The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
Psalm 23:1-3a
What is in your mind’s eye when you read these verses? To me, this feels like a place of safety and of rest. It’s a place where you can let go of everything that weighs you down. Here, you can be restored on the inside. You don’t need to work hard to find what you need, as everything you could ever want is provided.
As we travel through life, we all need places of rest and restoration, don’t we? The Israelites experienced this just after leaving Egypt (Exodus 12:31-42). They had left Egypt in a hurry, not knowing exactly where they were going. They were pursued by the Egyptian army, miraculously crossed the Red Sea, and then found themselves in totally unfamiliar territory, alone in the desert wilderness. So much had changed for them, within a very short space of time. Then God led them to a special place of restoration and rest.
Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.
Exodus 15:27
An oasis for the Israelites
Elim was the best watered site in the western Sinai. It was a unique and exceptional place. To the weary Israelites, it possibly felt much like the description of green pastures and quiet waters in Psalm 23.
The oasis of Elim, was not only a place for them to rest, but also to begin to grasp hold of the fact they were no longer slaves. They had to have time to process the enormity of what they had just been through. At Elim, they were able to stop, recuperate and refuel for their ongoing journey.
Scholars tell us the Israelites may have rested at Elim for about a month. Of the 47 days of travel between that Passover meal in Egypt to finally arriving at Mt Sinai, around 30 days may have been spent at Elim. They needed this resting place.
An oasis for us today
Perhaps you are feeling the need of an oasis today – a place of peace and refreshing. If so, you need to know that ultimately Elim, or the oasis of refreshing, isn’t actually found in a location. It’s found in a person – the Shepherd. He is the one who brings healing, restoration, comfort and provision. It was God who led the Israelites to Elim at a time when they needed to catch their breath and be refreshed. In Psalm 23, it’s the Shepherd who brings His people to the green pastures and quiet waters.
Changing location in some way, be it our address, our job, or our circumstances may bring temporary relief, but it doesn’t provide the answer. Let’s not have our eyes set on trying to find a place of rest, but on the person who IS rest, no matter where we are.
Here’s the thing. The Shepherd not only leads us to the place of refreshing – He IS the place of refreshing. He not only leads us in the right paths (or “paths of righteousness”) – He IS our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
In Psalm 23:4 the psalmist proclaims “You are with me” – “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” In verse 5 he says “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” The “valley of the shadow of death” and “the presence of my enemies” don’t sound like places of peace and rest, do they?
The key is to recognize we actually find rest and provision wherever we find the Shepherd. When we are closely following the Shepherd, He is with us, no matter what our location, address, job or circumstances. And He promises to always be with us (Matthew 28:20).
As Psalm 23 proclaims – when we have the Shepherd, we have everything we need!
