25. THE SAFEST PLACE TO BEGod's protection is always there for us, whether we make good use of it is up to us.
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It’s a good feeling to know you’re protected. Have you ever been walking and suddenly jumped as you heard a menacing bark? It's a sound that sends shivers up the backs of even the strongest men. You immediately go on alert as you turn to face the sharp barking. And within meters you see a big Kangal with white teeth, smashing his face against a chain link fence. At that exact moment, you realize how much you appreciate a fence. Have you ever thought that fate is sometimes like a big, vicious dog? Do you think that it, like a Kangal, can be fenced in (i.e., controlled)? If so, where do you think we can find a fence that will give us protection and the peace of mind we desire? By this point, you should know that we could find it in God's Holy Word, The Holy Bible. But let's start with a short story first.
Our story takes place in a village with beautiful farmland near the city of Adana. The fields around the village produced thousands of tons of cotton. Although picking cotton was hard, hot work, the villagers were pleased with their land. They understood that the fertile land and cotton harvest was God’s gift to them and supplied them with a good life. The village sat happily on the vast Çukurova plain, stretching out to the South, long before the Seyhan dam had been built.
As the village grew and families multiplied, the young fathers began to acquire fields further from the village. One young man, named Selim, inherited a piece of ground and began to work it. In the center of the land was a long narrow hill that wound along for as far as the eye could see. It was about one and a half meters high, and about two meters wide. Why it bothered Selim, no one can rightly say. But to a boy who grew up on a plain, there was something unusual about that hill! A plain is meant to be flat and he wanted his field flat. So after he plowed the field and planted cotton, he began to work away at leveling that long narrow hill.
One day at the mosque several of the elders of the village surrounded Selim and said to him,
“Son, what you are doing is not wise. Our great-great grandfathers put that hill, there. It is a dike.”
Selim laughed and said,
“What does it protect us from? The river is a days walk from here.”
The old men said,
“This small hill protects our village and our homes from flooding. Once every hundred years there is such a flood.”
Then the village leader sternly said,
“You will put it back.”
Selim angrily spent sixty days of hard work, putting the dirt and stones back in place. It was that single event that never let him forget his 22nd year of life and made him hate that hill! Every time he went to his field, he wished he could see a flat cotton field. But instead he saw a mound, the one that he worked to remove and then shamefully had to put back.
Then one February day, two days before Selim’s 67th birthday, it started to rain. But the rain didn't stop and it began to pour like he had never seen before! It rained all through the night, the next day, and continued until the Seyer River burst its banks. Selim, now a village elder, walked to that dike in the middle of his field. He looked at the river that had always been a day’s journey away and now it was flowing at his feet. As he stood on that old long mound that he had held a grudge against for 45 years, he began to laugh. Here this pile of grass-covered dirt turned out to be his village’s savior. The whole village would have been at least a meter under water, had it not been for that hill. He smiled to himself looking at the swirling rushing water on his left and the village houses dry on his right. Then he looked down from the mound where he stood and realized that the long time enemy beneath his feet turned out to be a friend. As he walked home, he thought to himself,
“I am so lucky that I didn’t die at 66!”
That spring as Selim planted cotton he looked at the hill with a curious affection he had never known before.
Selim's story reminds us that it is possible to misjudge where our protection is coming from! What seemed like an enemy was actually a barrier, or fence if you will, of protection. Like all of the stories we have looked at, the Bible gives us an astounding picture of God’s protection. We can examine one such event where we left off in the last lesson. The Israelites had just left Egypt after 400 years of slavery and were on their way to the land that God had promised their ancestor Abraham. Let's start by reading Exodus chapter 13 verse 21 and 22:
21 And God went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to shine on them, to go by day and night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
Can you hear the children talking to one another as they walked?
“Look at that cloud in front of us! My Dad says, that’s no ordinary cloud. It is God protecting us from the hot sun.”
“We’ll I am glad for that, it is nice to be in the shade in the day, otherwise it would be blistering hot out here.”
These great-great grandchildren of Abraham had every assurance that God was protecting them. During the day, the cloud kept them in good health, gave them guidance, and peace of mind. The Israelites knew that although they were going deeper into the desert, God was with them and had a plan. None of us want to wander through life not knowing for certain if we are going the right way. We all want a map, GPS unit, or guide that will help us get where we want to go. Well the cloud was there guide!
But God didn't leave the Israelites to fend for themselves at night. He provided a second miracle by turning the pillar of cloud into a pillar of fire! God knew how cold the desert gets and that a fire would keep them warm at night. So He once again provided for them physically. But God isn't concerned with just the physical health of His people. He also wants them to be mentally healthy. So He provided the pillar of fire to ease their fear. How so? By lighting up the desert and all those creepy crawlies! Under these conditions, the Israelites could rest and know that God was protecting them.
