📖 Kitabu cha Zaburi — Sehemu ya 2: Zaburi 23, Mchungaji📖 The Book of Psalms — Unit 2: Psalm 23, The Shepherd

1. Mchungaji na Kondoo Wake1. The Shepherd and His Sheep

Zaburi ni nyimbo za watu za Biblia, na hakuna hata moja inayopendwa kuliko ile ya ishirini na tatu. Nimeisoma kwenye makaburi mengi yasiyohesabika kwa miaka mingi, nami nimeiona ikileta faraja kwa familia zilizofiwa wakati hakuna maneno mengine yaliyoweza kuwafikia. Picha yake ni rahisi: Mungu ndiye Mchungaji, nasi ni kondoo wake. Lakini ili tuhisi uzito wa faraja hiyo, lazima kwanza tuwe wakweli kuhusu kondoo ni mnyama wa namna gani hasa.The Psalms are the folk songs of the Bible, and none of them is loved more than the twenty-third. I have read it at countless gravesides over the years, and I have watched it bring comfort to grieving families when no other words would reach them. Its picture is simple: God is the Shepherd, and we are His sheep. But to feel the weight of that comfort, we must first be honest about what kind of animal a sheep really is.

Kondoo hawajitunzi wenyewe tu, kama tunavyoweza kudhani. Wanahitaji utunzaji zaidi kuliko aina nyingine yoyote ya mifugo. Ni wakaidi na waoga, na wepesi kupotea. Kondoo hana uwezo wa kujua mwelekeo; mbwa, paka au farasi, akipotea, kwa kawaida anaweza kurudi nyumbani, lakini kondoo hawezi. Hiyo ndiyo hukumu hasa ya nabii juu yetu: "Sisi sote kama kondoo tumepotea; kila mmoja amegeukia njia yake mwenyewe."Sheep do not simply take care of themselves, as we might suppose. They require more care than any other kind of livestock. They are stubborn and fearful, and quick to wander. A sheep has no sense of direction; a dog, a cat, or a horse, if lost, can usually find its way home, but a sheep cannot. That is exactly the prophet's verdict on us: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way."

Mfugaji wa kondoo Phillip Keller aliwahi kumiliki kondoo jike mzuri aliyezaa wana-kondoo wenye nguvu na afya. Kosa lake pekee lilikuwa kwamba alikuwa "mpenya-uzio" — asiyetulia wala kuridhika, kila mara akiishia nje ya uzio katika malisho fulani yaliyoungua. Hilo lilikuwa baya vya kutosha; lakini baya zaidi, aliwafundisha kondoo wengine kumfuata. Sisi tuko hivyo hivyo. Hata hivyo Bwana anatuchagua, anatununua, anatuita kwa majina yetu, na kutufanya kuwa wake.The shepherd Phillip Keller once owned a fine ewe that bore strong, healthy lambs. Her only fault was that she was a "fence-crawler" — restless and discontent, always ending up outside the fence in some burned-out pasture. That was bad enough; but worse, she taught the other sheep to follow her. We are much like that. And yet the Lord chooses us, buys us, calls us by name, and makes us His own.

