Several years ago there was a book on the market called “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People.”  The mere fact that it was written, sold and came to my attention tells me this must be an important issue.  Working in the field of ritual abuse and with people who have been traumatized, tortured and abused all of their lives, this IS an issue of importance.   I have spent many hours in prayer, talking with colleagues, pastors and caregivers about this very real concern – how to keep survivors who are coming out of a ritual abuse background “safe.”  Those who are coming out of “generational” backgrounds of ritual abuse suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Panic Disorders and have had a lifetime of being mind controlled slaves to those more powerful in the occult world.  Part of keeping a person mind controlled is to keep them in fear and unbelief concerning Jesus Christ, God and the Church.  They also threaten their lives, the lives of their children and the life of anyone who is helping them.  Those of us in the healing community have had a strong desire to keep them safe and away from their abusers.  Many have gone to great lengths to “protect” and provide secure environments for those who are going through the healing process.  Recently I was prompted by those on our web site and those living in our community to help them understand how to find safety.  They are often afraid, in fear for their very lives and the lives of their children and family members still caught in the web of the occult.  This made me take a very serious look at the issues of safety, protection, and security from a Biblical point of view.  Not being able to protect creates guilt, anger, blame, fear, unbelief, pride, and rebellion.  Whenever a self-effort brings about this type of fruit we can rest assured that it is not from God.  This paper is an effort to understand God’s position on safety, security, protection, life and death issues.

SAFETY

OT: 983:betach (beh'takh);  a place of refuge; abstract, safety, both the fact (security) and the feeling (trust); often (adverb with or without preposition) safely:
KJV-assurance, boldly, (without) care (-less), confidence, hope, safe (-ly, -ty), secure, surely

Lev 25:18-19:  Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.

Lev 26:3-5:  If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

Already we see God establishing Himself as the One who provides our sustenance and our safety.

Deut 12:8-11:  You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.  But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety.

Deut 33:27-29: The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, `Destroy him!'  So Israel will live in safety alone; Jacob's spring is secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. Blessed are you, O Israel!  Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places.

Again, we see a picture of God being our refuge, our strength, a shield and helper, the One who gives us rest and provides our security and safety.

Job 5:6-12:  For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside.  The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.  He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.

Job 11:13-20:  Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning.  You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.  You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.  But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.

What a powerful picture He has given us as our protector.  He not only protects and provides for us but He provides and protects the earth.  Those who are against Him have NO HOPE, those who love Him will have NO FEAR.

Ps 4:8-5:1:  I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Ps 141:8-10:  But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge--do not give me over to death.  Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, from the traps set by evildoers.  Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.

Prov 3:21-26: My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.

Another beautiful picture of God establishing such peace and contentment that sleep will be “sweet” with no fear of harm.  And that no matter what the enemy plans, we will pass by in safety with no fear of “sudden disaster,” which most survivors have experienced over and over.  Many survivors fear that just when they begin to rest and enjoy life something will happen suddenly to destroy their joy and contentment, therefore they remain alert just allowing small bits of joy to flirt along the edges of their environment.  That is NOT God’s desire for any of His children.

Ezek 28:25-29:1: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.

Ezek 34:25-35:1: I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety.  I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.  The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.  They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.  I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.  Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD.  You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.'

Hos 2:18-21:  In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.  I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.  I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. In that day I will respond, declares the LORD

He continually gives the picture of His total care for His people.  He demonstrates His investment in all of His creation, those that love Him.  He provides land, rain, crops and safety, all the things that are necessary to sustain life.  He cares for His people as a husband is to care for his wife.

Ps 78:53: He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies.

Prov 1:33: But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.

