JACK BECK: WE'VE DEFINED WILDERNESS AS A LAND THAT LACKS EVERYTHING.
PSALM 23 TAKES THAT IDEA AND COMPLETELY TURNS IT
ON IT'S HEAD BY TELLING US THAT THERE CAN BE WILDERNESS
WITHOUT WANTING.
THIS TIME WE'RE GONNA HIKE DOWN TO A WILDERNESS PASTURE
AND THERE WE'LL LEARN BOTH WHAT A WILDERNESS PASTURE IS
AND HOW IT SERVES AS THE CONTEXT FOR THE LANGUAGE OF PSALM 23.
GEORGE: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT BE IN WANT.
HE MAKES ME LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES.
HE LEADS ME BESIDE QUIET WATERS.
HE RESTORES MY SOUL.
HE GUIDES ME IN PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE.
GEORGE AND MICHELLE: EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY
OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
MICHELLE: I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME.
YOUR ROD AND YOUR STAFF, THEY COMFORT ME.
MICHELLE AND AUSTIN: YOU PREPARE A TABLE BEFORE ME.
IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES,
AUSTIN: YOU ANOINT MY HEAD WITH OIL. MY CUP OVERFLOWS.
SURELY GOODNESS AND LOVE WILL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE
AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER.
JACK BECK: PSALM 23 IS ONE OF THE BEST KNOWN AND MOST LOVED
OF ALL THE PSALMS.
AND YET IT IS ALMOST NEVER PLACED WITHIN IT'S PROPER GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT,
THE CONTEXT OF WILDERNESS.
BUT WHEN WE DO, THE LANGUAGE BECOMES EVEN MORE POWERFUL
THAN IT HAD BEEN BEFORE FOR YOU.
I KNOW THIS IS GONNA BE AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE FOR YOU.
BUT YOU MAY BE ASKING YOURSELF, "WELL, WHERE IS THE WORD WILDERNESS IN PSALM 23?
"WHERE DOES HE SEE IT THERE?"
WELL, THE WORD WILDERNESS ISN'T THERE,
BUT EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT RAISING SHEEP AND GOATS
IN JUDAH'S HILL COUNTRY SUGGESTS THE PSALM BELONGS HERE.
THERE'RE REALLY ONLY TWO PLACES JUDEAN SHEPHERDS LIKE DAVID,
WHO WROTE THIS PSALM, THERE'S REALLY ONLY TWO PLACES
WHERE THEY TENDED THEIR LIVESTOCK.
EITHER THEY PROVIDED PASTURE NEAR THE VILLAGE
OR WHEN THOSE FIELDS WERE OCCUPIED BY GRAIN DURING THE
AGRICULTURAL SEASON OF THE YEAR,
SHEPHERDS HAD TO TAKE THEIR LIVESTOCK AWAY FROM THE VILLAGE
AND OUT INTO THE FRINGES OF JUDAH'S WILDERNESS,
TO A WILDERNESS PASTURE LIKE THE ONE THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU HERE.
WILDERNESS PASTURES DON'T GO ON FOR ACRES AND ACRES AND
ACRES, THEY'RE JUST A FEW SQUARE FEET.
AND THE LIVESTOCK VERY QUICKLY EAT THEIR WAY THROUGH THIS AND NEED TO MOVE ON.
THIS IS THE BEST YOU GET.
AND THIS IS WHERE DAVID SAT, WHERE YOU'RE SITTING.
AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD GOT HIM THINKING.
DAVID LOOKED OUT INTO THIS WILDERNESS AND SAID,
"YOU KNOW, MY LIFE IS A LOT LIKE THE LIFE OF MY LIVESTOCK,
"MY SHEEP AND GOATS WHO ARE LOOKING TO ME AS THEIR SHEPHERD.
"AND THE LORD, HE IS MY SHEPHERD,
"AND THEN I DON'T LACK FOR ANYTHING."
THAT'S VERY POWERFUL, ISN'T IT?
AND IT'S THE WAY THE PSALM BEGINS.
"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD,"
DAVID THOUGHT, SITTING BY HIS WILDERNESS PASTURE.
"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I JUST DON'T LACK A THING."
HIS EYES AREN'T ON THE AUSTERITY OF THE LANDSCAPE HERE, ON WHAT'S MISSING.
HIS EYES ARE ON WHAT HE SEES.
THE LORD IS HIS SHEPHERD.
AND SO HE CAN LIVE IN WILDERNESS WITHOUT WANTING.
"THE SHEPHERD MAKES ME LIE DOWN IN A GREEN PASTURE.
"AND LEADS ME BESIDE QUIET WATERS,
"REFRESHING MY SOUL."
FOOD AND WATER ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY BECAUSE
NUTRIENTS AND HYDRATION IS NECESSARY FOR THE SHEEP AND GOATS
AS THEY ARE FOR US, AS WE HAVE WANDERED AROUND THIS WILDERNESS AREA.
BUT FOOD ISN'T EVERYWHERE.
AND THE SHEEP AND GOATS LEFT TO THEIR OWN DEVICES
WOULD NOT NECESSARILY FIND FOOD AND WATER WHEN THEY NEEDED IT,
BUT THE SHEPHERD IS IN THE LEAD...
MAKING SURE THAT WHEN THEY CREST A RIDGE THAT LOOKS SO BARREN,
THEY KNOW BEYOND IS THAT GREEN PASTURE.
