The LORD Our Shade

"The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. ⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night."

Psalm 121:5-6

How good it is to know God protects and provides for our needs!  Day or night we need never fear, for God is faithful.  A great illustration of this scripture is seen in the life of Hagar when she was sent out by Abraham.  In response to God's direction, Hagar and Ishmael her son were sent out from Abraham with bread and a skin of water.  They wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, which means "well of an oath."  Before long they were stricken with thirst, for the water in the skin was used up.  Hagar desperately placed her son in the shade of a shrub to protect him from the searing heat.  Hagar hopelessly retreated to a distance where she could not hear his cries.  She reached the point that all she could do is weep, and in that moment God spoke.

Genesis 21:17-19 reads, "And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. ¹⁸ Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation." ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink."  In her distress Hagar moved away from Ishmael, but God drew near and heard the cries of the lad.  Isn't this remarkable?  He will not forsake any who cry out to Him.  The angel of God asked, "What ails you, Hagar?"  I suppose from the perspective of the world there was plenty to cry about:  she had been kicked out of her home, did not know where she was, where she should go, the water had been spent, her son was dying, and she could not save him.  She asserted in a previous wilderness experience God is the One who sees but God also revealed himself as the One who hears and is "your shade at your right hand."  With such a God was there any legitimate cause for despair?

God opened Hagar's eyes to see a well of water she had not seen before.  It is fitting this occurred in Beersheeba, for God showed her a well and gave her a promise:  God would save her son and make of him a great nation.  Until it was divinely revealed Hagar didn't notice the well which held life-sustaining water, and often it is our unbelief, grief, and forgetfulness of God which blinds us to the Living Water offered freely by Jesus Christ.  He supplies more than water to quench the thirst of our bodies but supplies Living Water to satisfy our souls forever.  God has made a covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ which provides us forgiveness and eternal life through the Gospel.  No matter what we face in this life we do not need to fear, for God is our keeper, our shade at our right hand, our refuge, and Saviour who loves us and supplies our every need by His grace.

God was faithful to keep His promise to Ishmael, for God was with him as he grew.  During our earthly pilgrimage there will be wilderness experiences and dry times, but it is good for us to discover God is our only genuine source of help, hope, and life.  We often look for shelter under wilting shrubs when God stands ready to help and deliver, our shade at our right hand.  Much of our pain comes from focusing on ourselves, circumstances beyond our control, and feeling others have it better than us.  Hebrews 13:5-6 provides us an exhortation and promise:  "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." ⁶ So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"  Fear and death have been swallowed up with victory, and praise the LORD for His promise.  He is our keeper and shade at our right hand.  The death of our bodies will not annul His promise but bring it to completion in eternal glory.

God Created Man

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Genesis 1:27-28

In my lifetime I have observed an erosion of what once was called “morality” according to biblical principles.  This gradual movement has gathered speed to the point it could be likened to a destructive avalanche, leveling all which once stood upright in its path.  This opposition of God, His Word, and ways has often been too subtle to notice in real-time but the effects are widespread and pronounced.  When seeds of wickedness are sown, those doing the planting deny anything bad will happen.  Eventually the corrupt and ugly fruit is displayed for all to see.

Man has rebelled against the order and laws established by God from the beginning – even concerning something simple like eating.  The appetites of the flesh were not satisfied by forbidden fruit, and sex is an area man delights to deviate.  Not content with the divinely ordained confines of marriage, people committed fornication and adultery.  Homosexuality and bisexuality have become increasingly common and widely celebrated.  People were not content with deviant sexual practices, but now the biblical definition of gender itself faces sceptical scrutiny and overthrow.  God created people male and female from the beginning, yet man thinks he knows better than God who created him.

The wisdom of God to create men and women male and female is plainly reflected in the terminology we use in hardware.  A plumber uses the term “male” and “female” to describe the type of fitting needed to connect pipes.  Just like two bolts alone or two nuts by themselves are incapable of fastening materials together, two male couplings do not fit together properly according to the design.  In the same way, God made people male and female to be fruitful and multiply, to reproduce according to their kind in the confines of the marriage relationship.  Attacks on gender are an assault primarily on God’s order, and this assault is nothing new.

