Title: Even Through the Valley of Death
Contents
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
1. Introduction: The third reason to live with Jehovah God as shepherd
- The poet who confessed in verses 1 and 2 that Jehovah God is his shepherd because he supplies his life and revives his soul goes to verse 4 and gives the third reason. . It is because God is with us even when we go through the valley of the shadow of death. The Hebrew Bible says this: “Even if we go through the valley of deep darkness, we are not afraid of disaster. For your staff and your staff will be with me.”
2. Body: Even when passing through the valley of the shadow of death
1) Valley of the Shadow of Death
① Environmental Valley
- The providential and environmental valleys that David experienced are the life-threatening, trials, and sufferings he experienced during his time when he was anointed and fled under the persecution of Saul. But, in God's providence, through that valley, he was able to embrace the weak and become one with them.
② Valley of the Soul
- The valley of the soul is the inner valley that accompanies spiritual suffering. He experiences two painful afflictions before God, one for the census and the other for the crime of Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. Because the census means the pride of not fully trusting in God in faith, he experienced pain as if he had lost his relationship with God for a while. But more serious was the offense of Bathsheba. Because of his sin, he experienced a profound sense of separation from God he had never experienced before.
- In this way, sin brings darkness to the soul and brings suffering like death. A deep pain incomparable to the momentary pleasures of sin come upon our souls. It is only later that we realize how great the joy God gives us. It is the separation from God that we experience at that time.
- David, who was a man after God's own heart, and who received the greatest love from God in the Old Testament times, has now become an evil man before God because of his sin, and as a result, his soul remains in the deep valley of death for a very long time. has passed through
2) God is with you even in the valley of death
- When he was in the valley of death, he seemed to have no hope, but looking back many years later, he realized that even then, God had not left him alone. When he realized it and experienced it, his soul had the courage to see the hardships he experienced later in the providence of God. So he could confess in his old age, “Though I pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” “The Lord is with me; I have no fear; what can man do to me?”
- Even if we deeply repent before God and turn to God in our sins, the difficulties of our environment may not change. However, God pours out on us the spiritual power to overcome and live in the environment even if it does not change. Even when hardships overlapped and tribulations lined up, we were happy when God was with them there. The greatest blessing God gives us is that God is with us.
- During the life of faith, we do not only walk around green pastures and still waters. Sometimes we meet trials in the valley of the shadow of death. God wants us to realize the preciousness of our relationship with God, and to become children who can overcome trials and fights with the world. That is why God sometimes places us in the valley of death.
4) How God is with you: The Lord's staff and staff
- The staff was a tool used to pull the sheep out of the ranks to re-enter the ranks, and the sticks were used to defeat the approaching wild beasts with a sharp-pointed weapon to harm the flock. God guides and protects us with his staff and staff. And because that God wants us to have personal faith, He does not break our necks and lead us, but caresses us with His loving hand so that we can personally submit to Him and return to Him, patiently waiting for us.
3. Conclusion: Return to Personal Faith
- The poet confesses that such divine guidance and protection has been a real comfort in his life. We must remember that nothing but God can comfort us in the crisis of life, like passing through the valley of the shadow of death, in the swamp of deep spiritual stagnation. I hope that you will return to the bosom of the Lord as your shepherd, and go through the path while singing even when you pass through the valley of the shadow of death. 2004-01-04