Phillip Keller is the master storyteller when it comes to sharing the analogies between the sheep and the shepherd. Some of my favorite lessons have been learned from his book “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”, and if you haven’t read it you are missing one of life’s greatest treasures. It is one of those little nuggets that you re-read over and over again. I ordered another copy again a few weeks ago because I had given mine away, again. It’s that good. But my mind was on a particular thought that I wanted to share with you.

David as a shepherd boy spent all of his time in the fields with his sheep. A shepherd is alone with his flock night and day, protecting them from danger, preparing the way before them, removing any obstacles that might cause them harm. In this particular passage of the Psalm, “Thou Anointest My Head With Oil…” the shepherd is high up on the mountain with the sheep and it is summertime. And summertime means that the insects are out in all their glory and they are going to drive the sheep crazy!

It is the shepherd’s responsibility to protect the flock from these distractions. The nose, or nasal fly, is the most troublesome of all insects to the sheep. They will buzz about their head attempting to get up in the sheep’s nose and deposit their eggs on their mucous membranes. Then the eggs will hatch in a few days into small larvae and burrow into the nasal passages of the sheep’s head causing severe inflammation and pain.

This will drive the sheep into an agonizing frenzy! They will literally beat their heads against trees and rocks, anything to try to relieve itself from the agony that they are experiencing. When the flies first show up, they will start to panic and throw themselves around stomping their feet and swinging their heads back and forth for hours and hours, anything to try and get away from the torture they are experiencing.

But then comes the shepherd, and he applies the anointing oil to their heads to protect them from the flies. Phillip Keller, who was personally a shepherd, used a homemade remedy of linseed oil, sulfur and tar, which he smeared over the sheep’s nose and head. Once the oil was applied, immediately the sheep were contented. They knew they were protected so they were at peace. They were no longer worried; they could lie down and know that the insects could not invade them anymore. Nothing could attack their mind, nothing could cause them pain, the shepherd had come and everything was alright in their world.

Isn’t this a beautiful picture of our loving Shepherd! I am guilty of letting all the annoyances of this life distract me. I let all of the little, and big, aggravations get in my head and burrow down and take root in my mind. They will literally drive me crazy if I allow them to. We all do it. Family problems, financial difficulties, stress on the job, trouble at school, and personality conflicts, all of these things cloud our mind and cause us to want to, in a sense, “beat out heads against the wall”.

But then comes the Shepherd, and He applies the Anointing Oil. And immediately all of those distractions are faded away and I am contented and at peace once again! No more worries, I have given them to the Shepherd. “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22. If I will stand still long enough, He will apply the anointing oil to my mind and all of those problems will fade away, I can lift up my cares and my burdens and let HIM carry them for me!

Once is not enough for the sheep, the shepherd applies the anointing oil several times during the summer. And once is not enough for me. I must come again and again to the Shepherd, I need the refreshing of the Anointing Oil on a daily basis. Our worldly enemy never sleeps! He goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, so we must stay on our guard and be in close contact with our Shepherd. We cannot afford to get outside of the flock!

Flies are not the only threat to the sheep in the summer. The other pest the shepherd has to worry about is “scab”. Keller says, “Scab is an irritating and highly contagious disease common among sheep the world over. Caused by a minute, microscopic parasite that proliferates in warm weather, “scab” spreads throughout a flock by direct contact between infected and non-infected animals.”

Since sheep love to rub heads, scab is usually found around the head and is easily spread that way. The antidote is the same as with the flies, the shepherd applies the linseed oil, sulfur and tar mixture. Sometimes the sheep are put through a “dip” so that the entire body can be submerged.

In our Christian lives one of the most troubling problems we have as a Body is when we “get together” and devour one another. When we put our “heads together” that scab spreads so fast in no time it has infected the entire Body! Sometimes it is disguised as, “I have a prayer request…” and it turns into gossip. It is disguised as “Did you hear?” and then it is slander, it is too late, the damage is done. We are all guilty. The scab has spread, we are all infected.

We need the Shepherd to come; we need the Anointing Oil to be applied to our heads, to our minds, to consume our thoughts, over and over again. BEFORE these things take place, we must be renewed in our minds so we would have the mind of Christ in the first place. “…throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” Ephesians 4:22-23 NLT.

Phillip Keller said it best, “Like a stubborn sheep we will struggle, kick, and protest when the Master puts His hand upon us for this purpose. Even if it is for our own good, we still rebel and refuse to have Him help us when we need it so desperately.”

None of us want to be rebellious, but we live in a fallen sinful world, it is in our nature. That is why we must continually fall at the Master’s feet, DAILY, and keep ourselves under subjection to avoid letting these things take root.

“Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians. 2:2-5.

Let the Shepherd come, let Him anoint your head with oil, let Him soak your mind with the sweet anointing oil of the Holy Spirit, invading your every thought with His purpose and His plan. Why not let Him carry your burdens? You were not meant to bear them alone! Perhaps you are making this walk too difficult, maybe you should become more like the sheep, they just follow the Shepherd.

~W. Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23