“They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, And ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: And the plague brake in upon them. Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: And so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness Unto all generations for evermore. They angered him also at the waters of strife, So that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, So that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.”
Psalm 106:28-33 KJV,https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.106.28-33.KJV
He Comforts Us
In ancient Israel, the rod and staff of a shepherd protected and guided the sheep, and even reminded the sheep that the shepherd was there. And so King David (who was a shepherd as a boy) used the metaphor in Psalm 23:4 to convey this truth: God was his protector and guide.
King David faced death many times and had enemies bent on killing him. He also dealt with his own sin issues and personal mistakes. But in the midst of all this, he repeatedly turned his attention to the faithfulness and assurances of God.
Where did he find these assurances?
King David would have been a student of the Hebrew Scripture, the Torah—the first five books in our Bibles.
To a Hebrew, the Torah wasn’t just a story about God, it was the very Word of God. It was authority, promise, and guide. It was this Word that David based his life—and his psalms—upon. David could write about God’s character because:
1. He knew the Word of God.
2. He experienced the faithfulness and goodness of God based ...