He gives safety to those who love Him and He takes it away from those who reject Him and His people and there are times that He withdraws our safety to strengthen us through trials and tribulations:

1 Thess 5:1-3: Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Job 30:11-19: Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence. On my right the tribe attacks; they lay snares for my feet, they build their siege ramps against me.  They break up my road; they succeed in destroying me- without anyone's helping them.  They advance as through a gaping breach; amid the ruins they come rolling in. Terrors overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety vanishes like a cloud. And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me.  Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest.  In his great power [God] becomes like clothing to me; he binds me like the neck of my garment.  He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

SECURITY

OT:983: betach (beh'takh) properly, a place of refuge; abstract, safety, both the fact (security) and the feeling (trust); often (adverb with or without preposition) safely. 
KJV-assurance, boldly, (without) care (-less), confidence, hope, safe (-ly, -ty), secure, surely.

Again, we see a picture of God providing our safety and security when we can neither provide it for ourselves or for those around us.

Prov 10:9:  The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

Isa 32:17-20: The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.  My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.  Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.

1 Sam 12:11:  Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he (the Lord) delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.

 Job 24:22-23:  But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life. He gives them security, and they rely on it; Yet His eyes are on their ways.

The only security we can have concerning our life and the lives of our loved ones come from the security provided by our God. 

PROTECTION

So far we have to draw the conclusion from God’s Word that He is the Faithful provider for His people, for those who love Him and desire to walk in His ways.  The following verses show us that not only is God  the One who gives the protection but He is the One who has the power to take it away.

Num 14:9: Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.

Isa 22:8-11:  He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; you also saw the damage to the city of David, that it was great; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses you broke down to fortify the wall. You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.

WATCHMAN ON THE WALL

In developing my thoughts on safety and protection I decided to explore all the areas that might be viewed as avenues that provided protection to Israel in the Old Testament.  God appointed watchmen on the walls for a purpose, was it for protection and safety?  What does it mean to be a watchman or to have a watchman on the wall?

OT:8104:  shamar (shaw-mar'); a primitive root; properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to.
KJV -beware, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep (-self,), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch (-man).

It would seem that the primary job of a watchman is to “look, see and report.”  That job in itself provides safety for the camp.  If they see anything bad they are to report it to the community, if the community fails to respond to the warning, then it jeopardizes that person’s safety or the safety of the community.  God is the one who establishes the watchman for every community and He gives words of wisdom from Him to fore warn the people and then it is their responsibility to take heed.  But is it an avenue to provide safety for the people within the community?

Ps 127:1-2: Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

So, while we see there may be a need for a watchman on the wall it will be in vain if the Lord is not the primary guard and protector of the community.

Isa 21:6: For thus has the Lord said to me: Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees.

Ezek 3:17-4:1: Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:  When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.  Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.  Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul. Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, "Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you. So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.  Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: "Go, shut yourself inside your house.  And you, O son of man, surely they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and not be one to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house.  But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

Ezek 33:1-6: Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,  "Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: 'When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.  He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.  But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.'

Here is an example of the work of a WATCHMAN:

Jer 4:5-6-8:  Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!' Cry aloud and say: Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!'  Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction. A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out.  He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant.  So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.

With the watchman on the wall the protection and safety come from RESPONDING to the warning.  If the watchman does not give a warning then the (blood) guilt falls upon him. 

FORTIFIED CITIES AND WALLS

OT:1219: batsar (baw-tsar'); to be isolated (i.e. inaccessible by height or fortification):  
KJV-cut off, (de-) fenced, fortify, (grape) gather (-er), mighty things, restrain, strong, wall (up), withhold.

These were cities that had military might and were protected by walls, which were meant to provide safety.  The first place we find fortified cities with walls is when Israel went into the promised land to scout out the enemy and returned with a report: “The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.” (Deut. 1:28).  The giants and the fortified cities struck fear in the hearts of the Israelites.  But Moses, the wise man that he was responded with: "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."   The fortified walls did not provide safety for God’s enemies. And after Israel was established in the Promised Land and began to establish their own fortified cities, we can see that even those did not provide safety for the inhabitants.

Deut 9:1-3:  Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. The people are strong and tall--Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: Who can stand up against the Anakites? But be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the LORD has promised you.

Deut 3:3-6:  So the LORD our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors. At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them--the whole region of Argob, Og's kingdom in Bashan.  All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon

2 Kings 18:13: And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them

2 Chron 14:3-7:  He commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment.  He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him. And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest. Therefore he said to Judah, Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.

It would appear that when Israel was in obedience to God (in a correct relationship with Him) He approved their wall building projects.  When they fortified their cities to provide their OWN protection, God brought the enemies into Israel to tear the cities down.  He wanted to show them that their SELF EFFORT never met their physical, emotional or spiritual needs.

2 Chron 17:1-6: Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which Asa his father had taken.  Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel. Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.  And his heart took delight in the ways of the LORD; moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.

Again, these verses prove that our protection does not come from those things that man provides for himself, but from God and often in response to man’s obedience to His commandments.

2 Chron 32:1-8, 20-21: After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself.  And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem, he consulted with his leaders and commanders to stop the water from the springs, which were outside the city; and they helped him. And he strengthened himself, built up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired the Millo in the City of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance. Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and gave them encouragement, saying, ‘Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him.  With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.’ And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.  Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven.  Then the LORD sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned shamefaced to his own land.

After ALL the preparations that Hezekiah made, it came down to Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah praying and crying out to God for protection and help.  God’s response was to send an angel (singular) “who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria.  The protection did not come from all the arrangements made by King Hezekiah or the fortified cities.

Deut 28:52: They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down.

Jer 5:17:  They shall destroy your fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword.

Hos 8:14: For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send fire upon his cities, and it shall devour his palaces.

Again, the scriptures clearly point us to our Maker as our primary Caregiver, Protector, Redeemer and the One who watches over us day and night. 

FEAR OF THE LORD:

OT:3373: yare' --fearing, reverent, afraid (from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)

We are told that to fear the Lord is to prolong our life.  Therefore there is something that God is trying to help us understand about the importance of  “fearing God.”

Prov 10:27-29: The fear of the LORD prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened. The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.  The way of the LORD is strength for the upright, but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

Ps 34:11-19: Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.  Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?  Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.  Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.  The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.  The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.  Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

In Psalm 34 we see that it is not in our nature to fear the Lord; that we have to be taught.  The Lord is more than willing to teach us and He begins that instruction in Psalm 34:13-14 "watch what you say and be honest in your conversations with others, be aware of evil and depart from walking in evil ways (the ways of the pagans), seek goodness and peace and be humble in spirit."  When we do these things God will hear us when we cry out, He will deliver us from our troubles.  It is interesting to note that He states that MANY ARE THE AFFLICTIONS OF THE RIGHTEOUS.  We tend to believe that as we get closer to the Lord our problems will lessen.  That is not what He is saying here; it is just the opposite.  As we get closer to Him we will have more afflictions BUT “the Lord delivers him out of them all.”  As we begin to see God work in our lives we THEN begin to fear and respect Him above all else on earth.

Jer 32:37-41:  I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.  They will be my people, and I will be their God.  I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.  I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.  I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. 

Prov 1:29-33:  Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.

There is a price to pay for NOT fearing the Lord.  Proverbs 1 tells us that we will reap what we sow: “they shall eat the fruit of their own way and be filled TO THE FULL with their own fancies.”  We certainly live in a world that meets this criteria, it is a world that walks according to their own ways and ignores and scoffs at God.  “For the turning away of the simple will slay them and the complacency of fools will destroy them.” What does that mean?  “Sin is simplicity, and sinners are simple ones; they do foolishly, very foolishly; and the condition of those is very bad who love simplicity, are fond of their simple notions of good and evil, their simple prejudices against the ways of God, and are in their element when they are doing a simple thing, sporting themselves in their own deceivings and flattering themselves in their wickedness.  Fools that hate knowledge. None but fools hate knowledge. Those only are enemies to religion that do not understand it.  And those are the worst of fools that hate to be instructed and reformed, and have a rooted antipathy to serious godliness.” (from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible).  Those who stay rooted in these attitudes relinquish safety, protection, wisdom, knowledge and eternity.  More than that, God is AGAINST them.

