The older book
The Shepherd
Read the psalm first.
Yahweh is my shepherd.
Psalm 23 · Ezekiel 34:1-24 · John 10:1-18 · Romans 1:3 · Revelation 7:9-17 · Revelation 22:1-5 · Brown-Driver-Briggs, רָדַף
The scene
"Yahweh is my shepherd:
I shall lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even 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.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in Yahweh's house forever."Psalm 23:1-6
You've probably heard that before.
In Revelation, John sees a huge multitude standing before the throne of God. They will hunger no more. They will thirst no more.
John tells us why: "For the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters."Revelation 7:17
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
In the psalm, the shepherd is Yahweh. Here, it's the Lamb.
Centuries after David, the prophet Ezekiel speaks against the shepherds of Israel. They were supposed to care for God's people, but instead they cared for themselves. The sheep were scattered. The weak weren't strengthened. The sick weren't healed. The lost weren't searched for.
So God says he will do it himself:
"Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out."Ezekiel 34:11
He says he will rescue them, feed them and make them lie down. He will search for the lost, bring back those driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick. Yahweh himself will shepherd his people.
But then God promises:
"I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them, even my servant David."Ezekiel 34:23
When God said that, David had already been dead for centuries. Another 600 years would pass before Jesus came. A direct descendant of King David and known as the Son of David, Jesus said:
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."John 10:11
David had written:
"Yahweh is my shepherd."Psalm 23:1
The valley is still there. David walks through it. His enemies haven't disappeared either; they're still there when God prepares the table.
Before the valley, David talks about God:
"He makes me lie down."
"He leads me."
"He restores my soul."
"He guides me."Psalm 23:2-3
In the valley:
"You are with me."Psalm 23:4
David starts talking to him.
At the end, David says that goodness and loving kindness will "follow" him all the days of his life. The Hebrew word translated "follow" is often used for an enemy in pursuit.
Here it's goodness and loving kindness doing the pursuing.
"I will dwell in Yahweh's house forever."Psalm 23:6
In Revelation, the Lamb is shepherding his people and leading them to springs of life-giving water. By the final chapter of the Bible, John sees a river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
The tree of life is there. There is no curse any more. God's servants are with him.
"They will see his face."Revelation 22:4
The Lamb is the Shepherd.
The point
The Lamb shepherds them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters.Revelation 7:17
Sit with this
Now read it again.