2. Riziki ya Mchungaji: Mahitaji Yetu na Pumziko Letu2. The Shepherd's Provision: Our Needs and Our Rest

Kwanza, Mchungaji anatupatia tunayoyatamani. Akiwa kijana mchunga kondoo, Daudi alijifunza kuwatunza kondoo; baadaye maishani alijifunza kumtegemea Mchungaji Mwema amtunze yeye. Kama vile mchungaji anavyotazama mbele ili kutarajia kila tatizo, Mungu hutazama mbele ili kuandaa kila kitu tunachohitaji. Mojawapo ya mapambano magumu zaidi katika maisha yangu ya Kikristo imekuwa kuamini kwa kweli kwamba Mungu atanipatia yote ninayohitaji. Naweza kutazama nyuma nikaona mara nyingi zisizohesabika alizonikuta — rasilimali zake wakati fedha zangu hazikutosha, nguvu yake ya kuniwezesha wakati uwezo wangu haukutosha, nguvu zake wakati imani yangu haikutosha — na bado najikuta nikitilia shaka tena. Hata hivyo Mchungaji hatupatii mahitaji yetu tu bali, kwa wema wake, hata yale tunayoyataka.First, the Shepherd provides for our desires. As a young shepherd boy David had learned to care for sheep; later in life he learned to depend on the Good Shepherd to care for him. Just as a shepherd looks ahead to anticipate every problem, God looks ahead to prepare everything we need. One of the hardest struggles of my Christian life has been to truly believe that God will provide all that I need. I can look back over countless times when He met me — His resources when my finances were inadequate, His enabling power when my ability was inadequate, His strength when my faith was inadequate — and still I find myself disbelieving again. Yet the Shepherd provides not only our needs but, in His kindness, our wants.

Pia anatupatia pumziko: "Katika malisho ya majani mabichi hunilaza." Kufikia katikati ya asubuhi jua huwaka kwa nguvu na kondoo wanakuwa na joto, wamechoka na wana kiu. Mchungaji mwenye hekima anajua kwamba kondoo hapaswi kunywa akiwa na joto jingi au tumbo lake likiwa limejaa majani ambayo hayajameng'enywa, kwa hiyo humlaza mahali penye ubaridi na ulaini.He also provides our rest: "He makes me to lie down in green pastures." By mid-morning the sun beats down and the sheep are hot, tired, and thirsty. A wise shepherd knows the sheep must not drink while overheated or while its stomach is full of undigested grass, so he makes it lie down in a cool, soft place.

Charles L. Allen anasimulia jinsi asubuhi moja alivyokuwa akivaa kwa haraka kwa ajili ya siku iliyojaa shughuli za kusisimua wakati maumivu yalipompata mgongoni. Alidhani yangepita, lakini mkewe alisisitiza aende kwa daktari, ambaye alimlaza hospitalini. Alikuwa na huzuni nyingi huko, akiwa na hakika kwamba hana muda wa kupoteza kitandani. Mwishowe rafiki yake mchungaji wa kanisa alimtembelea akasema, "Charles, nina jambo moja tu la kukuambia — 'Hunilaza.'" Wakati mwingine Mungu hulazimika kutulaza chini ili hatimaye tutazame juu.Charles L. Allen tells of dressing hurriedly one morning for a full and thrilling day when a pain struck his back. He thought it would pass, but his wife insisted he see a doctor, who put him in the hospital. He was miserable there, certain he had no time to waste in bed. Finally a minister friend visited and said, "Charles, I have only one thing to say to you — 'He makes me to lie down.'" Sometimes God must make us lie down in order that we will finally look up.

3. Riziki ya Mchungaji: Kuburudishwa na Kuhuishwa3. The Shepherd's Provision: Refreshment and Restoration

Anatupatia kuburudishwa: "Kando ya maji ya utulivu huniongoza." Kondoo ni kiumbe mwoga, na kwa sababu ya manyoya yake mazito ni mwogeleaji dhaifu; hatakunywa kutoka kijito kinachokwenda kasi, ila kutoka maji yaliyotulia tu. Kwa hiyo mchungaji humzuia na maji machafu na yanayokwenda kasi na kumtafutia mahali tulivu pa kunywa. Sisi nasi tuna kiu. Wengi hunywa kutoka visima vya ulimwengu — maji machafu ya pombe, dawa za kulevya na anasa — na hubaki bila kuridhika, nyuso zao zikiwa na alama za kukata tamaa. Shida ni kwamba watu wenye kiu hawajui mahali pa kupata maji ya uzima. Lakini Yesu alisema, "Mtu akiona kiu, na aje kwangu anywe." Ni Kristo peke yake anayeridhisha kwa maji ya baridi na ya utulivu.He provides our refreshment: "He leads me beside the still waters." A sheep is a fearful creature, and because of its heavy wool coat it is a poor swimmer; it will not drink from a fast-moving stream, only from still water. So the shepherd keeps it from polluted and rushing water and finds it a quiet place to drink. We have a thirst as well. Many drink from the world's wells — the polluted waters of drink, drugs, and indulgence — and are left unsatisfied, their faces lined with desperation. The trouble is that thirsty people do not know where to find living water. But Jesus said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink." Only Christ satisfies with the cool, still waters.

