We are guarded
Posted by Jeffrey Smith November 23rd, 2015 1,801 Views 0 Comments
Isaiah 27:1-5: The Lord will punish with His sword, His fierce, great and powerful sword, Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; He will slay the monster of the sea. In that day-- Sing about a fruitful vineyard; I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually, I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire. Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.
This scripture is so complete in how it shows the heart of God. The Father tells us all we need to know about who He is in this passage. He is our protector, our deliverer, and yet He longs to let more and more people come under His protection.
The Father guards His children with ferocity. He will fight our battles and He watches over us all day and night so that no harm will fall on us. The Father shows us what He does for us, as well as who and what He protects us from.
Leviathan is the name for a massive sea snake. The snake is symbolic for temptation against us. Temptation that leads to death. The gliding serpent is one that moves around us with no sudden movement, but is a continual presence. Can anyone relate to that? If you struggle with overeating, imagine Thanksgiving food, Christmas food, New Year’s food. It is ever-present and always looming. You know that it will be there, and the temptation to over-indulge is right there gliding around you. The excuses are built in, "c'mon it’s the holidays, eat, drink, be merry." For some of us, this is a huge trap and temptation. The coiling serpent is the threat of harm. A coiling serpent is one that is about to strike. Can anyone relate to that? That is a temptation that threatens some area of our lives. Imagine that you’re faced with symptoms in your life of a sickness, your mind can go to some pretty scary places. You can find yourself looking up symptoms on the internet and self-diagnosing some horrible death sentence. That is the feeling of impending doom. Do not fall for it. God's promise is to protect us from all of it.
Instead the word tells us to sing about a successful life, and bearing fruit. He guards our life, our work, our health, and our children. Anyone or anything that tries to come against us will be dealt with by God. We no longer have to worry about these things.
The Lord is telling us that He wishes it would be simply non-human weeds, but that He is willing to defend His children regardless of the foe. He is not angry with anyone, but His promise is that His children are protected and fruitful.
His desire is for those who oppose us to come to Him and be at peace. It is only through Jesus that peace is made, and so when we have others come against us in any way, rest in Jesus, because it is through Him we have peace with the Father. It is through the Father that we have protection, and a fruitful life. Give Jesus the praise, and show those who oppose you how much peace you have in knowing that your life is protected, blessed, and prosperous through our Father, the great deliverer, the defender of His children. Praise, sing, and shout His name. In Jesus name. Amen.