RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2021-02-25	Under His Wings You Shall Take Refuge (Ps.91:4)
		Psa 91:4  He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. There are many phrases used in the Bible that are still used today. And to take someone under his wings is certainly one of them. It has the idea to care for, to teach, or to guide. Scripture uses under His wings as a metaphor for the protective refuge of God's presence. The imagery is of a mother bird taking her vulnerable hatchlings under her wings to nurture, shelter, and to protect. Jesus applied this phrase concerning unbelieving Israel of His day (Mt.23:37). Mat 23:37  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Boaz recognized that Ruth, the Moabite foreigner had sought refuge under the God of Israel's wings (Ru.2:12). Rth 2:12  The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. The psalmist seeks refuge and shelter “under His wings” (Ps.57:1; 61:4), and under the “shadow of His wings” (Ps.36:7; 63:7). Psalm 91 takes this idea further. In verse 1 the psalmist says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The Jewish people associated God’s presence with the Holy of Holies. This was the innermost chamber where only the High Priest could enter once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people (He.9:7). In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant covered by the Mercy Seat. This represented God's presence. The Mercy Seat had two hammered gold cherubim with wings overshadowing the Ark (Ex.25:20). Exo 25:20  And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. The one who “dwells in the secret place of the Most High” and “abides in the shadow of the Almighty” is the one whose sins have been atoned for and who stands clean and forgiven. Only then can one say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust” (Ps.91:2). Those who are protected by the salvation of the Lord will dwell forever in God's presence. They will escape death and the snare of the devil (Ps.91:3). They may now enter the secret place, the Holy of Holies for rest (He.10:19-22). In fact, we can boldly approach God's throne of grace anytime, not just once a year (He.4:16) This access is made available because the death of Jesus on the cross, with His shed blood, opened up a new living way (He.4:16). Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Because of the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus, we can forever abide under His wings which is the protective shelter of His presence. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

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