We have Psalm 91 today! I LOVE Psalm 91 for protection, provision and safety! Verse 1:
1HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
"He who dwells" is the Hebrew word, "yashab", which means: to remain, to stay, to have one's abode, to abide, to inhabit. That is a picture of someone who is spending a great deal of time in a particular place! "In the secret place" is the Hebrew word, "cether", which means: a covering, a hiding place, a shelter, a "secret place" - the dictionary definition of secret is: beyond ordinary understanding, known or shared only by the initiated! That is truly the place that this Psalm is talking about. I like to call it the place of being aware of His presence through, prayer, praise and worship, study and meditation of His Word and fellowship with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! As a believer, the Spirit of God lives IN YOU! THAT is the secret place! The place where you commune with him and no one else can go there! Not in YOUR secret place! We all have to find our own! All of these promises are for our protection and are found in that place! I especially like verses 7-8:
7A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
8Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
Only a spectator! I like that! All of these promises of protection are available to those who will stay in continual fellowship with HIM! It takes diligence and consistency to stay in that kind of fellowship, but it is worth every moment! And verse 16 sums it all up:
16With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.
Long life is a GOOD thing and His "salvation" is the Hebrew word, "yeshuw`ah"! Do you recognize THAT Name? It means: salvation, deliverance, welfare , prosperity and victory! That sounds like God to me!
Luke 3 tells of John's preaching to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming Messiah. Jesus hadn't yet entered into His ministry, and, when He did, it was with the same Holy Spirit anointing that we operate in today!
In Numbers 25-26 we see the Israelites AGAIN turning away from God, after all that he had done for them! AGAIN they reaped the results of their disobedience! After all of this the Lord had Moses and Eleazar (Aaron's son) take a census of all the men 20 years old and older. The key verses here are 64-65:
64But among these there was not a man of those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sinai.
65For the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. There was not left a man of them except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
The Israelites never entered into the promised land as long as those who were adults at the time of the evil report by the 10 spies were still alive! You and I can take God at His Word! If He said it, it's DONE! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
