Psalms 23 Bible Study Series

NOTE: New Light Faith Ministries and Barry Johnson Ministries, founded by Rodney V. Johnson and Barry O. Johnson, respectively, are partnering to offer Bible studies for Christians who are seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus. This is a Bible study lesson, not a sermon. The Bible studies teach foundational truth that are designed to challenge, encourage and, most importantly, flame the fire of hunger in the Christian who wants to learn more about who they have become in Christ Jesus. The Bible studies you find on this site contains the written version of the lesson. However, these lessons also include a video and an audio file of the study, a PDF version of the lesson and a sheet for note taking. If you would like any of the additional resources for these studies, please email us at newlightfaithministries@gmail.com or bjteachingltr@gmail.com for more information or contact us at the email provided on both of our Sermon Central pages. Be blessed

Psalm 23 Bible Study

Opening

Hello everyone and welcome to our study on the 23rd Psalms. Barry and I wanted to start this teaching ministry to help those who might not be able or have the ability to attend a Bible Study class at their home Church. We also wanted to reach out to those who might not have a Church home currently but have a desire to grow in their knowledge of the Word of God. While we do not profess to know everything, what we are attempting to do in these lessons is provide you with a starting point on your personal study of the Scriptures we are reviewing in a given lesson. Also, if you have suggestions for a lesson on a certain Scripture that you are interested in, please feel free to share it with us and we will do our best to provide insights on those also. Let’s begin with a Word of prayer.

This morning we will be taking a closer look at Psalms 23. David wrote this psalm from a position of knowledge in that he was a shepherd. Before we get into the actual Scripture, we want to provide a little historical perspective on the role of the shepherd and the characteristics of sheep which will help us better understand Psalms 23 from David’s perspective. Barry, why don’t you start us off with a review of the role of the shepherd as it relates to the sheep.

Barry: Role of Shepherd

Rodney, it’s interesting to me that when God selected David to replace Saul as king of Israel, he selected someone whose heart for the well being of sheep he cared for would be just like His heart was for the well being of the children of Israel. God wanted someone who would care for Israel, who would love Israel, and who would fight for Israel, just like He cared for, loved and fought for Israel. Initially, this described King Saul. But over the next 30 years or so, Saul’s focus was building his legacy and to make sure that one of his sons would be the next king. So God chose as his replacement a person whose focus would be the children of Israel. God chose a shepherd. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that the Holy Spirit would give the writing of the 23rd Psalm to David.

When we think about a shepherd, many times I’m sure most of us see a man with a gentle nature sitting amongst the sheep and gently stroking the head of a lamb while the other sheep vie for his attention. This is true, but it’s only part of the picture. First and foremost, the shepherd was the flocks’ guardian and protector. Under this umbrella came all of the other things that he did for the sheep on a day to day basis. But primarily his job was to guard them and protect them. A shepherd had to be both gentle and strong, tender and courageous, and caring and fierce. These are not the kind of characteristics one would typically expect to hear when describing a shepherd.

During the time of David, shepherds were the most skilled hunters and warriors among their people. David knew what it meant to tend to his father’s sheep and all that it took to protect the sheep from predators. But he knew that he had to protect the sheep from wandering away from the flock and falling off a Clift. Do you remember when David volunteered to fight Goliath because the soldiers of Israel were afraid to face him? King Saul thought David was nuts and that the giant would have him for lunch. But let’s see the response of the “man after God’s own heart” in 1 Samuel 17:32-36.

“32And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go up against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he rose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.”