His Pasture

Psalm 95:7 tells us that "[Jehovah] is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the flock of His hand." When I read this verse yesterday, the imagery that I had was that of Psalm 23: "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside waters of rest." I love that imagery. It is so pleasant, restful and comforting. However the verse continues with "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your heart as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness" (Ps. 95:7b-8). So what does His pasture really look like?

In Exodus, the children of Israel were the people of His pasture and the flock of His hand. Jehovah led His people to His pasture by His hand. Probably a Joe Israel Sheep was expecting a green pasture and waters of rest. But instead, from the very beginning, even before crossing the Red Sea, he was confronted with challenges that he wasn't prepared to face. He was very scared. Pharoah and his well trained charioteers were coming to destroy them (Exod. 14).

Not only was it scary, Jehovah's pasture was not a good place to live. Soon afterwards as "Moses moved Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water" (Exod. 15:22). He was expecting green. But instead he found himself in a wilderness. Isn't that where hyenas live? To make things more unpleasant, there was no water for three days.

And when they came to Marah and finally found some water, the waters were bitter. I think that did it. It was the last straw. You wait and you endure thus far. Wilderness? Fine. No water? That's okay. But to give water that is bitter? No way. This is too much. I encounter this kind of situations all the time. Sometimes, I can bear and endure. And depending on where I am with the Lord, the pressure release points (also known as temper) vary. But when that happens, I would feel--"That is too much!"

These kind of stories goes on for 40 years for the children of Israel in the wilderness. Is this a proper picture of a pasture? Definitely not a human thought. But in His wisdom, the greenery of His pastures are full of unbelievable and intolerable difficulties and challenges for us to pass through. So how green is your pasture?