Psalm 91: 1-10 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
As the war continues in Israel, much has been made of the success of the Iron Dome defense system which shoots down incoming rockets from the Gaza Strip. While we are very thankful for the protection this system affords, it does present a certain public relations challenge for Israel. Somehow, regardless of the differences in both size and intention between Israel and the Arab world, the global media frequently emphasizes what they call, “moral equivalency”. The perception of Israel’s military strength and technical superiority somehow makes her the aggressor with an unfair advantage.
Yet, an important “moral” difference often goes unrecognized. Israel, as a fixed policy, goes to extraordinary lengths to reduce the number of civilian casualties resulting from defensive attacks on Palestinian rocket installations. But these installations are often purposely placed in vulnerable civilian locations by Palestinian militants, intentionally placing their own citizens in mortal danger from Israeli strikes on missile targets. The media fails to report Israel’s regular policy of alerting Palestinian citizens to evacuate when an attack is imminent by dropping leaflets, making cell phone calls, and sending text messages. Why is that?
As Israeli President Shimon Peres said, “Those who preach to us morality should offer an alternative way to stop the rocket fire from Hamas.” The Palestinian religious/military culture, which celebrates death and murder in the service of God, is seen as “morally equivalent” to Israel’s self-defensive posture which does everything possible to protect life. Might it be that Israel’s persistent efforts to protect the lives of both its own citizens and those of its enemy at least in part, underlies the differences in the number of casualties on both sides? An enemy which promotes itself as a victim and capitalizes on the death of its people is certain to draw the sympathy of those who are just looking at the numbers of dead and wounded. But is this “moral equivalency”?
Psalm 91 powerfully expresses YHWH’s protection of His people who choose to dwell in His shelter. People who love and protect life as part of their faith tradition have certain promises in these words. We are not saying that Israel is a totally righteous nation which never does anything wrong toward the Palestinians. Yet we do believe that part of our divine protection derives from the commitment to value and protect human life. This psalm describes the extent of that protection.
It is a protection promised all the more to those who truly walk by faith in the righteousness of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). “A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.”
Abide in the secret place of the Most High – rest there. He is your refuge and your fortress, and walking in His righteousness will be your own “Iron Dome”, but better. Now, at this season for thankfulness we can all express our gratitude to Him for both—the temporal, and the eternal safety He has provided us.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]As we continue our study of the Mighty Men of David, another quality is worth pointing out — they were not procrastinators. Notice that these men decided to cross the Jordan river when it was at flood stage! They didn’t wait till the river receded, but rather, boldly crossed when it was the most dangerous!
As David grew in stature those who stood by him increased in number, devoting themselves to fight with him. Though it was a time of adversity for David, and a time of warfare, he found that there were many willing to join their lives to his; "...a brother is born for adversity"; and "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother". Again we note that David's anointing and his character made him a friend to many...and many became his loyal friends.
A program by National Geographic gives a powerful illustration for us. In the great annual wildebeest migration in Serengeti National Park in Africa a giant herd, thousands of wildebeest, slowly move in groups across the plain. They are invariably followed by stalking lions. But the lions never attack the herd – they simply watch carefully for the stray wildebeest, either careless or seeking greener grass, who separates himself from the larger groups of animals. The isolated wildebeest will become the sudden prey of the lions who attack with lightening speed and ferocity.
50,000 soldiers from the tribe of Zebulun served in David’s army with UNDIVIDED (some translations: “not double-hearted”) hearts. Can you imagine a skilled army with this level of loyalty and devotion?
The mighty men that followed David were of one mind and heart to make him King. Their recognition of David’s anointing may have been the most significant quality of these Mighty Men. What was it in David that drew out this deep loyalty? I believe it was God’s Holy Spirit which David received when Samuel anointed him king.[1 Samuel 16:13].
In the 1970s when the Alaskan Pipeline was being constructed many Texans went to Alaska to work on the pipeline alongside the Eskimos, native Alaskans. However the Texans could only work a few hours in the frigid weather, while the Eskimos could easily work for hours on end.
The second great awakening took place around 1790 until the 1840s. This movement saw ‘circuit riders’, traveling preachers who spread the Gospel to the edges of the frontier, affecting the growing American populace. Camp meetings in rural areas outside the traditional church with the primary focus of soul winning, were like “brushfires” of the Holy Spirit, attracting people for miles.