Psalm 80: The Shepherd and the Vine (Part 1)

 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, who lead Joseph like a flock; 
                 who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!

...and Psalm 80 has now begun!
This first verse sets so much of the stage for the rest of this rich Psalm.

Ra'ah Yisrael - Shepherd of Israel

(Incidentally...the Hebrew word used for "lead" here is the word nahag, pronounced n'HAHg - meaning to lead or to drive.  I learned this word during my many trips on the bus in Jerusalem when I stayed for one month during the autumn of 2010.  As a noun, it is the modern Hebrew word for "driver".  If you ride the bus very much in Jerusalem, you will inevitably hear it yelled out by a rider.  "Nahag!  Stop here!"  "Nahag!  Open the back door!"  And you might even see a slight resemblance between a bus driver and a shepherd!)

As you probably know if you have read the greeting from the previous blog post, I have just returned from a trip to Israel.  I was there for 3 weeks in January and February - first in Jerusalem, and then traveling for a week around Samaria, the Dead Sea, and the Negev and Paran Deserts...all the way down to Eilat and back up toward Ashkelon.

It was a wonderful trip!  
Actually, it was quite intense, as the whole purpose was to pray YHVH's Word concerning His Land and His People and His Kingdom (come and still to come).

I use the word wonderful to describe it because it was definitely a trip filled with the wonder of YHVH's Word of Truth coming to pass before our eyes in our time!  More about that later...first let's begin to look at Psalm 80.

 Psalm 80 

        To the Chief Musician upon Shoshannim-eduth [literally "lilies of testimony", 
             also the title of a popular song], a Psalm of Asaph.
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, who lead Joseph like a flock; who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before Ephrayim, Benjamin, and Menasheh, stir up Your might, and come save [y'shua tah, a form of yasha] us!
3 Cause us to turn back, O Elohim, and cause Your Face to shine, that we might be saved [form of yasha]!
4 O YHVH, Elohim of hosts, how long shall You be wroth against the prayer of Your people?
5 You have caused them to eat the bread of tears, and have caused them to drink with tears, a third time.
6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Turn us back, O Elohim of hosts, and cause Your Face to shine, that we might be saved [form of yasha]!

Who is the One who is the Shepherd of Israel?
Who leads Jacob like a flock?
Who dwells between the cherubim?

I am sure you know the answer to these questions.
But let us take a look at some other scriptures regarding these questions.

Genesis 49:22-24 (spoken by Isaac about Joseph as he was blessing each of his 12 sons)
Joseph is an offshoot of a fruit-bearing tree, an offshoot of a fruit-bearing tree by a fountain, his branches run over a wall.  And the archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.  But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob - from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel -...

Notice here that Joseph is a shoot from a fruit-bearing tree.  Note also that Joseph's enemies have hated him and attacked him, but Joseph stays strong because of the strength of the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel!

Psalms 77 and 78 both tell part of the story of the children of Israel being led by YHVH out of Egypt:

Psalm 77:15-20
By Your arm You redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph...
The waters saw you, O Elohim...they were afraid....the clouds poured out water, the heavens rumbled...the voice of Your thunder rolled along...the earth trembled and shook...Your way was in the sea, and Your footsteps were not known.  You did lead Your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 78:51-53
And He smote all the firstborn in Egypt...then made His own people go forth like sheep, and led them in a wilderness like a flock.  And He led them on safely, and they did not fear, but the sea covered their enemies.  And He brought them to the border of His set-apart place, this mountain which His right hand had gained...


Notice in these Psalms that the Strong Arm, the Right Hand of YHVH once again gains the victory and accomplishes the necessary redemption (see the previous blog post on Psalm 118 for more on YHVH's Right Arm).

Isaiah chapter 63 is another very powerful chapter of YHVH's Word that is also a mirror of Psalm 80.
Take a look at the imagery of a God who acts in deserved righteous wrath (actually the people did NOT get what they deserved, which like for each of us should be much worse according to our actions and our sin against a holy God!).  Take a look at the compassion, the chesed, the mercy, the loving-kindness of the Shepherd of Israel, the Redeemer of Israel, the Savior (again the Right Arm saved).  And also notice the cry for mercy, the cry for YHVH to rescue His people, just as in Psalm 80.