While the descendants of Jacob where moving closer each day to the Red Sea, the Egyptian Pharaoh began to seethe with jealousy and anger. Rescinding his word to let them ago, he commanded his armies to assemble and recapture Moses’ flock. A flock of people nearly a million strong! Can you imagine how fear and panic must have run through the group as word got out that there were chariots with swordsmen racing toward them! Listen to how the Holy Scriptures describe the moment in Exodus chapter 14 verses 9 and 10:
9 And the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. 10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were pulling up after them. And they were greatly afraid, and the children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah.
With wives, children, babies, and ox carts, the Israelites didn’t stand a chance against the trained soldiers of Egypt. They were terrified. Let's see what happened next in Exodus chapter 14 verses 13, 14, and 19:
13 And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Take your stand, and see the salvation of Jehovah, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall not see again forever. 14 Jehovah will fight for you, and you shall keep silent. 19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
Suddenly the cloud that they had always seen ahead of them moved mysteriously over top of them. As they watched, it moved directly between them and their approaching enemy! Like a brave husband would step between a drunken man and his wife. God placed Himself between the Israelites and the Pharaoh drunk with rage! But Exodus chapter 14 verse 20 describes something even more remarkable:
20 “And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.”
Essentially God had made a wall or fence around his people. On the inside of that fence there was bright light. A fire so God's people could prepare for their escape across the Red Sea. Can you imagine how afraid they would have been if there was only darkness? But God didn't want them to be afraid. He also didn't want them in confusion. The light allowed them to stay together and plan. But on the outside of God’s fence there was darkness. And you can imagine how afraid and confused Pharaoh’s army must have been. Remember they had already experienced the darkness of being outside God's will just days before.
There was one wall, but two sides. One side was filled with light and the other with darkness. It is very likely that Pharaoh’s soldiers cursed that dark, cloudy wall all night. While at the same time, the Israelites gave praises because it provided them with warmth, light and protection.
The question for us is how do we get on the inside of God's fence? Is there still a wall of protection today? Let's look at a promise that God gave to Moses. A promise of protection that everyone can rely on. It is found in Exodus chapter 23 verses 20-30:
20 Behold, I am sending an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Be on guard before Him and obey His voice; do not grieve Him, for He will not endure your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and will afflict those who besiege you.23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. 24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall tear them down to overthrow them, and break and shatter their pillars. 25 And you shall serve Jehovah your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 No one shall suffer miscarriage nor be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
Remember Selim at the beginning of this lesson? What would have happened had he not done what the village elders had said? For 44 years he would have thought he was right. He would have thought that he had defied those elders and proven them wrong. But on year 45, the village would have been destroyed for Selim’s rebellion.
Selim’s obedience brought protection to the village. But Selim didn’t build the original wall; it was there from ancient times. Similarly, God says that He wants to protect us. Do you know His protection is there for you all the time? And yes, sometimes in our mixed up, sin filled, battle zone of a world, bad things happen to good people. As we saw in the lesson about Job, Satan causes some of it. But if we are honest with ourselves, we can see that the choices we make also cause bad things to happen. One of those choices is to break down the wall that God has put up to protect us. Some people resent God, some doubt God, and some, like 22 year old Selim shoveling away at that old hill in the middle of his field, even try to destroy God's fence.
But remember, God offers to protect us through his Angel. He says if we will follow His guidance, obey Him and listen to His voice, He will do wonders for us. Let's finish with an illustration.
There were two young botanists from an Ankara University searching for a rare flower bulb on Mount Ararat. They wanted to see if they could multiply the flower in greenhouses and then replant it more broadly. They searched the mountain and after two days were elated to finally find one plant on the side of a steep cliff. But how would hey get it? They decided to offer a bribe to a young shepherd boy. They would pay him money if he would let them lower him over the cliff on a rope and dig up the plant.
The young boy told the botanists to wait. The men sat, ate their lunch and took a little nap in the mountain air. After a few hours the boy returned with an old man,
“If you will let this man hold the rope, I will go down the cliff.”
The two university students protested saying,
“But we are stronger than him.”
The boy handing the rope to the old man and smiling said,
“But he is my father.”
The boy had confidence his father would protect his life in a way that a couple strangers never would.
Although you may not see a pillar of cloud guiding you or a pillar of fire lighting your way, trust God in every situation. Pray, listen for His voice, and obey His Holy Words. Trust that He will protect you. You never know when a flood is coming and when you will need His "mound" of protection.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Have you ever felt like God was directly leading you? If so, when? If not, do you think you could trust God to do so?