Prov 9:10-11: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.

Prov 14:26-27:  In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.

The fear of the Lord provided a refuge, a fountain of life, safety, security, wisdom, knowledge and understanding.  This is a powerful picture of protection physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  Unfortunately in our human nature we tend to fear man more than we fear God, which impacts ALL AREAS OF OUR LIFE.  He states that when we truly walk in the fear of the Lord there is a STRONG confidence….in what?  A strong confidence in who He is and who we are as His children.  It eliminates our fears for our children, families, friends and ourselves.

Prov 16:6-7: In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil. When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Prov 19:23:  The fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.

Prov 22:4:  By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life.

Isa 11:1-3: There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch (Jesus, the Messiah) shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.  His delight is in the fear of the LORD.

Isa 33:6:  Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the LORD is His treasure.

Acts 9:31:  Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

Ps 119:38-40:  Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.  How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness.

Prov 19:23:  The fear of the LORD leads to life: then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

Prov 22:4: Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life.

 Jer 32:40: I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.

The above scripture verses demonstrate the power and importance of “fearing the Lord.”  It is an important part of our safety and well-being and it keeps us from turning away from Him.

LIFE AND DEATH

No matter what man’s wisdom states or how the enemy may try to deceive us, the truth is that LIFE and DEATH are in the hands of the One who created us.  Our well-being and our very life and the lives of those we love are in the hand of the Most High God. 

Gen 2:7: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Gen 6:17-18:  And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.  But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark--you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

Gen 7:22-23: All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.  So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.

We clearly see that God is in control of ALL LIFE and ALL DEATH. 

Deut 30:19-31:1:  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.

2 Sam 14:14:  For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.

Job 12:9-10: That the hand of the LORD has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

Ps 21:4: He asked you for life, and you gave it to him--The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?  When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

Ps 39:4-5:  Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath.

Ps 41:2-3:  The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.

Ps 49:7-9:  No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him--  the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough--  that he should live on forever and not see decay.

This is an important verse because in the occult realm a person is made RESPONSIBLE for the very lives of those around them, especially those they love.  If a person steps outside of the guidelines placed before them they have to pay a price, it usually has something to do with hurting or killing someone else.  They have to PAY A PRICE.  Their actions and obedience is the criteria for another person’s safety and protection.  All vows, agreements, oaths and covenants are established around “redeeming the life of another.”  Psalm 49 demonstrates that the oaths and agreements are established on lies and deception because NO MAN can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him.  God established His own ransom, His Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah.  There are no other acceptable ransoms that can pay for our sinfulness toward God.  Matthew 20:28: “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” and Romans 6:22-7:1: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Therefore He not only GAVE us life, He also ransomed and redeemed our lives from sin and death.

Ps 49:15:  But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. Who, O God, is like you?  Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.

Ps 91:14-16:  Because he loves me, says the LORD, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.

Ps 103:2-5:  Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things.

Ps 138:7: Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.

Prov 4:10: Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.

Prov 8:32-9:1: Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it.  Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.  For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.  But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.

Isa 42:5:  This is what God the LORD says--he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it.

Jer 10:23:  I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.

Jer 21:8:  This is what the LORD says: ‘See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.’

Jer 38:20-21: Obey the LORD by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared.

Jer 45:5:  Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the LORD, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.

Lam 3:58:  O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life.

Dan 5:23-24: But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

Matt 7:13-14: Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

John 1:3-5: Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

John 6:47-51:  I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.  Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.  But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Col 3:2-4:  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

James 4:14-15: Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.

Rev 11:11-12:  But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’  And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

There is no doubt, from the scriptures, that our very life breath came from God and continues to be in His hands alone.  We do not belong to ourselves; we were created by Him and for Him.  It is entirely up to Him as to whether we live or die, whether we are safe or handed over for a time of tribulation and affliction.  If Jesus, Himself, was handed over to man for a period of affliction then what makes us think that we should be exempt from trials and suffering.  Jesus was described as a man of sorrows: “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.  Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation?  For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked--but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”  Isaiah 53:3-9.  When we accept what He has done for us then we will identify with His suffering.  But, in the midst of our suffering we must understand that man cannot take our lives nor can Satan.  They can threaten but they do not hold the keys to life and death.

BIBLICAL EXAMPLES:

I am going to use 4 examples of God’s protection against the major obstacles one might come up against in this life: fire, beast, man, and the last enemy - death.

FIRE

Dan 3:13-25: Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. So they brought these men before the king.  Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up?  Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?"  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.  But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."  Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.  And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.  Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.  And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.  Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."  "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.  Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!  Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this."  Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon.

What a wonderful demonstration for the fear of the Lord over fear of man.  They knew that they faced certain death, but either God would deliver them or not.  They knew He had the power to do so, but if He chose NOT to deliver them from the fiery furnace, it didn’t matter to them, they STILL WOULD NOT worship the golden image.  They would rather die than to serve any other God.  Because of their faithfulness to God and their TESTIMONY before the King and his people, they gave up the golden image and began to worship the One True God.

BEAST

Dan 6:  Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.  Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.  So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: "Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions' den?"  The king answered, "The decree stands-in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.  Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed."  So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"  A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den.  When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"  Daniel answered, "O king, live forever!  My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."  The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Another wonderful example of the fear of the Lord verses the fear of man.  Daniel did not care whether he lived or died, he would not worship any other God.  He would rather face the lions and certain death!  Again, when he went into the lion’s den he did NOT KNOW whether he would live or be torn apart by the lions.  God blessed Daniel’s fear of Him while those who accused him before King Darius died along with their families.  The end result?  “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people MUST FEAR AND REVERENCE THE GOD of Daniel.” God took Daniel’s FEAR OF GOD and used it as a TESTIMONY to the power of the One True God.

MAN

1 Sam 17: Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.  Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other.  David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers.  As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.  When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.  David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."  Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."  But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you." Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.  He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him.  He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.  "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"  David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."  As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.  Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.  So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

David was just a young man.  When the whole army of Israel saw the giant THEY RAN AWAY FROM HIM IN FEAR.  David, most likely the youngest among the group gathered; felt no fear of man.  He had already had experience with God giving him the strength to overpower his enemies (a lion and a bear).  When King Saul saw no fear in the young man he agreed to let him be their spokesman.  The giant saw only a young lad and David saw an opportunity to glorify the Most High God: “But I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord WILL hand you over to me and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.”  1 Samuel 17:45-46.  He not only made very confident statements but he followed them up by RUNNING TOWARD THE BATTLE.  Israel had run away from the giant while David RAN QUICKLY toward the battle line to meet him.  David demonstrated NO FEAR of this man nor his reputation.  Everyone was watching David, his brothers, the King, the army of Israel, the “champion from Gath” and his Philistine army.   David didn’t care who was watching, he just knew that God was capable of defeating this champion from Gath, this giant, and he wanted to give God the glory IN FRONT OF all of these people!  David did not fear man and therefore God replaced King Saul with King David.

THE LAST ENEMY TO BE DEFEATED: DEATH

John 11: Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.  When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.  "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"  "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."  And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you."  When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.  Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.  When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.  When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"  But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"  Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.  "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."  Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"  So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."  When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.  Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."  Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.

Jesus conquered sin and death.   The question is not how do I stay safe or keep from dying, the question is WHO will I serve while I live and WHO do I choose to die for?  John 12:25-26 states: The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.  My Father will honor the one who serves me.