“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

The Shadow of Death

Last chapter, we spoke about the consequence of death that came from Adam and Eve pursuing knowing and being known through the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Evil was eaten as a fruit containing the seeds of more evil, and through that, death was birthed into the experience of mankind. Evil always produces death.

Today, I want to talk about the shadow of death. What casts a shadow? A source of light. Does that mean death casts a light?

The Source and Meaning of Light

The Hebrew word for light is or, and its root is ar. Ancient Hebrew letters carry concrete pictographic meanings:

Aleph (𐤀): An ox head, symbolizing strength, leader, or source—God.

Vav (𐤅): A tent peg or hook, symbolizing securing, adding, or connecting.

Resh (𐤓): A man’s head, symbolizing the highest, chief, or first beginning.

The combined picture is strength or source connected and secured to the head or chief, bringing illumination or order out of chaos. The root concepts connect or with order displacing chaos and with primary spiritual illumination.

God’s light is unique because it casts no moving shadow:

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)

Unlike physical lights in the sky that move, rise, set, and create shifting shadows, God never moves or changes. There is no variation in Him. His character, goodness, and love are completely reliable and permanent.

The light of this world, however, always produces a shadow. The sun, stars, and artificial lights are subject to movement and change. A shadow is the image created when an object blocks a source of light. Shadows require two things: a source of light and a shape that blocks that light, producing an absence of light in the form of the object.

The One Who Had the Power of Death

Psalm 23 tells us that we can walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Does death have a source of light? Hebrews identifies the one who had the power of death:

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14–15, NKJV)

We are the children in this verse, partakers of flesh and blood. We have assumed mortality. Flesh refers to our physical body, while blood is the connector to the Creator and to His life. Scripture tells us that life is in the blood:

“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning... Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” (Genesis 9:4–6, NKJV)

Blood is the container of life. The shedding of blood refers to the taking of life. Blood is the life bridge to the Creator. There is much more that could be said about this in the context of covenant, but that is for another time.

Counterfeit Light and Hidden Knowledge

Returning to the “light of death” that casts the shadow of death, who is identified as the one with the power of death? The devil, Satan, who is seen as an angel of light:

“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:14–15, NKJV)

In this context, light is a form of illumination disguised as truth. This accounts for forms of knowledge apart from the knowledge of God. Because God alone is good, other knowledge ultimately grows from the knowledge of evil. This occult knowledge produces death. Occult means hidden knowledge or knowledge from the realm of the shadow of death.

What is the source of this knowledge? Lies.

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth... for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44, NKJV)

This counterfeit light leads people away from trusting in the goodness and love of God because it is based on lies. Lies lead to death as truth leads to life.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6, NKJV)

How the Valley Forms in Our Lives

Lies are often introduced as a source of light during times of vulnerability. When we are vulnerable, we naturally want to feel secure and protected. That desire for knowledge can give us an illusion of security and make us open to the father of lies.

The lies of the enemy that we receive and agree with create the valley of the shadow of death in our lives. They also produce the fear of death. Death is the outcome of evil, the direct fruit of the knowledge of evil from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

We have an expression that speaks of living in the shadow of another. Death has a shadow, and we can walk in the valley of that shadow. By contrast, Peter walked in the light of the Lord, and his shadow healed:

“So that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them... and they were all healed.” (Acts 5:15–16, NKJV)

Walking in the shadow of death is common. Similar to the light from Yeshua that brought healing through Peter’s shadow, the shadow of death brings death from the devil’s power. How do we break free from this influence?

The Lord Is Our Shepherd

David gives us the answer in Psalm 23:

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me... Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23:1–6, NKJV)

First, we have to invite Yeshua to be the Shepherd of our souls. He tells us:

“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture... I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep... I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” (John 10:7–17, NKJV)

He is the Good Shepherd, and we know that because we hear and respond to His voice. This is a daily discipline of disciples: to approach Him and interact with His voice. The alternative is to live in the shadow of death in the valley. Take time each day to develop your awareness of the sound of His voice.

The Valley of Resurrection

One final Israeli restoration thought: outside Jerusalem, in the Kidron Valley, are the graves. This is a literal valley of death. Those buried there are said to be waiting for Messiah and the resurrection.

The slopes of the Kidron feature soft limestone that is conducive to carving burial caves and building cemeteries. Archaeological excavations revealed use of the area for burial since at least the Late Bronze Age, offering evidence that the Kidron Valley served as Jerusalem’s necropolis, or “city of the dead,” from an early stage in the city’s history. The Mount of Olives, along the eastern slope of the Kidron Valley, became Jerusalem’s most important Jewish cemetery.

In Jewish tradition, following the destruction of the Second Temple, the Shekinah—the presence of God—left Jerusalem and moved to the Mount of Olives. According to this tradition, Messiah will pass through the valley on His way to Jerusalem and enter the city through the Gate of Mercy.

“And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley...” (Zechariah 14:4, NKJV)

So the valley of death becomes the valley of resurrection.

Activation

Invite His resurrection life into the dead things in your life. Ask the Lord to show you what areas remain under the influence of the valley of the shadow of death. Invite the Holy Spirit—His rod and His staff—to guide, comfort, and encourage you back into the Father’s unchanging light and resurrection life.