Isaiah 63:11-12:
"Then He remembered the days of old, Moses, His people, 'Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the Shepherd of His flock...Who put His set-apart Spirit within him, who led them by the right hand of Moses, with His comely arm, dividing the water before them to make for Himself an everlasting Name...'"

Now take a look at Micah 7...speaking of the days when the world and the nations are steeped in corruption and wickedness (hmmm...sounds familiar, looks familiar).  Then read about the Shepherd of Israel and His remnant...

Micah 7:13-16
But the earth shall become a waste because of those who dwell in it, and for the fruit of their deeds.  Shepherd Your people with Your rod, the flock of Your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest, in the midst of Karmel.  Let them feed in Bashan and in Gilead, as in the days of old.  As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I shall let him see wonders.  Let the gentiles see and be ashamed of all their might...


...now look at the rest of this chapter!


Micah 7:18-20
Who is a God like You - taking away crookedness and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance?  He shall not retain His wrath forever, for He Himself delights in kindness.  He shall turn back, He shall have compassion on us, He shall trample upon our crookednesses!  And You throw all our sins into the depths of the sea!  You give truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, which You swore to our fathers from the days of old!


And finally (for this part), let's look at Zechariah chapter 9.
This is obviously still to happen in the (not-so-distant?) future.

Notice the references to the Messiah of Israel in this chapter...the reigning King, ruler of the whole earth.

Zechariah 9:9-10  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your King is coming to you, He is righteous and endowed with deliverance [form of yasha - salvation], humble and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey....And He shall speak peace to the nations, and His rule is from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Verse 13  For I shall bend Judah for Me, I shall fill the bow with Ephrayim, and I shall stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and I shall make you like the sword of a mighty man.
Verse 16  And יהוה their Elohim shall save them in that day, as the flock of His people, for the stones of a diadem, sparkling over His land. 


Any ideas yet to the answer of the question, "Who is the Shepherd of Israel"?

I'm sure you know!  But here are a few more partial scriptures for your consideration:

Matthew 2:6  "But you, Bethlehem [Beyt Lechem], in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a Ruler who shall shepherd My people Israel."  


Matthew 26:31-32  "Then יהושע [Yahshua] said to them, 'All of you shall stumble in Me this night, for it has been written, "I shall strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered."  But after I have been raised, I shall go before you into Galilee.'"

John 10:2, 11, 14-15  "But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep....I am the good shepherd.  The shepherd lays down his life for the sheep....I am the good shepherd, and I know Mine and Mine know Me, even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.  And I lay down my life for the sheep."


Hebrews 13:20-21  "And the Elohim of peace who brought up our Master יהושע from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His desire, working in you what is pleasing in His sight, through יהושע Messiah, to whom be esteem forever and ever.  Amen."


And of course, the amazing powerful image of our Shepherd as seen in Revelation:
2:27  ...and he shall shepherd them with a rod of iron, as the potter’s vessels shall be broken to pieces, as I also have received from My Father.
7:17  ...because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them and lead them to fountains of waters of life. And Elohim shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 
12:5  ... And she bore a male child who was to shepherd all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught away to Elohim and to His throne.

19:15-16  And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations. And He [Trustworthy and True; the Word] shall shepherd them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of El Shaddai.  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: SOVEREIGN OF SOVEREIGNS AND MASTER OF MASTERS. 


Isn't it so exciting to see these scriptures about the Shepherd of Israel all together in one place?!
And this is only the first part of the first verse!!


Now, on to the second part of this verse...The One who dwells between the cherubim.


Once again, I'm sure you know the answer to "Who is the One dwelling between the cherubim?"
as well as the answer to "what exactly are the cherubim?"...
still, I think it will be helpful to take a look at what the Scriptures say.

Let's start with what or who the cherubim are in the Scriptures.
I'm sure you know they are angels, heavenly beings, not of this world, messengers of YHVH, etc.

