The
Guardians
Psalm 91:11-12
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot
against a stone. (NIV)
After
the fall of Adam and Eve, they were no longer able to stay in the garden that
they once called home. They had fallen into temptation by listening to the
serpent’s lies and were therefore, ordered to leave the Garden of Eden with the
knowledge that they would never be able to set foot in it again. Sin was not
allowed to exist in God’s holy garden and they could no longer be allowed to
eat from the Tree of Life. To ensure that they could never return to the garden,
God placed angels called Cherubim to guard the entrance to the garden.
Genesis 3:23-24 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to
work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he
placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword
flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (NIV)
As
seen with the story of the Garden of Eden, one of the roles of angels is to
serve as guardians. After the Children of Israel had been delivered from
enslavement from the Egyptians, God promised that they would enter into a land flowing
with milk and honey. But first, there were enemies of Israel that the Lord
would have to deal with. Therefore, God promised to send an angel to be their
guardian, but they had to be faithful in obeying him for he would be God’s
mouthpiece and would not tolerate insolence. Exodus 23:20-21 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to
guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay
attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will
not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.” (NIV) God promised
to help them be victorious over their enemies as long as they did not worship
the heathen gods of other nations and follow their evil ways. God did not want the
other nations to even live amongst them in order to keep them from falling into
idolatry. He ensured the Children of Israel that an angel would go ahead of them
and lead them into enemy territories but He would destroy them with a mighty
blow. Exodus 23:23 My angel will goa ahead of you and bring you into
the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,
and I will wipe them out. (NIV) The angel was therefore their guide and
guardian to prepare the way.
The
prophet, Elijah, having had 450 Baal priests killed after a showdown between
himself and them to show the people the true God, fled to the desert, due to the
wicked Queen Jezebel’s threats of having him killed in retaliation for the priests’
execution. After his journey, he was tired, hungry, and discouraged, but an
angel from God came to give him food. 1 Kings 19:5 Then he lay down under
the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up
and eat.” (NIV) The angel had provided some hot bread and water for
Elijah to have. After he ate, he fell asleep again and the angel awakened him
so that he could eat again to gain strength for the remainder of his journey. 1
Kings 19:7-8 The angel of the lord came back a second time and touched him
and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up
and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty
nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. (NIV) The angel was
Elijah’s guardian and was assigned to take care of Elijah’s earthly needs. We
too have guardian angels assigned to us and keeps a watch over us. Matthew
18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you
that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in Heaven.” (NIV)
During
a part of Israel’s history, they had been taken captive by the Babylonians due
to their rebellion. The king, Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the city and the temple
after taking the artifacts inside. Despite having been in captivity, there were
a remnant who had been faithful to God and were blessed during this time. The prophet,
Daniel and his friends were amongst few of them. Eventually, Babylon had been
overthrown and King Darius of the Medes took control. Daniel had favor with
this king as he had with King Nebuchadnezzar. Nevertheless, there were those
who were jealous of Daniel and therefore, tricked the king into creating a law
that landed Daniel into a den with lions. Despite their wicked schemes, God did
not allow Daniel to die. He sent a guardian angel to close the lions’ mouths so
that they could not hurt Daniel as he spent the night. Daniel 6:19-22 (19)At
first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. (20)When
he came new the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel,
servant of the living God, has you God, whom you serve continually, been able
to rescue you from the lions?” (21)Daniel answered, “May the king
live forever! (22)My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of
the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor
have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” (NIV) The angel
prevented the lions from eating Daniel all through the night and he was rescued
from the den. However, his enemies were not so fortunate.
The
apostles had encounters with angels, who rescued them from jail, after they had
been placed there for preaching about Jesus. Acts 5:19 But during the
night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go,
stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new
life.” (NIV) The jail was unable to contain them because the angel was
sent by God to release them for others to hear the Good News about the Risen
Savior.
The
apostle, Peter, was imprisoned for preaching the gospel, but the saints prayed
continuously for his release and the night before he was to go to trial, an
angel awakened him during the night and led him safely out of his cell. Acts
12:7-8 Suddenly and angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the
cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said,
and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, “Put on
your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow
me,” the angel told him. (NIV) Peter was not fully awake and thought
that he was in a vision. After the angel left, he finally realized that God had
sent an angel to lead him safely out of the prison walls.
Angels
are there to always keep watch over God’s chosen people. They provide safety
and rescue missions all the time throughout the world. We will never know the
many times that God prevented harm to come to us by way of an angel until we
get to Heaven. Nevertheless, while we are here on earth, we can be sure that we
all have angels assigned to us who keep watch over us day and night. Whereas
man’s methods of safety can fail, the power that God has given His guardians is
incomparable to any earthly intervention. Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the
Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. (NIV)
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