Na anatupatia kuhuishwa: "Hunihuisha nafsi yangu." Tunaweza kuuliza kwa nini kondoo angehitaji kuhuishwa nafsi yake — hakika kondoo hawashuki moyo. Hata hivyo mara kwa mara kondoo huwa "amelala chali": anatulia katika kishimo kidogo, kitovu cha uzito wake kinahama, naye anaishia kulala chali miguu ikiwa juu, asiweze kwa manyoya yake mazito kujigeuza. Neno letu la Kiingereza "downcast" (aliyeinama, aliyekata tamaa) linatokana na picha hii, na mchungaji asipompata mapema, kondoo aliyelala chali atakufa. Daudi aliijua huzuni. Aliandika, "Nafsi yangu, kwa nini kuinama? ... Umtumaini Mungu." Nimewahi kushuka moyo wakati hakuna kilichofanikiwa, kukata tamaa wakati nilionekana nikishindwa tu; lakini kila mara Mungu alinitafuta, na nilipojifunza kutazama juu badala ya kujitazama ndani, alinihuisha nafsi yangu.And He provides our restoration: "He restores my soul." We might ask why a sheep would need its soul restored — surely sheep do not get depressed. Yet occasionally a sheep becomes "cast down": it settles into a little hollow, its center of gravity shifts, and it ends up on its back with its feet in the air, unable with its heavy coat to right itself. Our word "downcast" comes from this picture, and if the shepherd does not find it soon, the cast sheep will die. David knew dejection. He wrote, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God." I have been depressed when nothing worked out, discouraged when I seemed only to fail; but each time God sought me out, and as I learned to look up instead of inward, He restored my soul.

4. Ulinzi wa Mchungaji: Mpango Wake na Uwepo Wake4. The Shepherd's Protection: His Plan and His Presence

Mchungaji anatulinda kwanza kwa mpango wake: "Na kuniongoza katika njia za haki." Kondoo ni viumbe wa mazoea; wakiachwa peke yao hupita njia zile zile na kula katika vilima vile vile hadi ardhi inachafuka kwa magonjwa na vimelea, kwa hiyo mchungaji mwenye hekima huendelea kuwahamisha kwenda kwenye ardhi mpya. Inanyenyekeza kuona jinsi tulivyo kama kondoo, tukifuata kwa upumbavu njia zinazoongoza kwenye ndoa zilizovunjika, mahusiano yaliyovunjika na maisha yaliyovunjika.The Shepherd protects us first with His plan: "He leads me in the paths of righteousness." Sheep are creatures of habit; left to themselves they walk the same trails and graze the same hills until the ground is fouled with disease and parasites, so a wise shepherd keeps moving them to fresh ground. It is humbling how like sheep we are, stupidly following paths that lead to broken homes, broken relationships, and broken lives.

Phillip Keller anasimulia habari za jirani yake aliyekuwa mchungaji mbaya; wanyama wake walikuwa na njaa na magonjwa. Watatu kati yao walipoanguka katika shamba la Keller, aliwasukuma kwa toroli kuwarudisha kwa mwenyewe, ambaye aliwachinja tu — hakujali hata kidogo. Ndivyo ilivyo kwa kila kondoo aliye mali ya mchungaji mbaya, Shetani. Lakini kwa sababu sisi ni mali ya Mchungaji Mwema, hutuongoza kurudi, tena na tena, katika njia za haki.Phillip Keller tells of a neighbor who was a bad shepherd; his animals were starved and diseased. When three of them collapsed in Keller's field, he wheeled them back to their owner, who simply cut their throats — he could not have cared less. So it is for every sheep that belongs to the bad shepherd, Satan. But because we belong to the Good Shepherd, He leads us back, again and again, into the paths of righteousness.

