Psalms 118:12
“They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.”
A few years ago I was part of an outreach in a remote area of northern Ghana. One afternoon a few of us went for a walk along a path that led us to the small river that skirted the village. As we weaved our way through the bush we were suddenly confronted with an odd buzzing sound. At first it was difficult to discern exactly where it was coming from, that is, until, we made our way past a large tree and the obscure noise suddenly made sense. We had inadvertently walked right beside a large bee hive. We could now see what was making all that noise. We immediately turned and began to run as fast as our legs would take us. As we ran a friend reminded us of the B-budget movie from the 70’s about a swarm of killer African bees that attacked unsuspecting people. All we could think of was to run for a body of water to dive into and escape.
Fortunately, we escaped unharmed and were able to laugh about our close encounter with the dangers of wild Africa. Apparently, the psalmist had some bee experiences of his own that he reflected upon when times got tough. He speaks of his trials surrounding him like a swarm of bees. It does not take personal experience to know that this would create chaos, confusion and fatigue. While we may not all have been chased by bees, we can all speak of times when difficulties mounted up against us and made life almost unbearable and all we could think of was how to escape. During those times it is important to remember that the mercy of God endures forever and that He wants to come to our aid and to provide us with comfort for the difficulty and ultimately deliverance from our struggles.
If life is like a swarm of bees turning your world upside down, remember that there is a secret place of the most high where you can hide and find comfort, protection and deliverance.
Jim
No matter where we live, we are faced with the storms of life. Growing up in California, I was constantly reminded of the great earthquake that was looming on the horizon. We were told that because of the fault lines, one day California would fall into the sea. Upon moving to Florida, the new fear was the hurricane. A few years back, a particularly large hurricane had developed in the warm waters of the South Atlantic. The atmospheric conditions were such to allow this storm to grow larger and larger as it traveled north. All of the models had it making landfall just outside of my home town. Having never experienced a hurricane before, I was glued to the Weather Channel for information. A hurricane this large had never been tracked before; it was larger than the state of Texas, and had wind speeds over 140 mph. People up and down the coast of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina were heading west for safety. One news station reported that hotels, as far as Kentucky were filling up, as people searched for a safe place in the storm. I felt stuck. I did not know where to go. In a last-minute decision, we drove across the state and stayed with friends, figuring though we might not be avoiding the storm, at least we would have the comfort of going through it together. Fortunately, the storm moved north, missing Florida all together, and reducing in size drastically as it met cooler waters. I came to the realization, no matter where we live, we are faced with the storms of life, and must determine where we will run for safety.
Many of the cities throughout Israel were designated as “Cities of Refuge.” This meant, if a person accidentally caused the death of another, he could flee to one of these cites for protection from the revenge of the victim’s devastated family. The rules governing these cities were simple. If death was caused accidentally, the guilty could flee to the city, and remain safe within its borders, until the death of the reigning High Priest. After his death, the crime was completely forgiven and the individual was free to return to his normal life. This law was designed to curb vengeance, but also serves as a picture for us of the work of Christ.
Deuteronomy is a compound word meaning “Second Law”, and is a recap of the instructions Moses gave to the first generation of believers who had been delivered from Egypt. Forty years have passed and a new generation has arisen in Israel. Consequently, it became necessary to rehearse the Law before the people entered the land of promise. Much of what is found in Deuteronomy is a recap of what was first presented in Exodus, Leviticus or Numbers. This is true of the law regarding cities of refuge. Numbers 35 gives us much greater detail regarding these cities. In it we find:
Jim Gallagher 