Do you have needs today? We all have needs; some are pressing threatening to steal our peace and joy. Others are borderline desires and can not really qualify as needs, but still, they have the authority to take away our peace and joy if they are not met.
In Psalm 23, we have a tremendous promise, the Lord will shepherd us and make sure all our needs are met. Do you know the Lord? If you are a born again believer, saved by the Blood of Jesus, your answer would be yes I know Him He saved me. Let me ask you a question, who is “the Lord”?
When Psalm 23 was written, the cross was still a future event. So we know David could not have been talking about Jesus because Jesus was not yet born into this world. We also know “the Lord” is not a name; it is just a title. In Exodus, the Lord’s name is revealed to Moses as Yehovah, so a correct translation of Psalm 23 would have been, “Yehovah is my shepherd I shall not want.” So let me ask you again, do you know Yehovah, the Lord?
Most Christians say they know Yeshua, and He is Lord. And that is true, He is Lord, but Lord is still just a title. His name Yeshua is short for Yehoshua, which means Yehovah saves. Several times over in the Gospels, Yeshua tells us He is one with His Father Yehovah, and His prayer is that we will be one with Him and His Father. How can we be one if we refuse to have anything to do with His Father?
Have you refused to have anything to do with Yeshua’s Father, denying you know Him?
All through the Gospels, we see a complete unity between Yeshua and Yehovah. There is even unity in His name, considering how His name is Yehovah saves. At no time do we see Yeshua teaching His disciples not to obey the written Torah (what we erroneously call the written law of Moses). Instead, we see Yeshua teaching His disciples how to obey the written Torah properly, and He even makes Torah obedience a requirement to get into heaven when we die. Why is Yeshua so focused on the Torah? Because He is one with His Father, so He shares His love for the Torah.
Most Christians today believe the Torah is a burden, impossible to obey, done away with at the cross. When you see how great a love Yeshua has for the Torah, and how great a love Yehovah has for the Torah, it is easy to see why the refusal of the Torah equals a rejection of Yehovah the Father AND Yeshua the Son.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 14, Yeshua says the one who loves Me will obey My Torah, and my Father Yehovah will love him, and we will both come to live in him. What Yeshua is saying here is this, if you do not love the Torah, you have no relationship with Him or His Father. The Bible confirms this in James 2:10-26 and 1.John 2:6.
If you are like most Christians, who believe the Torah was done away with, you have no relationship with Yeshua AND His Father Yehovah. In Matt 7:21-23, Yeshua even says He does not know who you are if you do not share His passion and love for the Torah. So it is easy to see that Yehovah can not shepherd someone who disrespects and hates His Torah.
In Psalm 23, it says Yehovah is my shepherd I shall not want, throughout the psalm, Yehovah is described as someone who protects us, provides for us, heals us, delivers us and saves us. All of these promises are dependent upon one thing that you have a relationship with Yehovah.
If you believe the Torah is a burden, done away with at the cross, there is no relationship between you and Yehovah. He is not your shepherd; He is not going to provide for you. He is not going to heal you, deliver you, and save you. And when you die, Yeshua (Jesus) will tell you He does not know who you are (Mat 7:21-23).
If you, on the other hand, desire a relationship with Yehovah and His Son Yeshua, you should start obeying the Torah today, believing Yeshua’s Blood has atoned for your sins. Such a relationship will make Psalm 23, Psalm 91, and the rest of the Bible come alive, and you will get to live the life of a true disciple of Yeshua.