Good morning
It’s Friday and my pleasure and honour to dedicate my Blog to God Almighty.
A friend of mine, Brian Rolfe, is truly an outstanding artist who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. This work of his is called ‘Shepherd’s Tree’.
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| Shepherd's Tree by Brian Rolfe |
My poem, which I wrote specifically for Brian’s magnificent painting, is called The World because we honestly are all connected through Our Lord.
THE WORLD
As the World sits and watches
A bearing to the right
Draws attention to a bird
Caught in momentary flight
As the Owl sits and watches
A movement to the left
Leaves no shadow of a doubt
That its food is in that cleft
As the Word sits and watches
The scene from high above
There is so much satisfaction
Of what is made with Love
As the Lord sits and watches
His handiwork below
He accepts His task as Shepherd
To lead those of us who follow
As much as oil, which I reference below, has a very real agricultural use, so the Shepherd’s Tree is an actual tree which grows in arid areas in Southern Africa.
Here’s a bit of botanical information for anyone who may be interested: Boscia albitrunca, (Shepherd's tree, Afrikaans: Witgat, Sotho: Mohlôpi, Tswana: Motlhôpi, Venda: Muvhombwe, Xhosa: Umgqomogqomo, Zulu: Umvithi) is a fascinating species which belongs to the Capparaceae family. It is well-adapted to arid environments, which explains its presence across Southern and Tropical Africa, including regions like the Bushveld and Lowveld in South Africa. It is an evergreen with an ability to thrive in hot, dry, and brackish conditions in low-lying areas, sometimes on abundant lime and occasionally found in rocky terrain.. It is a vital part of the Southern African ecosystem. The tree’s leaves are tough and leathery, helping it conserve water, and it produces small, yellowish-green flowers followed by edible, berry-like fruits. These fruits are a food source for both wildlife (like birds and antelope) and humans in some traditional communities. In 1974, one tree in central Kalahari desert that had roots extending to 68m deep, making it the plant with the deepest known roots.
Anyway, while I was researching about the Shepherd’s Tree, Psalm 23 kept coming to mind so I, of course, opened my Bible and not only read the psalm but sang the Scottish hymn as I was reading. I found this version on YouTube. It’s delightful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbGsIVeKU_E
While I was searching for choral version, I came across a post that spoke about the hidden secret of Psalm 23. This started me on my research of what David’s plea in verse 5 for God’s Holy anointing actually means.
Psalm 23 (KJV)
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
In verse 5, David thanks God for anointing his head with oil. That has always seemed to me to be rather an esoteric phrase among the practicalities of the rest of the Psalm, but I put it down to cultures past about which I don’t know nearly enough. It turns out that of all the practicalities mentioned in the Psalm, this is the most practical of all. It draws on David’s life as a shepherd and links perfectly into God’s protection of his children.
As a shepherd, David knew that flies were a real danger to his sheep. They were constantly beset by them (anyone who lives on or near a farm understands the annoyance of flies but there was an even deeper danger. If flies laid eggs in the eyes, nose and ears of the sheep, their larvae would burrow their way into the sheep's body and, eventually, brain. The sheep suffered untold agony and the flies’ larvae would eventually kill it. To prevent flies from settling on his sheep, the shepherd David would pour oil on the sheep's head.
If one reads Psalm 23 as the spiritual exhortation that it is, just as a shepherd pours oil on his sheep’s head to keep flies off it and protect it, so God’s anointing which David requests, keeps Beelzebub (the name "Beelzebub" comes from the Hebrew "Baʿal zĕbhūbh," which literally means "lord of the flies") out of our lives.
As interesting as that is, it's not the most interesting part of my story.
Two women came to the gate while I was doing my reading about Psalm 23 and my Bible was open at the page. I took my Bible out with me, asked if they were Jehovah’s Witnesses and when they said that they were, I asked them if they had a few minutes to share what I had just been reading. The 'senior' of the two women told me they only had two minutes to listen to me. I told them that I wouldn’t even take that long and then gave them the life lesson which I had just learned from Psalm 23.
They didn’t say a word. I told them that I appreciated their dedication but that I am an Apostolic Christian; thanked them and said goodbye. They didn't know what to say. People are generally not polite to them.
Full disclosure – I always go to the gate when Jehovah’s Witnesses arrive. They believe that they are doing God’s work so who am I to be rude to them? I also always share a few pleasantries and wish them a good day. Today was the first time that they arrived during my morning’s devotions when I was engrossed in my discovery about the importance of using oil to prevent attacks by flies.
My sharing about God’s anointing oil was from Him alone and I wonder if what I shared will have an impact on their spiritual lives. God works in mysterious ways.
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