My mom used to pray asking that God would put a hedge of protection around me. I imagined very tall bushes… and I wondered exactly how this would protect me and where she got the idea?
The hedge phrase comes from the book of Job where the adversary is complaining to God, “Have You not made a hedge (sakta) about Job and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” Job 1:10
Being hedged-in by God comes up again in Psalms. 139 (my favorite passage) says, “You have enclosed/hedged (sartani) me behind and before, and have laid Your hand upon me.” Psalm 139:5
Sakta – to entwine, i.e. Shut in (for protection or restraint) –make a fence, hedge (up).
Sartani – assault, beset, besiege, bind up, distress, fashion,
Those definitions from the BibleHub app reveal not only that God brings protection from evil, but also retrains me from going too far! His enclosure is both an assault and a distress to the enemy. My mom was right! God promises to protect His children from within and without with His hedge.
Ah the beautiful and unseen provisions of God. I will never fully know His loving care until I meet Him face to face. For now, I will continue to marvel at His Word as it lets me peek a bit into His deep, deep love.
How can I not echo the Psalmist: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain to it (take it all in).” Psalms 139:6
ForGlorySake! -Anna
