Sanctuary-
God has been speaking to me over the past month or so about
sanctuary.Through that time he has added scripture and complexity to
my thinking on the subject of Sanctuary.
The
beginning of my study was Isaiah 8:10-11
Devise your strategy,
but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand,
for God is with us. The Lord spoke to me not to follow the way of
this people. 13-14The
Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard holy, He is the one you
are to fear, He is the one you are to dread, and He will be
sanctuary.
There is more in this scripture, but I have included the verses he
originally pointed me to concerning sanctuary. It has become one of
my favorite passages. The take away is that we must only fear and
dread separation or displeasure from our God. He is the one with all
power and the right to redeem or condemn and He will be sanctuary!
This was provided by Jesus' life, death and resurrection.
Now
a moment about what I learned about sanctuary through the years: It
is a place of refuge where a person who is subject to retribution
-even to the point of death- may live without fear of vengeance or
harm. As a visual to the believer, God set up cities where people who
were under the curse of vengeance could live productive lives in
freedom. God promises if we regard him as sovereign and holy, he
will be that dwelling of safety forever.
I've
always loved but felt unsure about Psalm
91
until I began to understand the principle of sanctuary taught in the
old testament and fulfilled by Jesus in his life, death and
resurrection. Verses 9-10
If you make the
Most High your dwelling-even the Lord, who is my refuge (sanctuary)-
then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
The
description of safety and divine relationship throughout this Psalm
is amazing. I feel these verses summarize it. If we make him our
'home' the plan of Satan, the curse of this world is broken.
In
the sanctuary cities, a man who was subject to condemnation and
retribution was safe as long as he remained there. If he decided to
walk outside the city, he was subject to attack by his accusers.
Psalm 91
begins “Whoever
dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge (sanctuary) and
my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you
from the fowler's snare and the deadly pestilence. He will cover you
with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge
(sanctuary).
Israel
is God's chosen people by promise that he says he will not break, but
it also is God's picture of rescue, redemption, deliverance and
refuge. Deuteronomy
32:10-11 In a desert
land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and
cared for him; He guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle
that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads it's
wings to catch them and carries them on his pinions.
God
finds us! He cares for us. He guards us. He carries us. If we fall,
he spreads his wings to catch us. The New Testament says “While we
were sinners, Christ died for us.” It is stressed again and again
that salvation is of God. Faith is of God. Sanctuary is God. Our duty
is to change our mind -repentance- to align it with the truth of God
by the faith he has provided all mankind. As stated in the beginning,
He is the only one to fear or dread and he is our Sanctuary!
Psalm
62:5-7
Find rest, O my
soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and
my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation,
and my honor depend on God; He is my rock and my refuge (sanctuary).
In
Psalm 73 the
writer is distressed by all the inequity and evil about him. “NO
FAIR!” he cries, “I've lived right in vain.” Two things occur
to me here. The psalmist had lost sight of redemption and provision
as described in Psalm 91 and cast his heart and eyes to the world and
it's system. Verse 1-3
Truly
God is only good to Israel, even to those who are pure in heart. But
as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped.
For I was envious of the foolish and arrogant when I saw the
prosperity of the wicked.
I don't think God loses track of us when we walk out of Sanctuary,
but I think we come under attack and are vulnerable to old ways of
wanting and doing. But in verses 16-17
the
psalmist tells us
When I tried to
understand all this it was oppressive to me till I entered the
sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. A
simple step back into sanctuary lets a person see the truth of God
and covers him from the destruction of the enemy.
I
must admit that this next thought is stirring in my spirit and head.
It is not totally congealed. In 2
Samuel 3
we have the story of Abner. He was King Saul's companion, commander
and body guard. He was a great military man and had the respect of
all Israel. When Saul died, he remained loyal to his descendants
until they abandoned him -possibly out of fear. He then joined
David, who had served under him at one time. In the defeat of Saul,
Joab's brother Asahel was chasing Abner to kill him. Abner asked him
to stop and finally killed him. Joab vowed he would execute vengence.
Abner went to Hebron -a sanctuary. There Joab could not touch him.
David
accepted Abner and sent him out on a kingly mission. It occurred to
me that under the Kings orders, Abner was able to walk the world in
safety. But when he returned to Hebron, the mission was over. We pick
up the story in verse 27
Now when Abner
returned to Hebron (a sanctuary), Joab took him aside in the gateway,
as though to speak with him privately. There, to avenge the blood of
his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach and he died.
Once the covering of Abner's mission ended, Joab had right of
vengeance. So he stopped him on the way into the city, convinced him
to step aside and killed him. Without that step Abner would have been
under the protection of the sanctuary. Later, David referred to
Joab's act as 'murder' and he instructed his heir about clearing the
kindom of his offence.
Verses
33-34 The
King sang this lament for Abner: Should Abner have died as the
lawless die? Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered.
Some translation say should
Abner have died as a fool dies? When we walk in this world, we are
subject to harm. I don't understand all of this yet, but the Spirit
is teaching me. As long as Abner was serving the King, he was covered
by the principle of sanctuary. When he stepped back out of the gate
in response to Joab, he was subject to the law or retribution. He was
not captured and dragged out. Our enemy has stealth, but we must
always remember, he has our destruction as his goal.
God
takes our new lives in him very personal. Isaiah 46: 4-5 Even
to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will
rescue you. “With whom will you compare me or count me equal? To
whom will you liken me that we may be compared?”
The protection of Psalm 91, Isaiah 8, Psalm 62 is real. It is for
those who enter into Him in covenant by faith and the alignment of
our minds with his Truth and grace (repentance). We escape the curse
pronounced to Adam by his choice of Satan's logic. We live in a state
of sanctuary. But our enemy waits to convince us that there is
something important and fulfilling outside. Stepping out of his
coverage by realigning with carnal thinking puts us under enemy fire.
Yet protection is one thought away. It is much to think on and apply
through faith -not carnal wisdom.
