Rod And Staff

Yea, 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 

Christ our Shepherd uses the tools of the trade. When He was upon earth, He used the tools of a carpenter. As the Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd, He uses the rod and staff. The rod is a short, rather heavy, club-like tool. It is for defending the sheep from predators. The staff is long, slender, and often has a curved end. If a sheep has gotten itself into a bad situation, say, down an embankment or in a hole, the shepherd uses the staff to assist with the rescue. These tools are a comfort to the sheep, as David  himself said. In the valley of the shadow of death he did not fear evil because Christ, his Shepherd had His rod to defend him from his attackers and His staff to pull him out of entrapments. If Christ is our Shepherd, we may have the same confidence as David did. We cannot control the circumstances we will encounter. We may find ourselves walking through the valley of the shadow of death on more than one occasion. We do not need to fear because Christ, our Shepherd is there with us. He has His rod to defend us from our attackers. He has His staff to pull us out of perilous situations. We are as safe as David was. Christ is as much our Shepherd as He was David’s. These truths are our comfort.  

O, Christ, our Shield and our Defender, 
we rejoice that You defend us from all who would do us evil. 
We praise You that You employ all the means necessary 
to preserve us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning