The Hedge of Protection

UV 825/10,000 The Hedge of Protection “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds spread throughout the land.” Job 1 v 10 Only when the Lord God removed the hedge of protection around Job and his family and his possessions, could satan attack him. Job’s fear of God made him shun evil. He was blameless and upright in his generation. Yet he was not self righteous and he offered a sacrifice of a burnt offering for each of his partying children early in the morning. This resulted in his winning God’s favour and His grace was a hedge around him and his. We too cannot take God’s holiness for granted even as we believe and confess our faith in God’s sacrifice for all time for each of His children early in history. We are called to be blameless and upright or walking in integrity. Integrity implies alignment between what we believe, confess and profess. When we believe in Christ grace, it is like a cloud of blessings just above us. When we live in such a way as to please the Lord as Job did, the cloud will descend and bless the work of our hands and multiply the fruit of our labour. It will also become a hedge of favour and protection around us and our own. A hedge needs to be maintained, trimmed and cared for. Similarly, we cannot take God’s protection and favour for granted. We need to be thankful and show it in our daily walk. Our blessings and word of it will then spread throughout the land. These past years as I offered my sacrifice early every morning whether I was at home or while travelling, the Lord has placed a hedge around me, my family, our vehicles, our pet dog Rocky since we don’t own a flock and our staff. Satan, wily fox that he is, has at times tried to find a breach in the hedge but the Lord has confronted him with a wall of fire beyond the hedge. Satan has to often flee with his pants on fire. I know of one group of readers of the uni-verse who have formed a group called “ the Hedge” and they regularly pray and encourage each other. Job in his time and age was in the habit of praying for only his own welfare and that of his family but we are called to pray for a hedge around our leaders, around the poor and need and around the workers in His vineyard in all nations. Prateep V Philip