The Provider of Safety and Security
“The Lord watches
over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you
by day, not the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will
watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now
and forevermore” (Psalm 121:5-8).
Noah and the Safety within the Ark
God watched as His creation turned into a
world that He barely recognized. Wickedness increased as man cared less about
God and more about self-indulgence. There was nothing that they wouldn’t do
that was evil; therefore, God had seen and heard enough. He was about to
unleash an enormous judgment upon the face of the planet like never before. “The
Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every
inclination of the thoughts of this heart was only evil all the time. The Lord
was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with
pain. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the
face of the earth – men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground,
and birds of the air – for I am grieved that I have made them.’ But Noah found
favor in the eyes of the Lord’” (Genesis 6:5-8).
God
was tired of seeing what His creation had turned into. They had a total
disregard for what was right. There was constant evil in their hearts and
minds. They did not fear God nor reverence Him. The Lord decided to destroy all
mankind and beast on the earth with the exception of Noah, his family, and the
animals He would spare. Noah was an upright man who served and honored God.
Therefore, Jehovah Jireh was going to make safety provisions for he and his
family in order for them to be saved from the upcoming destruction that He was
about to send. Jehovah Jireh instructed
Noah to build an ark for protection. He gave Noah the exact measurements of how
the ark was to be constructed. The Bible says, ”So God said to Noah, ‘I
am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence
because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make
yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside
and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet high. Make
a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in
the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring
floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature
that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will
establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark – you and your sons
and your wife and your sons’ wives with you” (Genesis 6:13-18).
This
ark was Jehovah Jireh’s protection over them during the high floodwaters that
came down. Many people may look at the structure itself as the ultimate
protection, but Jehovah Jireh was their ultimate protection. The ark was just a
tool used by Jehovah Jireh in the process; therefore, if it had not been for
Jehovah Jireh’s protection, the floodwaters could have certainly overcome the
ark as well. The biblical story of the ark is still a symbol of the protection
for us today. Jehovah Jireh protects us from the floodwaters of life that are
sent by the enemy. He shields, guides, and offers us security in Him no matter
what we may face. The Bible says, “So shall they fear the name of the Lord
from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy come in
like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah
59:19).
Safety from the Angel of Death
Jehovah
Jireh was about to provide an escape for His children to be released from their
bondage in Egypt. The Egyptians made it their mission to keep the Israelites
enslaved in misery for years. Abraham had been promised that he would become a
father of many nations and that his descendants would be enslaved by a foreign
nation but would be freed after 400 years. In keeping with the promise He made to
Abraham, Jehovah Jireh caused plagues to come upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians as
part of their punishment. Jehovah Jireh told Moses that there was going to be a
death angel who would be sent to Egypt to slay all the first-born both man and
beast. As an act of safety for the Israelites, they were instructed by God through
Moses to kill a lamb, roast it to eat with herbs and unleavened bread, and have
the blood from the animal painted on their doorposts so that the death angel
would pass over their homes. The Bible says, "This is how you are
to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your bel, your sandals on your feet and
your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste, it is the Lord’s Passover. ’On the
same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men
and animals – and I will brink judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the
Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I
see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when
I strike Egypt’ ” (Exodus 12:11-13).
The
Israelites had to be obedient to Jehovah Jireh who promised to provide them
with safety. No harm would come to them as long as His commands were obeyed. The
Bible says, “Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put
some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you
shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the Lord goes through
the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and
sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit
the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down” (Exodus 12:22-23).
Even though Jehovah Jireh was striking down the Egyptians, He made sure that
the Israelites were provided with safety from His wrath.
In
the last days, the Bible lets us know that once again, plagues are going to
come upon those who have decided to rebel against God and submerge themselves
into a life full of sin. Those who are in alignment with a demonic beast system
will suffer the wrath of God. But those whose names are written in the book of
Life will find refuge in Jehovah Jireh. This does not mean persecution will not
come from the enemy, but Jehovah Jireh will provide all who are truly His with
a covering of strength to endure. The Bible says, “A third angel followed them and
said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives
his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of
God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He
will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of
the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no
rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone
who receives the mark of his name’” (Revelation 14:9-11).
Safety when the Walls are Collapsing
Jehovah
Jireh had promised to give the Children of Israel the land of Canaan. Joshua
was their new leader after Moses died, and he had the task of leading them into
the land of milk and honey. However, the promise did not come without
challenges. Joshua sent spies to the land to check out the city of Jericho. The
spies needed to get a full report as to what they would encounter upon taking
down the city. They received help from a prostitute named Rahab who ensured
that they were not caught. As a show of appreciation for her help, the spies
promised Rahab that no harm would come to her and her family, if she hung a
scarlet rope outside of her window, and that all her family had to be present
at her home to have the promise of security kept. The Bible says, “The
men said to her, ‘This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless,
when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through
which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your
brothers and all your family into your house’” (Joshua 2:17-18). The
Children of Israel followed Jehovah Jireh’s instructions of walking around the
walls of Jericho once a day for six consecutive days and then seven times on
the seventh. The walls of Jericho came tumbling down, and despite what was
taking place all around, Rahab and her family were saved. Rahab became an
ancestor in the line from which Jesus was born centuries later.
Jehovah
Jireh provides safety for His children today just as He did with Rahab and her
family, despite the calamity that may be all around. The Bible says “The
Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will
not harm you by day, not the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all
harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and
going both now and forevermore” (Psalm 121:5-8). All walls may be
coming down in your life, but Jehovah Jireh is the safety net on which you can
always rely. Just fall on your knees, pray, and watch Him provide you and those
you love with safety in a crumbling world.
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