Do you know the Hebrew word cherub?
It is pronounced with the "ch" as in "Bach" or "loch", NOT with the hard "ch" of "chicken".
And because this word is a masculine word in the Hebrew language, the plural is formed with the addition of "im" at the end of the word (as opposed to the feminine which forms by adding "ot").

So the plural of cherub is cherubim (pronounced che-roo-BEEM).


(If you notice, the older King James version, the Authorized Version, placed the English formation of plural words, an added "s", in addition to the Hebrew word which is already plural!  KJV calls more than one cherub, cherubims.  No need to make it plural twice!  I think they realized their mistake, because newer KJV printings have the correct word - cherubim.)


Anyway...let's continue!

You probably remember the cherubim as those beings who were placed by YHVH at the east end of the garden of Eden to guard the way of the tree of life in Genesis 3 after the eviction of Adam and Chavah (Eve).

But do you know what the majority of Scriptures which refer to cherubim (almost 100 times) are speaking about?  Do you know the "job" or the "station" or the "function" of the cherubim in the majority of the Scriptures?

I think a good place to start is Exodus 25.

In this chapter, YHVH commanded Moses to take up a voluntary offering from the people...gold, silver, bronze, dyed yarn, animal skins, oil, spices, and precious stones.

Verse 8:  “And they shall make Me a Set-apart Place, and I shall dwell in their midst."
Verses 10, 11:  "And they shall make an ark of acacia wood...and you shall overlay it with clean gold..."
Verses 17-22:  “And you shall make a lid of atonement of clean gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.  And you shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of beaten work, at the two ends of the lid of atonement.  And make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end.  Make the cherubim from the lid of atonement, at its two ends.  And the cherubim shall be spreading out their wings above, covering the lid of atonement with their wings, with their faces toward each other, the faces of the cherubim turned toward the lid of atonement.  And you shall put the lid of atonement on top of the ark, and put into the ark the Witness which I give you.  And I shall meet with you there, and from above the lid of atonement, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Witness, I shall speak to you all that which I command you concerning the children of Israel."

And also in Numbers 7:89  
And when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the lid of atonement that was on the ark of the Witness, from between the two cherubim. Thus He spoke to him. 

So this is where YHVH chose to put His presence in the midst of Israel...above the lid of atonement on the ark of the covenant, between the cherubim...here He would speak to His people.

This dwelling place was also used in the description of YHVH, the only true Living Elohim, in various places throughout the Scriptures.

Which god?  The ONE Who dwells between the cherubim!


2 Samuel 6:2
And David rose up and went with all the people who were with him from Baal Judah, to bring up from there the ark of Elohim, that is called by the Name, the Name יהוה of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 

2 Kings 19:15
And Hezekiah prayed before יהוה, and said, “O יהוה Elohim of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are Elohim, You alone, of all the reigns of the earth. You have made the heavens and earth."

Psalm 99:1

 יהוה shall reign; Peoples tremble! He is enthroned on the cherubim; the earth shakes! 

So this Psalm, Psalm 80, is a plea, a cry, a beseeching of the Shepherd of Israel, the only True Living God, who dwells between the cherubim, to shine forth and to SAVE (yeshu'ah) HIS PEOPLE!

Who are His People?  

Israel!  Both kingdoms of Israel (Israel and Judah), as represented by "Ephrayim, Benjamin, and Menasheh" in verse 2.  

His People Israel, in this psalm, have eaten and have drunk "the tears."  

They have been disciplined for their hard-heartedness and their turning from YHVH.

Now the psalmist cries for SALVATION from the Elohim of Salvation, the One who provides Salvation with His own Mighty Arm.

The cry is for YHVH to turn His people back to Him in repentance and to restore them!

What a mighty cry!

"Turn us back, O Elohim of Hosts, and cause your Face to shine, that we might be saved!"

And in the second part of Psalm 80, the psalmist reminds YHVH of the vine He brought forth from Egypt and planted in HIS Land of inheritance for HIS chosen people.

Take a look at the next blog post for Part 2 of Psalm 80...and see why my latest trip to Israel made such an impression on me regarding YHVH's planting of His people in His land!