Psalm 23

There is something quite special about reading the Word of God in the land where it was written. To be able to put into context the landmarks described and the original audience—to imagine the writers themselves and how the land around them influenced their words—is truly powerful. David is said to be a man after God’s own heart, yet we know his heart was flawed. We talk about him being a great warrior who, as a child, slew a giant. He loved the Lord God, but he struggled to live up to what we often perceive as a “man of God.”

I’ve given this much thought. Walking in the land of Israel has made the Bible come alive for me in a way that is almost magical. I pondered how this flawed man could give us words that encourage us and speak to our very souls. I just love David’s Psalms. They are so honest and raw. One of my favorites is Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.”

Israel is currently in the biggest drought in modern history. Thankfully, just a few days ago, they were blessed with the first rains of the season. But as we drove past one Bedouin village after another, the sheep looked amazingly healthy. They lacked nothing because their shepherd takes great care of them. They know their shepherd’s voice, and he knows them.

I’ve watched with amazement as my adult son works his sheep at his home in Virginia—the love and care he gives them, and how they know his voice. Yeshua knew about this connection, and He compared the shepherd’s love and care for his flock to His own love and care for us. In John 10:27–28 He says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” The shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep. We know from scripture that David, as a young shepherd boy, killed a lion and a bear to protect his flock. There is nothing a shepherd will not do for his flock!

Psalm 23 continues: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Driving through the Golan Heights and the Jezreel Valley, you can see the plush pastures, the quiet waters of the Jordan and the Galilee, and even the very valley David would have been referring to in his psalm. I will never read those words the same after being in the land. Gazing out the bus window, I found myself pondering how David must have felt when he cried out to God, and how I feel in this moment—looking out over his land—my soul refreshed like never before.

I feel the words David wrote to my core: “My cup overflows.” And “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”