Leaderboard

Psalm 23:2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:......... From my observations, sheep prefer to lie down in the dirt. Where all they have is grass, they scratch out a bed. When they rise, they immediately defecate and urinate in their bed go about their day and the next night go back to the holes and lie down again. The feces carries the eggs of whatever parasites the sheep may have, which then hatch, climb the blades of grass and are reingested to complete their life cycle. The parasites feed on the sheeps blood and nutrients and make them sick. The more they eat this, the more their health is compromised. So I can see how a large flock of sheep could foul up an good pasture in a hurry. I don't know much about Biblical shepherds but I'm thinking that, in a semi-arid land such as the land of Israel, a "green pasture" would be too precious a commodity for a shepherd to waste by letting the sheep bed down in one. So I'm thinking that Biblical shepherds, wise ones, would lead the flock to a barren area to lie down so as not to ruin the good, clean grass. Even though we are inclined to lie down in the "dirt" as well, God has enough good pasture, that his children don't need to lie in the filth of the World. He leads us to a green pasture. Open for discussion. ?