2. What are you afraid of? How do try to protect yourself from it?
3. If you saw that pillar of cloud move over and stand between you and the approaching armies, how would you have felt
toward God?
4. Reflect on this statement: God’s protection is always there whether you make use of it or not is your choice. Do you think it is true? How do you show it to others?
5. In the next lesson we will see how God saves the Israelite people. What do you think He will do?
Our story takes place in a village with beautiful farmland near the city of Adana. The fields around the village produced thousands of tons of cotton. Although picking cotton was hard, hot work, the villagers were pleased with their land. They understood that the fertile land and cotton harvest was God’s gift to them and supplied them with a good life. The village sat happily on the vast Çukurova plain, stretching out to the South, long before the Seyhan dam had been built.
As the village grew and families multiplied, the young fathers began to acquire fields further from the village. One young man, named Selim, inherited a piece of ground and began to work it. In the center of the land was a long narrow hill that wound along for as far as the eye could see. It was about one and a half meters high, and about two meters wide. Why it bothered Selim, no one can rightly say. But to a boy who grew up on a plain, there was something unusual about that hill! A plain is meant to be flat and he wanted his field flat. So after he plowed the field and planted cotton, he began to work away at leveling that long narrow hill.
One day at the mosque several of the elders of the village surrounded Selim and said to him,
“Son, what you are doing is not wise. Our great-great grandfathers put that hill, there. It is a dike.”
Selim laughed and said,
“What does it protect us from? The river is a days walk from here.”
The old men said,
“This small hill protects our village and our homes from flooding. Once every hundred years there is such a flood.”
Then the village leader sternly said,
“You will put it back.”
Selim angrily spent sixty days of hard work, putting the dirt and stones back in place. It was that single event that never let him forget his 22nd year of life and made him hate that hill! Every time he went to his field, he wished he could see a flat cotton field. But instead he saw a mound, the one that he worked to remove and then shamefully had to put back.
Then one February day, two days before Selim’s 67th birthday, it started to rain. But the rain didn't stop and it began to pour like he had never seen before! It rained all through the night, the next day, and continued until the Seyer River burst its banks. Selim, now a village elder, walked to that dike in the middle of his field. He looked at the river that had always been a day’s journey away and now it was flowing at his feet. As he stood on that old long mound that he had held a grudge against for 45 years, he began to laugh. Here this pile of grass-covered dirt turned out to be his village’s savior. The whole village would have been at least a meter under water, had it not been for that hill. He smiled to himself looking at the swirling rushing water on his left and the village houses dry on his right. Then he looked down from the mound where he stood and realized that the long time enemy beneath his feet turned out to be a friend. As he walked home, he thought to himself,
“I am so lucky that I didn’t die at 66!”
That spring as Selim planted cotton he looked at the hill with a curious affection he had never known before.
Selim's story reminds us that it is possible to misjudge where our protection is coming from! What seemed like an enemy was actually a barrier, or fence if you will, of protection. Like all of the stories we have looked at, the Bible gives us an astounding picture of God’s protection. We can examine one such event where we left off in the last lesson. The Israelites had just left Egypt after 400 years of slavery and were on their way to the land that God had promised their ancestor Abraham. Let's start by reading Exodus chapter 13 verse 21 and 22:
21 And God went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to shine on them, to go by day and night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
Can you hear the children talking to one another as they walked?
“Look at that cloud in front of us! My Dad says, that’s no ordinary cloud. It is God protecting us from the hot sun.”
“We’ll I am glad for that, it is nice to be in the shade in the day, otherwise it would be blistering hot out here.”
These great-great grandchildren of Abraham had every assurance that God was protecting them. During the day, the cloud kept them in good health, gave them guidance, and peace of mind. The Israelites knew that although they were going deeper into the desert, God was with them and had a plan. None of us want to wander through life not knowing for certain if we are going the right way. We all want a map, GPS unit, or guide that will help us get where we want to go. Well the cloud was there guide!
But God didn't leave the Israelites to fend for themselves at night. He provided a second miracle by turning the pillar of cloud into a pillar of fire! God knew how cold the desert gets and that a fire would keep them warm at night. So He once again provided for them physically. But God isn't concerned with just the physical health of His people. He also wants them to be mentally healthy. So He provided the pillar of fire to ease their fear. How so? By lighting up the desert and all those creepy crawlies! Under these conditions, the Israelites could rest and know that God was protecting them.
