“Passing Under the Rod”  

Sermon by Pastor Dennis Gleason -- September 5, 2004

Psalm 23:4   “your rod and your staff they comfort me.”

Out of parental concern and a desire to teach our young son responsibility, we required him to phone home when he arrives at his friend's house a few blocks away. He began to forget, however, as he grew more confident in his ability to get there without disaster befalling him. The first time he forgot, I called to be sure he had arrived. We told him the next time it happened, he would have to come home. A few days later, however, the telephone again lay silent, and I knew if he was going to learn, he would have to be punished. But I did not want to punish him!! I went to the telephone, regretting that his great time would be spoiled by his lack of contact with his father. As I dialed, I prayed for wisdom. "Treat him like I treat you," the Lord seemed to say. With that, as the telephone rang one time, I hung up. A few seconds later the phone rang, and it was my son. "I'm here, Dad!" "What took you so long to call?" I asked. "We started playing and I forgot. But Dad, I heard the phone ring once and I remembered."

How often do we think of God as One who waits to punish us when we step out of line? I wonder how often he rings just once, hoping we will phone home.

Using the image of God as his shepherd and having been a shepherd most of his youth, David well knew the tools of a shepherd- a rod and a staff – and sometimes just a staff serving as both.

A shepherd like David would have carried these two pieces of equipment with him as he led his sheep out into the wilderness to find forage. The rod was what we would call a good strong club used mostly for defense against predators of the sheep. The shepherd would go out and find a sapling; dig it out of the ground and then take a knife and begin to shape it to fit his hand. He would leave the root ball area intact cutting it into a smooth, hard ball at the end of the rod.

He would take it out and practice with it. He would throw it over and over again until he could hit exactly where he aimed it.  This was his principle weapon for protecting his sheep from predators and disciplining his sheep when they would wander off on their own. A bonk on the head would send a sheep scurrying back into the flock if it wandered off or was endangering itself in some way. So the shepherd would throw the rod to get his sheep’s attention and to get it to do the shepherd’s will.

Essentially the rod was an extension of the shepherd’s right arm and it stood for his power and strength, his authority over the sheep.

 Sometimes the rod was used to scan the deep wool of the sheep for insects or signs of skin disease deep down below the surface of the wool. There were times too when counting the sheep, that it was said they passed under the bar or the rod as they went into the foal for the night.  Ezekiel 20:37 speaks of God’s people “passing under the rod” The implication is that we come under the authority, the control of God and under the intimate examination of the “Shepherd”. The sheep that had passed under the rod was one that had been counted and look over with great care by the shepherd. A very positive concept for us to consider. God does care about us. He knows us personally and quite intimately.

The Psalmist meant something similar to this when he wrote:  “Search me o God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”

We have noted that in this section of this Psalm we have the perspective of the sheep.  Remember there is a change of person in this section…from the Lord…He to “you” and “your”. He is thinking of some of the benefits of being on of the Lord’s sheep.

If we will allow it,
If we will submit to it,
God will search us as we pass under the rod and Praise the Lord there will be no “pulling the wool” over His eyes!

He will penetrate beneath the surface, behind the façade of the old self and expose the things that need to be set right.

He does this out of a deep love for us and an intense desire to care for his sheep. And rather than putting it off; it should comfort us to know that He knows us and cares about us individually.

The benefit here for us in the use of the rod is comfort…encouragement for the sheep.

The shepherd’s staff is used in an entirely different manner. The staff  was much longer than the rod and it had a curved, or hooked  top that was useful in rescuing a fallen or lost sheep in a ravine or crevice. It was also used to separate the flock or individual sheep from the flock, the staff was a handy instrument.

It was used for guiding and pointing and even walking and the staff was useful particularly on uneven, rocky, or hilly ground.

The purpose of the staff was to bring the flock together into an intimate relationship with each other and with the shepherd. Can you imagine a shepherd taking his staff and gently lifting a newborn lamb up to place it by its mother. He would not do it with his hand so that the mother  would not reject it because it smelled the scent of the man on the little lamb.

The staff was used to reach out and catch individual sheep and draw them close to the shepherd. It was useful for giving guidance to the sheep.

Time and time again the shepherd would use the staff to guide the sheep down a new path, through a gate or away from something dangerous to the flock.

The staff was never used to beat the sheep. But with a gentle pressure on the sheep’s side the shepherd guides the sheep where he wants it to go. The sheep is assured of going down the right path.

There are times when a shepherd will take his staff and place the tip of the staff against the side of a special sheep and they will walk together as if they were holding hands. Sheep obviously enjoy the close, intimate contact with the shepherd; to be treated special is to know comfort in a new dimension.

The Psalmist tells us that the rod and the staff give comfort to the sheep. The sheep feel good and content, at peace without a care when the shepherd is watching over them.

The rod speaks of protection and discipline that come from the care of the shepherd for his sheep. So it is that the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep and calls them by name protects and disciplines us. The rod is an extension of his power and authority. He protects us. I am sure that He does so in ways that we never see or realize have taken place. How many accidents have you missed because he cares for you?  Perhaps we will never know.

How many times and in how many different ways has God, the Good Shepherd, seen fit to discipline us?  We have wandered away on our own and he has pulled us up short in some way. It may be family difficulties, a battered or broken relationship, a financial reversal or the loss of a job. He will use circumstances in our lives as the rod to bonk us on the head when we have wandered off or are going into some kind of danger. Why does he do this? It is because he cares for us. He loves us too much to let us go on our way  And so out comes the rod…the symbol of his power, and authority; of his protection and discipline; of his care for his sheep.

There are many examples of how God uses the rod to discipline his people. One of the clearest examples in the Scriptures is found in the life of Elijah. God used him to declare that it would not rain on the land until he called it forth and for three and a half years there was none. It had come about because God’s people Israel had wandered away from him.

We must not think for a minute that because of our relationship with God in Christ that he would not bonk us on the head when we have wandered off on our own. He will. He must if he really loves us like he says he does. Count on it if you wander off on your own or head into danger or trouble. He loves you enough to do it.

How many things has God brought together for us at just the right time so that we knew what He wanted us to do, or where He wanted us to go? The staff in the life of God’s people today is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Great Comforter. He is the one who comes along side, puts his arm around us and encourages us. He gives us guidance. He shows us the direction God is leading us. He is the one who unites us with Christ Jesus into the deep fellowship, the deep mutual relationship with God and each other that brings us back into that right relationship with God and with each other.
He will cause us to pass beneath the rod.

He will do it for our sake so that we might have the very best .

God cares for us and because he does he has sent us the Holy Spirit so we might be encouraged. He has given us His Word so that we might know Him and understand how he protects, guides and disciplines us.

-- Dennis Gleason