Shepherds Dilemma Fathers Response

This story is an allegory about the kind of events that inspire Psalms, Songs, and High Praise among the people of God. I'm talking about the kind of songs that pass from generation to generation and lead thousands of people into encounters with God. There is even a possibility that this allegory could be what the bible calls a “word of knowledge”. One of the manifestations of the gift of the Word Of Knowledge is the ability to see into the past accurately certain events or to instinctively know specific information about a situation or circumstance. I do know that the Holy Spirit gave this story to me and it may or may not have happened. Nonetheless, it is possible and worthy of inspiration, enjoyment and even consideration.

Shepherds Dilemma

In the town of Bethlehem, there was a shepherd boy named David. Bethlehem is a small city in Israel nestled among small rolling hills filled with all kinds of shrubs and tender grass. It is the perfect place to raise sheep. Many wild beasts roamed these very same hills that David spent much of his time wandering as he herded his fathers' sheep from range to range. David probably had shepherd dogs to help him with this great responsibility. Much of his family’s income depended on these flocks.

One day David was walking through a field of tall shrubs and grass looking for a stray lamb. He could hear his dogs barking in the distance and the faint noise of a lamb bleating as he quickly made his way towards the sound. Suddenly the earth gave way beneath him and he tumbled to the bottom of a huge pit. The stray lamb had also fallen into this same pit. As David and his stray lamb lay at the bottom of this huge hole the dogs ran circles around the massive pit barking and crying as they looked for a way to get down into the pit with their beloved master. David was skinned and cut and bruised, but no bones were broken nor muscles strained or torn. His young lamb was not seriously injured either.

The pit was very deep and the sides were too steep for David to climb out. Embedded into the walls of the pit were large smooth rocks and boulders. A few feet from where David lay were the bones of a very large lion. This pit was a part of the natural landscape and it was obvious to David that someone had carved out the sides of the wall to make it steep and impossible for anyone or anything to climb out without assistance. David was in a very bad situation and to make things worse it would be almost impossible for anyone to hear him shout from a distance. The sound of his voice was trapped within the walls of this massive grave.

If this were any other time of year one of his brothers would soon be coming to find him. But all of his brothers had joined King Saul’s army and were off to war. David was alone. David picked up his frightened lamb and sat back against the pit wall and considered his options. David was no stranger to calamity. His entire childhood had been spent roaming the hills and countryside and on two occasions he had to defend himself and his sheep from a lion and then a bear. He killed them both with the weapons in his hand. David recalled those encounters and how his fear turned to anger. How dare this predator try to steal one of my lambs he thought! His temper became so enraged there was no room in his mind for fear. Then in a split second without having to think about it, his anger turned to faith and what seemed to be impossible in one moment suddenly seemed very possible. He didn't think he could kill the lion and the bear. David knew he could kill them.

David was an idealistic young man and he believed that with his God anything was possible. Especially when it involved the protection and deliverance of the innocent. David sat still for a very long time as he held his lamb and considered his options. His first thought was to figure out a way to climb out of the pit. He scanned the walls with imagination looking intently for some kind of path or series of protruding stones that he could climb. But the walls were too steep. Then David shifted his focus on the lion’s carcass. He thought to himself, ‘maybe I can use a sharp bone and dig my way up the side?’ ‘Yes! That’s it’ he thought! He managed to break loose one of the leg bones and vigorously carved into the side of the pit only to discover larger stones below the surface. There was no way David was going to dig himself out.

He did notice high above his head a series of large roots from a nearby tree. These roots were not within David’s reach but they looked strong enough to support his weight. He thought, ‘I could climb along these roots’. He did manage to use the bone in his hand to break loose a large root and eventually grab hold. The roots could not bear David’s weight and pulled out of the earthen wall as soon as he pulled himself up causing David to fall to the ground with a thud. As dusk turned to dark and the stars filled the sky David became exhausted and weary. Hopelessness was setting in. All the while his faithful dogs whimpered and cried as they sat patiently above him looking down in anticipation.

David began to pray. And boy did he pray! He remembered how his father Jesse would pray whenever he became overwhelmed. He recalled the time a huge rainstorm was moving in the direction of the family farm and all of their spring plantings were in jeopardy of being washed away. Jesse stood between the field and the storm and demanded the storm subside, and it did. David and all of his brothers witnessed this incredible act of faith. Then there was the time his mother was sick and David himself laid down at her bedside all night praying and worshipping God asking for a healing miracle. The next morning her fever was completely gone and she sprang up from the bed and prepared a meal for the entire family. David also knew that it was God who had empowered him when he killed the lion and the bear. His entire life up to that moment was filled with miraculous and undeniable God interventions. David thought to himself, ‘this situation may be difficult for me, but not for God’.

As David recounted the testimonies of Gods goodness his faith began to rise like the sun on a summer morning. In that moment a song began to erupt from David’s mouth as though it would sing itself with or without David. He couldn’t help but sing along as a spirit of music filled the atmosphere. The entire cave began to sparkle and pop with tiny lights and spinning particles as David’s voice became louder and louder. This went on for at least an hour and David wasn’t afraid anymore and for a moment he forgot that he was trapped in a hole. Joy and power filled the air as he sang and sang and sang.

Fathers Response

All of a sudden in the midst of the joy the glitter and the singing the dogs started barking as if someone or something was very near. It wasn’t a vicious bark. It was more like a scared bark mixed with whimpers and yelps. And then something very unusual happened. David and his lamb started levitating off the ground. Within a few seconds, David was literally hovering halfway between the bottom and the top of the pit. The louder he sang the higher he rose. And the higher he rose the more the dogs barked. As you can imagine David’s heart was pounding as his mind was trying to grasp the moment. ‘Is this really happening’ he thought. David realized that God was present and his body was being lifted in response to his praise. David continued to sing praise as he was lifted higher and higher and higher out of the pit and set onto the ground above. Within a couple of minutes, David was standing at the edge of the pit looking down with his lamb in his arms and his dogs barking and wagging their tails. Energized by the event David immediately ran home as fast as he could to tell his parents and all of his family everything that happened.

Psalm 40:1-5, 1 I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh. 4 Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust, and doesn’t respect the proud, nor such as turn away to lies. 5 Many, Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can’t be declared back to you.

Epilogue

This allegory and subsequent inclusion of Psalm 40 was inspired when reading the Psalm during a season of heightened supernatural spiritual activity in my own life and in my families life. During this time we were involved in dozens of miracles and multiple events where supernatural phenomena manifested on us and around us. Many of these encounters are told with detail in my book Hunger Driven.

BTW, Even the grammar-check software on my computer is confused by the phrase 'supernatural phenomena manifested on us and around us'.