climatic and grazing conditions in the region make it necessary for the sheep to be
moved through this valley for seasonal feeding. The route is perilous. In some places, the sidewalls are
over 1500 feet high and only about 10 or 12 feet wide at the bottom. The valley's floor is dangerous
because cloudbursts severely erode it and have deep gullies. The footing on solid rock is so narrow in
places that a sheep cannot turn around. Zeruiah said that it is an unwritten law of shepherds that flocks
must go up the valley in the morning hours and down towards the eventide, lest herds meet in the defile.
Halfway through the valley, the walk crosses from one side to the other at a place where the path is cut in
two by an eight-foot gully. One section of the trail is about 18 inches higher than the other. Zeruiah
explained to us that the sheep must jump across this section. The Shepherd stands at this break and guides the sheep to make the jump. If the sheep slips and lands in the gully, a shepherd's staff with a crook is used.
The crook encircled around a large sheep's neck or a small sheep's chest is lifted to safety.
Zeruria continued to explain that bandits would hide in the caves and ambush travellers passing through.
This may have been the same route the man in Jesus's story of the Good Samaritan took when
robbers attacked him (See Luke 10:30).
The greatest threat to a flock of sheep, however, was predatory animals such as lions and bears (See
Proverbs 28:15; Lamentations 3:10; Hosea 13:8; Amos 5:19). The Asiatic lion was the species of lions that inhabited the land of Israel during the biblical period, and they roamed in this valley. In these terrains,
there were also many wild dogs like hyenas.
Many herds crossing the valley were vulnerable to these predator animals. When attacked, a shepherd
would throw his rod, hurl the staff at the predator animal, and knock it into the washed-out gully,
where it is easily killed. Thus, the sheep that follow the Shepherd through the valley, Zeruria told us, had
learned to trust their Master and fear no evil, even in the valley of the shadow of death.
The journey through the valley was an extraordinary and challenging walk. Through the arduous journey,
we helped each other through some challenging walk stages. Some ran out of provisions during the walk, and we had to share what we had. Some slowed down, and we had to keep pace with
them. A few others feared passing through some incredibly challenging passes of the valley. Some shared their life journeys with me on our way, and some even confessed.
All of us made the trip. But, along with nine others, I had to spend two days in a modest hotel in Jericho
recovering from exhaustion and fatigue before rejoining the band of pilgrims back in Jerusalem.
My experience of the journey through the valley of the shadow of death was a very profound experience
for me. That journey helped me redefine my earlier understanding that the valley was a pathway to
Heaven to the valley is like life on the way to Heaven. The experience of the valley of the shadow of
death became a potent metaphor for me to understand our lives.
My experience helped me see the experiences David had gone through to compose
the Psalm. Through his experiences recorded in the Scriptures, it became evident to me that David had walked through this valley many times as a shepherd boy during his youth (1 Samuel 16:19; 17:20).
Here, he had literally faced all the dangers this valley had presented. It is recorded in the Bible that David
had killed a lion and a bear to protect his flock (1 Samuel 17:34-37). These incidents may have happened in this valley.
When one walks through this valley, one realises how much one must place unconditional trust in the
Lord. Perhaps David's experience of the challenges of this dangerous terrain during his youth would have
laid the foundations for his unconditional faith and trust in the Lord as he sought guidance on
his life's journey.
At the outset, David's life was very much like ours. He had his high points and low points. David also
experienced the extreme surprises life presents to us sometimes. He was shocked when God
called him out from being a shepherd to be anointed king (1 Samuel 16). Then, a few days later, he became an overnight hero of the nation when he killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17). David won battles for the Lord and established a kingdom for himself. But he was no stranger to temptation – he even committed murder and adultery (2 Samuel 11). David experienced rivalry, and his life was threatened when his son attempted to overthrow him (2 Samuel 15). This also may have been when he hid in the shadow of the valley of death.
David received many blessings from the Lord, and he praised and thanked God for his blessings (e.g.
Psalm 145). He was also reprimanded when he overlooked God's statutes and commandments, and God
prevented him from building the Temple because he had shed so much blood (1 Chronicles 28:3).
Nevertheless, God accepted the genuine repentance of his sins (See Psalms 32 & 51) and pardoned and accepted him. Along with other heroes and heroines of faith, who also have had weaknesses and shortcomings, the Scriptures say that God perfected David also in Heaven (Hebrews 11:1-39, and especially v. 40). David died in peace and is hailed to this day as the greatest King of Israel and the forefather of Jesus, the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-17).
At one level, David's life may be the life of a highflyer, but the general themes are the same as ours. What
got him through life was his unconditional trust in God as his Shepherd.
In a fallen world, "the valleys of the shadow of death" are numerous. While "the valley of the shadow of
death" may not always be synonymous with the experience of death, they are metaphors for the danger and difficulty we face. Some, of course, may even cause physical death.
From time to time, we all walk through "the valley of the shadow of death". They are the times of deep
discouragement, major failure, a loss of a personal relationship, a spiritual declension, or perhaps
physical death staring at us in the face. Time and again, we also face the dangers of spiritual material or
human enemies. We may even lack spiritual and material resources to sustain life.
These were David's actual experiences, too. Therefore, in many ways, as I had said earlier, his life
experiences are not hugely different from ours.
David relied utterly on the Lord: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He rested in the Lord: He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me on the right path for his name's sake. He feared no adversity or evil: Even though I walk through the darkest valley of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
Because he trusted in the Lord, he feared no enemy and knew he couldn't be made to lack: you prepare a
table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. He trusted that no wrong could happen to him: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. With such unconditional reliance on God, David was confident that his life's journey could finally take him Home: I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life.
Now, you take the place of David and sing or say the Psalm aloud: The Lord is my Shepherd, and I shall not want …….
Christ is Risen; Halleluiah! He is Risen, Indeed, Halleluiah!
