Would you like to have the unfailing support of a spiritual staff, as well as a rod of defense against evil? It is encouraging to know, through the teachings of Christian Science, that God has given us a staff and a rod and also makes it possible for them to become a scepter.
In Biblical times shepherds carried a staff and a rod in their work of tending the flocks. The alert shepherd leaned on his staff to watch and rest. At times he needed the short, heavy rod to defend the sheep from beasts of prey, to guide the timid sheep over difficult places, and to keep the wayward ones from sharp rocks.
David, the shepherd, who became king of Israel, realized how symbolic of spiritual support and defense were the shepherd's rod and staff. He declared in the twenty-third Psalm, "Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