Anatulinda kwa uwepo wake: "Hata nipitapo kati ya bonde la uvuli wa mauti … Wewe upo pamoja nami." Ili kufika kwenye malisho ya juu ya kiangazi, kondoo lazima wapite katika mabonde, ambapo mbwa-mwitu, mbwa wa porini na simba-milima hujificha katika miamba. Kuna bonde halisi la namna hii linaloshuka kutoka Yerusalemu kuelekea Bahari ya Chumvi, jembamba na la hatari, ambapo kondoo anaweza kuanguka na kufa kila hatua. Hatujaahidiwa kamwe kwamba tutaepuka mabonde — kuna mabonde ya huzuni, ya kifo, ya kuvunjika moyo na ya upweke. Tulichoahidiwa ni jambo moja lenye maana: "Wewe upo pamoja nami." Yule kijana mchunga kondoo aliyetoka kwenda kukabiliana na Goliathi alikuwa na kombeo tu na Bwana, nayo yalitosha.He protects us with His presence: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death … You are with me." To reach the high summer pastures the sheep must pass through the valleys, where coyotes, wolves, and cougars take cover in the cliffs. There is an actual valley of this kind running from Jerusalem down toward the Dead Sea, narrow and dangerous, where a sheep can fall to its death at any step. We are never promised that we will avoid the valleys — there are valleys of grief, of death, of disappointment and loneliness. What we are promised is the one thing that matters: "You are with me." The shepherd boy who walked out to face Goliath had only a sling and the Lord, and that was enough.

5. Ulinzi wa Mchungaji: Nguvu Zake5. The Shepherd's Protection: His Power

"Gongo lako na fimbo yako vyanifariji." Kondoo ni mnyama asiye na msaada, asiye na silaha yake mwenyewe, na ni mawindo rahisi kwa mnyama yeyote wa porini; kwa asili ni mwoga. Mchungaji hubeba vyombo viwili. Kwa gongo — rungu — huwafukuza wanyama wa porini ambao wangelila kundi. Kwa fimbo, ile ndefu yenye kikombo, huongoza na kuokoa, na wakati mwingine huiweka tu kwa upole juu ya kondoo anayempenda ili kudumisha mguso, naye kondoo hufarijika kwa uangalifu huo wa kimya. Vivyo hivyo Bwana anatutetea dhidi ya adui walio na nguvu kuliko sisi, naye hutuongoza tusipoweza kuiona njia. Nguvu zake haziko mbali; zinanifariji hasa katika udhaifu wangu, nisipokuwa na nguvu zangu mwenyewe za kuleta."Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." The sheep is a helpless animal with no weapon of its own and is easy prey for any wild beast; it is, by nature, afraid. The shepherd carries two instruments. With the rod — a club — he drives off the wild animals that would devour the flock. With the staff, the long crook, he guides and rescues, and sometimes he simply lays it gently against a favorite sheep to keep in touch, and the sheep takes comfort in that quiet attention. So the Lord defends us against enemies too strong for us, and He guides us when we cannot see the way. His power is not distant; it comforts me precisely in my weakness, when I have no strength of my own to bring.

6. Maandalizi ya Mchungaji: Meza na Uponyaji6. The Shepherd's Preparation: A Table and Healing

Nyanda za juu za kiangazi ambapo kondoo hula huitwa "meza." Muda mrefu kabla kundi halijafika, mchungaji hupanda juu ili kuandaa meza: huweka chumvi na madini, hung'oa magugu yenye sumu, na hutega au kuwafukuza wanyama wawindaji. Vivyo hivyo Bwana hutuandalia meza machoni pa watesi wetu, akitulisha kwa neema yake huku akiwazuia mbali adui wa maisha. Kisha unakuja upako: "Umenipaka mafuta kichwani pangu." Kiangazi ni msimu wa nzi wanaowatesa kondoo kichwani na puani, na mchungaji humpaka kondoo mafuta ya kutuliza ili kumlinda na kumponya.The high summer plateaus where sheep graze are called "tables." Long before the flock arrives, the shepherd goes up to prepare the table: he sets out salt and minerals, roots up the poisonous weeds, and traps or drives off the predators. So the Lord prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies, feeding us with His grace while holding the enemies of life at bay. Then comes the anointing: "You anoint my head with oil." Summer is the season of flies that torment the sheep about the head and nose, and the shepherd smears a soothing oil over the sheep to protect and heal it.