While the descendants of Jacob where moving closer each day to the Red Sea, the Egyptian Pharaoh began to seethe with jealousy and anger. Rescinding his word to let them ago, he commanded his armies to assemble and recapture Moses’ flock. A flock of people nearly a million strong! Can you imagine how fear and panic must have run through the group as word got out that there were chariots with swordsmen racing toward them! Listen to how the Holy Scriptures describe the moment in Exodus chapter 14 verses 9 and 10:
9 And the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. 10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were pulling up after them. And they were greatly afraid, and the children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah.
With wives, children, babies, and ox carts, the Israelites didn’t stand a chance against the trained soldiers of Egypt. They were terrified. Let's see what happened next in Exodus chapter 14 verses 13, 14, and 19:
13 And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Take your stand, and see the salvation of Jehovah, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall not see again forever. 14 Jehovah will fight for you, and you shall keep silent. 19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
Suddenly the cloud that they had always seen ahead of them moved mysteriously over top of them. As they watched, it moved directly between them and their approaching enemy! Like a brave husband would step between a drunken man and his wife. God placed Himself between the Israelites and the Pharaoh drunk with rage! But Exodus chapter 14 verse 20 describes something even more remarkable:
20 “And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.”
Essentially God had made a wall or fence around his people. On the inside of that fence there was bright light. A fire so God's people could prepare for their escape across the Red Sea. Can you imagine how afraid they would have been if there was only darkness? But God didn't want them to be afraid. He also didn't want them in confusion. The light allowed them to stay together and plan. But on the outside of God’s fence there was darkness. And you can imagine how afraid and confused Pharaoh’s army must have been. Remember they had already experienced the darkness of being outside God's will just days before.
There was one wall, but two sides. One side was filled with light and the other with darkness. It is very likely that Pharaoh’s soldiers cursed that dark, cloudy wall all night. While at the same time, the Israelites gave praises because it provided them with warmth, light and protection.
The question for us is how do we get on the inside of God's fence? Is there still a wall of protection today? Let's look at a promise that God gave to Moses. A promise of protection that everyone can rely on. It is found in Exodus chapter 23 verses 20-30:
20 Behold, I am sending an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Be on guard before Him and obey His voice; do not grieve Him, for He will not endure your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and will afflict those who besiege you.23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. 24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall tear them down to overthrow them, and break and shatter their pillars. 25 And you shall serve Jehovah your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 No one shall suffer miscarriage nor be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
Remember Selim at the beginning of this lesson? What would have happened had he not done what the village elders had said? For 44 years he would have thought he was right. He would have thought that he had defied those elders and proven them wrong. But on year 45, the village would have been destroyed for Selim’s rebellion.
Selim’s obedience brought protection to the village. But Selim didn’t build the original wall; it was there from ancient times. Similarly, God says that He wants to protect us. Do you know His protection is there for you all the time? And yes, sometimes in our mixed up, sin filled, battle zone of a world, bad things happen to good people. As we saw in the lesson about Job, Satan causes some of it. But if we are honest with ourselves, we can see that the choices we make also cause bad things to happen. One of those choices is to break down the wall that God has put up to protect us. Some people resent God, some doubt God, and some, like 22 year old Selim shoveling away at that old hill in the middle of his field, even try to destroy God's fence.
But remember, God offers to protect us through his Angel. He says if we will follow His guidance, obey Him and listen to His voice, He will do wonders for us. Let's finish with an illustration.
There were two young botanists from an Ankara University searching for a rare flower bulb on Mount Ararat. They wanted to see if they could multiply the flower in greenhouses and then replant it more broadly. They searched the mountain and after two days were elated to finally find one plant on the side of a steep cliff. But how would hey get it? They decided to offer a bribe to a young shepherd boy. They would pay him money if he would let them lower him over the cliff on a rope and dig up the plant.
The young boy told the botanists to wait. The men sat, ate their lunch and took a little nap in the mountain air. After a few hours the boy returned with an old man,
“If you will let this man hold the rope, I will go down the cliff.”
The two university students protested saying,
“But we are stronger than him.”
The boy handing the rope to the old man and smiling said,
“But he is my father.”
The boy had confidence his father would protect his life in a way that a couple strangers never would.
Although you may not see a pillar of cloud guiding you or a pillar of fire lighting your way, trust God in every situation. Pray, listen for His voice, and obey His Holy Words. Trust that He will protect you. You never know when a flood is coming and when you will need His "mound" of protection.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Have you ever felt like God was directly leading you? If so, when? If not, do you think you could trust God to do so?
2. What are you afraid of? How do try to protect yourself from it?
3. If you saw that pillar of cloud move over and stand between you and the approaching armies, how would you have felt
toward God?
4. Reflect on this statement: God’s protection is always there whether you make use of it or not is your choice. Do you think it is true? How do you show it to others?
5. In the next lesson we will see how God saves the Israelite people. What do you think He will do?