The Lord is my Shepherd: part 13
June 22, 2007
You Anoint My Head With Oil
'When we come to God. . . we come with high
hopes and a humble heart.'
In ancient Israel shepherds used oil for three purposes: to repel insects, to prevent conflicts, and to heal wounds.
Bugs bug people, but they can kill sheep. Flies, mosquitoes, and gnats can turn the summer into a time of torture for the livestock. Consider nose flies for example. If they succeed in depositing their eggs into the soft membrane of the sheep's nose, the eggs become worm-like larvae, which drive the sheep insane. One shepherd explains: " For relief from this agonizing annoyance sheep will deliberately beat their heads against trees, rocks, posts, or brush. . . In extreme cases of intense infestation a sheep my even kill itself in a frenzied endeavor to gain respite from the aggravation."
When a swarm of nose flies appear, sheep panic. They run. They hide. They toss their heads up and down for hours. They forget to eat. They aren't able to sleep. Ewes stop milking, and lambs stop growing. The entire flock can be disrupted, even destroyed by the presence of a few flies.
For this reason, the shepherd anoints the sheep. He covers their heads with an oil-like repellent. The fragrance keeps the insects at bay and the flock at peace.
At peace, that is, until mating season. Most of the year, sheep are calm, passive animals. But during mating season, everything changes. The rams put the" ram " in rambunctious.They strut around the pasture and flex their necks, trying to win the attention of the new gal on the block. When a ram catches her eye, he tosses his head back and says, ' I want ewe, baby. ' About that time her boyfriend shows up and tells her to go someplace safe. " Ewe better move, sweetie. This could get ugly." The two rams lower their heads and POW! An old fashioned head butt breaks out.
To prevent injury, the shepherd anoints the rams. He smears a slippery, greasy substance over the nose and head. This lubricant causes them to glance off rather than crash into each other.
They still tend to get hurt, however. And these wounds are the third reason the shepherd anoints the sheep.
Most of the wounds the shepherd treats are simply the result of living in the pasture. Thorns prick or rocks cut or a sheep rubs its head too hard against a tree. Sheep get hurt. As a result, the shepherd regularly, often daily, inspect the sheep, searching for cuts and abrasions. He doesn't want the cuts to worsen. He doesn't want today's wounds to become tomorrow's infections.
Neither does God. Just like sheep, we have wounds, bur ours are wounds of the heart that come from disappointment after disappointment. If we're not careful ,these wounds lead to bitterness. And so just like sheep, we need to be treated. " He made us, and we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep he tends" (Psalm 100:3).
Sheep aren't the only ones who need preventive care, and sheep aren't the only ones who need a healing touch. We also get irritated with each other, butt heads, and then get wounded. Many of our disappointments in life begin as irritations. The large portion of our problems are not lion sized attacks, but rather the day to day swarm of frustration and mishaps and heartaches. You don't get invited to the dinner party. You don't make the team. You don't get the scholarship. Your boss doesn't notice your hard work. Your husband doesn't notice your new dress. Your neighbor doesn't notice the mess in his yard. You find yourself more irritable, more gloomy, more. . . well, more hurt.
Like the sheep, you don't sleep well, you don't eat well. You may even hit your head against a tree a few times.
Or you may hit your head against a person. it's amazing how hardheaded we can be with each other. Some of our deepest hurts come from butting heads with people.
Like the sheep, the rest of our wounds come just from living in the pasture. The pasture of the sheep, however, is much more appealing. The sheep have to face wounds from thorns and thistles. We have to face aging, loss, and illness. Some of us face betrayal and injustice. Live long enough in this world, and most of us will face deep deep hurt of some kind or another.
So we, like the sheep, get wounded. And we, like the sheep, have a Shepherd. Remember the words we read? " We belong to him; we are his people, the sheep he tends" (Psalm 100:3). He will do for you what the shepherd does for the sheep. he will tend to you.
If you will let him. How? How do you let him? The steps are so simple.
First, go to him. David would trust his wounds to no other person but God. He said, " You anoint my head with oil." Not, " your prophets," " your teachers," or "your counselors." Others may guide us to God. Others may help us understand God. But no one does the work of God, for only God can heal. God " heals the brokenhearted."(Psalm 147:3).
Have you taken your disappointments to God? You've shared them with your neighbor, your relatives, your friends. But have you taken them to God? James says, " Anyone who is having troubles should pray" (James 5:13).
Before you go anywhere else with your disappointments, go to God.
Maybe you don't want to trouble God with your hurts. After all, He's got famines and pestilence and wars, he won't care about my little struggles, you think. Why don't you let him decide that? He cared enough about a wedding to provide wine. He cared enough about Peter's tax payment to give him a coin. He cared enough about the woman at the well to give her answers. " He cares about you."(1 Peter 5:7).
Your first step is to go to the right person. Go to God. Your second step is to assume the right posture. Bow before God.
In order to be anointed, the sheep must stand still, lower their heads, and let the shepherd do his work. Peter urges us to " be humble under God's powerful hand so he will lift you up when the right time comes"(1 Peter 5:6).
When we come to God we make requests: we don't make demands. We come with high hopes and a humble heart. We state what we ant, but we pray for what is right. And if God gives us the prison of Rome instead of the mission of Spain, we accept it because we know, " God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them" (Luke 18:7).
We go to him. We bow before him, and we trust in him.
The sheep doesn't understand why the oil repels the flies. The sheep doesn't understand how the oil heals the wounds. In fact, all the sheep knows is that something happens in the presence of the shepherd. And that's all we need to know as well. " Lord, I give myself to you; my God. I trust you"(Psalm 25:1-2).
Go.
Bow.
Trust.
Worth a try don't you think?
And God Bless You SunMessenger!