Kuna Mchungaji tunayeweza kumgeukia katika nyakati zetu za maumivu; Yeye huponya mwili na nafsi. Mwimbaji wa Uskoti Harry Lauder, aliyevunjika moyo kwa kifo cha mwanawe, alimpata Mchungaji huyo. Baadaye, alipokuwa akitoa tamasha mbele ya umati uliofurika huko Chicago, aliitikia maombi ya kuimba tena na mwishowe akasema, "Msinishukuru mimi. Mshukuruni Bwana mwema, Mchungaji wa maisha yangu, kwa maana Yeye ndiye aliyetia wimbo moyoni mwangu."There is a Shepherd to whom we can turn in our times of hurt; He heals body and soul. The Scottish singer Harry Lauder, broken by the death of his son, found that Shepherd. Later, giving a concert before an overflowing crowd in Chicago, he responded to the encores and finally said, "Do not thank me. Thank the good Lord, the Shepherd of my life, for He put the song in my heart."

7. Maandalizi ya Mchungaji: Wema na Nyumba7. The Shepherd's Preparation: Goodness and a Home

"Hakika" ni neno la uhakika: kati ya mambo yote tutakayokabiliana nayo, wema na upendo usiokoma ndivyo vitakavyokuwa matokeo. Hii si ahadi ya uongo kwamba Mungu atatufanya matajiri; ni uhakika kwamba atatupa amani. Alama ya Mungu juu ya maisha yetu inatuambia kwamba sisi ni mali yake milele."Surely" is a word of confidence: of all the things we will face, goodness and steadfast love will be the outcome. This is not the false promise that God will make us rich; it is the certainty that He will give us peace. The mark of God on our life tells us we belong to Him forever.

Phillip Keller alipowanunua kondoo wake wa kwanza wa kike, jirani yake alimpa kisu kikali akasema, "Sasa itakubidi uweke alama yako juu yao." Kila mfugaji wa kondoo alikata kitobo chake cha pekee katika sikio ili, hata kwa mbali, kila mtu aweze kuona kondoo hao ni wa nani. Bwana ametutia alama kuwa wake.When Phillip Keller bought his first ewes, his neighbor handed him a sharp knife and said, "Now you'll have to put your mark on them." Each sheepman cut his own distinctive notch in the ear so that, even at a distance, everyone could see whose sheep they were. The Lord has marked us as His own.

Na zaburi inaishia nyumbani: "Nami nitakaa nyumbani mwa BWANA milele." Kwa mchungaji neno "nyumba" lilimaanisha zaidi ya jengo; lilimaanisha nyumba yake yote, yaani jamaa yake na vyote alivyokuwa navyo. Yesu alisema sasa anatuandalia mahali katika makao ya milele ya Mungu.And the psalm ends at home: "I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." To a shepherd the word "house" meant more than a building; it meant his whole household and all that belonged to him. Jesus said He is now preparing a place for us in God's eternal home.

8. Mchungaji Mwema Anayeutoa Uhai Wake8. The Good Shepherd Who Lays Down His Life

Yesu alisema katika Yohana 10, "Mimi ndimi mchungaji mwema. Mchungaji mwema huutoa uhai wake kwa ajili ya kondoo." Fikiria hilo: Mwana wa Mungu akiutoa uhai wake kwa ajili ya kondoo waliopotea kama sisi tulivyopotea.Jesus said in John 10, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Think of it: the Son of God laying down His life for sheep that have wandered as we have.

Hiyo ni picha hafifu ya kile Mchungaji wetu alichofanya, akijua gharama yote. BWANA ndiye mchungaji wangu, sitapungukiwa na kitu. Je, utamruhusu awe wako?That is a faint picture of what our Shepherd did, knowing the full cost. The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. Will you let Him be yours?

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