The Rod

Probably no other profession is more closely identified with Bible times than shepherding. It is the first profession mentioned, as Abel was a shepherd, as was Moses, David and the wise men. Many of the terms and illustrations used in both the Old and New Testaments are from this way of life.
 
The shepherd’s life was a hard life, with the care of his sheep occupying both night and day. The sheep were kept in a sheepfold at night. A pen usually made of rocks but in the wilderness often an enclosure made of thorny bushes, with only one opening or port. The shepherd spent his night in this port to keep the sheep in and predators out. When several flocks bedded together, the shepherds would take turns as “porters.” In the early morning each shepherd would call his sheep, as they recognized his voice they would follow him as he found pastures for them to eat and water to drink. The sheep were completely dependent upon their master to provide. Sheep are a curious animal but dumb, often wandering away from the flock and into trouble. They are also desired by wild beasts. Snakes would often strike from the grass as they were eating and a sheep entering a thicket could be held fast as the thorns caught in its wool.
 
The responsibilities and dangers were many but the shepherd’s tools and weapons were limited. He may have a slingshot for distance and probably a club for close use, perhaps a flute to calm the flock and pass the time. His most versatile and trusted tools, though, were probably his staff and/or rod. Often they are the same, however a staff could be 5 or more feet long to reach and direct and a crook on one end to hook an errant sheep by the neck. A rod was usually shorter and one end had metal or flint embedded in it to make it more formidable as a weapon. The staff used more for guiding and correcting, the rod for defense and punishment.

The rod had another use as well, as the sheep were entering the fold for the night, the shepherd would place his rod across the opening, not raising and allowing them to pass under until he had examined them for injury or disease and had counted them. When tithing, he would dip his rod in vermillion and swab the back of every tenth sheep (Lev. 27:32), making it easy to separate the dedicated sheep. He would also recognize any sheep not his and remove it from the flock- he knew his own by name. It is these uses of the rod that give meaning to Ezekiel 20:37, 38 (KJV). “And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me:…”
 
--Joe Bluemel