Psalm 8:1

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Psalm 80. The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind in the first two verses:

Psalms 80:1 ¶ Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.

Psalms 80:2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.

I wondered why, in verse two, Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh are singled out and named together. What separates these tribes from all the others is the fact that they came from Jacob through Rachel. Ephraim and Manasseh, the children of Joseph by his Egyptian wife, Asenath (Genesis 41:45). Joseph is Jacob’s firstborn from Rachel (Genesis 46:19). Benjamin was Joseph’s younger brother and the last child of Rachel. She died in childbirth (Genesis 35). After the division of the kingdom, when the ten tribes were separated from Judah, Joseph is often used to identify the ten tribes, usually called Israel, and Benjamin remained with Judah.*

Asaph introduced his psalm by referring to GOD as He Who “leadest Joseph like a flock” and identified the dwelling place of GOD as upon the Ark of the Covenant, between the wings of the cherubim (Psalm 80:1).

The Spirit, through Asaph, pled with GOD to stir up His strength “Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh” (Psalm 80:2). In the days of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, these three tribes were positioned side by side west of the Tabernacle. When the congregation moved forward, following the Ark, these three tribes lined up immediately behind it; they led the procession of the tribes. God went before! The Rock followed the procession of the tribes! (1 Corinthians 10:4).**

The Rock that followed Israel in the wilderness is none other than the Rock on which He would build His church (Matthew 16:16-18).

Along the still waters, I thought about Christ, our Shepherd, leading His Gentile-Jewish flock today—the “other sheep” He spoke of (John 10:16). There is no procession of tribes following an Ark, but the churches follow Him, made up of believers, each His Temple, in His House, the Church (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Timothy 3:15). The Holy Ghost no longer dwells between cherubim on an ark but in the hearts of New Testament saints (Ephesians 3:17; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Galatians 4:6).

What a glorious image emerges. See Asaph calling on the Shepherd to shine forth from between the cherubim (Psalm 80:1), to “stir up [His] strength” to “save us” (Psalm 80:2). Imagine GOD responding, His light bursting forth from between the cherubim, a blast of His glory and strength, scattering Israel’s enemies and securing her against all that trouble her.

Do you see it? The Holy Ghost in us, bursting forth the light of His glory, scattering the wicked that encircle us like a pack of hounds baying with their eye fixed upon their prey, pursuing. Let us call upon our LORD, Who leads His churches like a flock, and listen as He speaks comfort: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Though we be little and the hounds loom large, we need not fear: “It is [our] Father’s good pleasure to give [us] the kingdom.”

In the valley, the Chief Shepherd spoke His daily call: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Like the sheep who hear His voice and follow, I instinctively denied self, took up my cross, and followed my Shepherd.

At the table, He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy followed as we entered the harvest.

Quick, call the Shepherd! He’s calling you!

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap:

https://rumble.com/v720txq-shepherds-pasture.html

[*When Jacob faced furious Esau, he organized the procession with Joseph and Benjamin in the rear, with him. Interestingly, when God ordered the procession of Israel in the wilderness, He placed Jacob’s children from Rachel nearest the Ark. God literally went “Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh.”]

[**Paul spoke of the “Rock” that followed Israel in the wilderness, which represented Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). The Old Testament does not directly state that a “rock” followed them. While they wandered in the mountainous regions of Horeb, when they came to Rephidim (Exodus 17:1), the people thirsted and complained against Moses. God directed him to smite “the rock” that was with them in Horeb (Exodus 17:6).  It appears “the rock” followed Israel from Horeb (Sinai) to Kadesh, a journey of about eleven days (approximately 200 miles) (Deuteronomy 1:2). It was a rock known by Moses. The language does not suggest it was some other rock. The sense is that it is the rock that he smote in Horeb. He was told to speak to the rock, but in anger, he smote it instead (Numbers 20:8-11). Certainly, the “rock” in each instance represented the same Person—Christ! But Paul reveals that this Rock followed Israel in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:4).]