Believers are called to hold fast to the scriptures, to uphold the righteous judgments of God no matter how thick the fiery darts fly.  In these darkening days we must grip the shield of faith and Sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God) like never before.  Enemies of God and His truth will attempt to chip away at the foundations, but we can stand firmly upon them without fear of man.  We ought not apologise that God in His wisdom created men and women as distinct.  Our gender is a gift given to us freely by God, and we ought to rejoice in all God has provided by His grace.  Men and women of God are born and made, and it is God who makes them.

Noah's Example

Peter referred to Noah as a "preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5) and pointed out how God preserved him alive from the judgment of the great flood which destroyed the ungodly.  Pastor Drew shared this morning at Calvary Chapel Sydney how Noah testified of this coming judgment in two primary ways.  The first was with words as a preacher of righteousness for over a century.  God had told him plainly in Genesis 6:13, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth."  Believing this to be the case, Noah warned others.  The second way he demonstrated his belief was through the building of a massive wooden ship.  As he was commanded he built the enormous ship and loaded it with provisions for a voyage - nowhere near a large body of water on dry land.

Ultimately the word of God was fulfilled, and Noah and those who sought refuge in the ark were preserved.  All the people and animals which exist to this day are evidence of God's salvation.  The Bible makes it abundantly clear a future day of judgment is coming, but with the daily grind of life the evidence of this future calamity can be lost on us.  We are like the fabled townspeople so fatigued by the boy's false alarms of "Wolf!" we ignore obvious paw prints and dead chickens - sure signs wolves are around.  How many times has the "end of the world" been predicted and nothing has happened?  Do we dare believe judgment will indeed come on the unsuspecting world?  Peter certainly thought so, and based on scripture so do I.

2 Peter 3:1-7 reads, "Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ² that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³ knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." ⁵ For this they wilfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶ by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."  Forget global warming:  there is consuming fire reserved for the future of this world and all its inhabitants, and only those who are born again through faith in Jesus will be preserved.

IF we believe this to be true, the sense of urgency and focus of purpose which marked the life of Noah should mark ours.  It is good to be reminded of our mortality and to continually re-align our perspective according to God's Word, for it is easy to drift off course.  A small lapse of focus can have disastrous consequences for a pilot or driver, it is the same for us.  We only have one life to live on earth for our Saviour's glory.  It is imperative that we be about our Saviour's business on our earthly pilgrimage, seeking and obeying Him faithfully.  We might not have the opportunity to preach from a pulpit, but the manner and aim of our lives speaks plainly to all who observe.  The prophet Ezekiel was directed by God to say and do many things people inquired about, and may our lives also be a curious testimony of God's love, salvation, and future judgment so they too might discover and worship Him.

Psalm 91

The world awoke to news of a calculated but senseless attack on random citizens in New York which claimed the lives of at least 8 people and wounded many more.  To think a person's life is at risk walking or leisurely riding a bike with friends targeted by a rampaging driver is alarming and tragic.  So where does an overwhelmed soul go from here?  Assembling in a show of angry defiance?  Fear and isolation?  Justice is needed for the perpetrator, but not vengeance upon potential suspects.  The LORD God, He will repay.

Recently I read Psalm 91, an encouraging passage for all those who place their confidence in God.  The terrible things we hear and the news and painful circumstances we face threaten to rob us of joy given us by our Saviour Jesus Christ, but by His grace we can rest peacefully as we look to Him and remember God's promises.  Fear prevents us from being strong and courageous.  Bad things happen to believers and unbelievers alike, but there is sure and eternal hope in our God who keeps our souls from all harm.  Evil which drowns others in fear and perdition has no power over God's children to destroy.  Our strength is not in self but in the God who loves and carries us.  We need not fall prey to the fear which is common to all men.  Take courage in the LORD, believer, as you seek refuge in Him.  Call out to the LORD and He will hear you and answer.  Here is Psalm 91 in the NKJV:

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. ²  I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust." ³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. ⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. ⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, ⁶ nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. ⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. ⁹ Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, ¹⁰ no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; ¹¹ for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. ¹² In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. ¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. ¹⁴ "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him. ¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."