AND WHEN THAT ONE GETS USED UP A LITTLE BIT,
ON WE GO TO THE NEXT. AND THEN ON TO THE NEXT,
AND THEN DOWN INTO THE VALLEY BOTTOM WHERE THERE'S WATER...
THAT'S GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR THEM.
IT INVOLVES MOVEMENT.
"AND SO HE GUIDES ME ALONG THE RIGHT PATHS FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE."
IT'S A BIT OF A SCRAMBLE COMING DOWN HERE, WOULDN'T YOU AGREE?
THERE'S A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY TO MOVE THROUGH THIS SORT OF TERRAIN.
AND THE REPUTATION OF THE SHEPHERD IS BASED ON THE FACT
THAT THE SHEPHERD PICKS THE RIGHT WAY ALL OF THE TIME.
HE DOESN'T LOSE ANIMALS OUT HERE TO TERRAIN HAZARD
BECAUSE HE'S ALWAYS PICKING THE RIGHT WAY TO GO.
"EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF DEATH."
LOOK AT THAT CANYON AHEAD OF YOU.
IF THAT DOESN'T HAVE DEATH WRITTEN ALL OVER IT FROM
THE PERSPECTIVE OF A SHEEP OR A GOAT,
OR MAYBE A HIKER LIKE US, I DON'T KNOW WHAT DOES.
AND YET DAVID DIDN'T CALL IT "THE VALLEY OF DEATH," DID HE?
HE CALLED IT "THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH."
SOMETHING THAT HAS ALL THE APPEARANCE OF THREAT AND HARM,
BUT NONE OF THE SUBSTANCE.
IN FACT, "I'LL FEAR NO EVIL."
NOTHING OUT HERE BOTHERS ME BECAUSE YOU'RE WITH ME.
I SEE YOUR TOOLS, YOUR ROD AND YOUR STAFF,
THEY'RE MY REMINDER THAT YOU'RE LOOKING OUT FOR ME AND
GUIDING ME ALL OF THE TIME.
AND SO WHILE LEFT TO MY OWN DEVICES OUT HERE I MIGHT BE
TERRIFIED AND NERVOUS AND UPSET ALL OF THE TIME,
DAVID GOES ON TO SPEAK IN LANGUAGE THAT RESEMBLES A HUMAN FESTIVAL OR PARTY.
HE SAYS OF THE SHEEP, "LORD YOU PREPARED A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES.
"YOU ANOINT MY HEAD WITH OIL, MY CUP OVERFLOWS."
THIS IS WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU GO TO A PARTY.
AND HE'S TAKING THAT IMAGE AND INTERJECTING IT HERE
INTO THIS AUSTERE WILDERNESS AND SAYING,
"THE SHEEP, ME, WE'RE JUST KICKING BACK AND RELAXING
"AT A PARTY, WE'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE
"BECAUSE THERE'S THE SHEPHERD, ALWAYS THERE, ALWAYS IN SIGHT."
BUT THIS PSALM THAT STARTS IN WILDERNESS DOESN'T END IN THE WILDERNESS.
MICHELLE MADE THE OBSERVATION AS WE CLAMORED DOWN THIS RIDGE,
SHE SAID, "I DON'T WANT TO STAY OUT HERE TONIGHT."
THAT'S A GOOD CHOICE.
NO ONE WANTS TO STAY OUT HERE.
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS ARE AT MUCH HIGHER RISK.
AS THE SUN SETS AND THE EVENING SHADOWS GROW,
IT'S THE TIME WHEN THE APEX PREDATORS OF THIS WILDERNESS
THAT ARE STILL OUT HERE HAVE THE ADVANTAGE
OVER THE FLOCK DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF THE SHEPHERD.
SO A SMART SHEPHERD ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT BY EVENING
THE FLOCK IS MOVING BACK AND IS BACK CLOSER
TO THE VILLAGE ITSELF WHERE THEY BEGAN THEIR DAY.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE PSALM ENDS.
IT DOES NOT END OUT HERE IN THE WILDERNESS,
IT ENDS AT HOME.
"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."
THIS IS A HOME-GOING PSALM.
IT'S SO POWERFUL WHEN WE READ IT AGAINST THE CONTEXT OF WILDERNESS,
BECAUSE IT REDEFINES WILDERNESS FROM BEING A PLACE THAT
LACKS EVERYTHING TO A PLACE THAT LACKS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE THE WILDERNESS HAS CHANGED,
IT'S BECAUSE WHO'S WITH US DURING THAT TIME,
IN OUR SEASON OF WILDERNESS.
OUR GOOD SHEPHERD'S MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING TO THE FOOD,
THAT WE'RE GETTING TO THE WATER.
THAT WE'RE MOVING ALONG RIGHT, SAFE PATHS.
WHOSE EQUIPMENT IS ALWAYS IN SIGHT AND SO WE KNOW
HE IS THERE MAKING SURE THAT THE VALLEY OF DEATH REMAINS
NOTHING MORE THAN A SHADOW.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY...
WE CAN KNOW THAT WE DON'T LIVE IN WILDERNESS,
NESTLED AMONG IT'S THREATS, AND FEELING IMPERILED BY IT'S DANGERS.
AT THE END, THE SHEPHERD LEADS US HOME.
AND THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS TO NEGOTIATE LIFE
IN WILDERNESS THAT IS WITHOUT WANTING.