Smoodock's Blog

When we pray for friends or relatives as they take a journey, we, often, ask the Lord to place a “hedge” about them for protection. We did this in the church, where I worshiped, before I moved away, and my wife and I still do it for those we love. Where does that idea come from, whereby we desire that God would “place a hedge” about a person, and what does it mean? Actually, the words, themselves, come from satan, Job’s enemy! Imagine! We actually use his words to bless those we love. The words are found in Job 1:10, where satan is speaking with God “…have you not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land!”

In effect, Job’s satan made a bet with God, saying Job would curse God, if he removed the hedge the Lord had placed around Job (Job 1:11), and God accepted satan’s bet (Job 1:12), which begs the question: “Does God gamble?” No, he doesn’t, but that would take us away from the study at hand, so it must wait for another day! So, the Lord accepted satan’s wager, and removed the hedge he had placed around Job, his family and all that was his. From this, we are able to understand that the Lord places a hedge about some folks, but he isn’t obligated to continue doing so. He may remove it without warning or put it in place without telling anyone. He is God, and God answers to no one. Neither is he obligated to reply to folks who question him for permitting disaster to strike, asking “Why, Lord? Why have you done so?”

When I was growing up, I was a devout Catholic. When I became of age, I desired to be an altar-boy and assist the priest during our worship service. Several times during the ceremony, the priest would turn from the altar and face the assembly and would say aloud: “Dominous vobiscum,” which is Latin for the Lord be with you. It is a greeting used in Ruth 2:4 by Boaz when he greeted his field servants. Modern Jews often greet one another with “Shalom!” which means “Peace!” The intent is to bless one another with the Lord’s presence: may the Lord’s peace be with you.

The idea is that mankind had been at war with God ever since Adam declared his independence in Genesis 3 by rebelling against his Creator. All other sins could be forgiven outright, but rebellion, seeking independence, couldn’t be forgiven without repentance. So, whenever a man sought after God, he did so, seeking a reunion with God and leaving off the rebellion he was born into. So, Shalom or the Lord be with you was a greeting religious folks used/use to bless his brethren by asking that the Lord bless them, or put a hedge about them. The hedge was a return to the Garden of Eden, prior to the rebellion. The garden was a place where man and his God met and talked (cp. Genesis 3:8-9). There was peace there; there was blessing there. There, one found himself in the presence of God!

Later, the Lord would say to Abraham: “I am your shield… and your exceeding great reward!” It was a promise of protection and prosperity. Moses claimed the Lord would be with his people when their enemies fought against them (Deuteronomy 33:27). However, if the Lord withdrew from them, their enemies would be able to slay and conquer them (cp. Isaiah 5:25). It was like the Lord casting them out of his presence (cp. Genesis 3:22-23). In other words, where the Lord is, there is blessing, but, if one leaves his presence, one leaves his peace, and one has no blessing.

Nevertheless, in Job’s case, he didn’t withdraw from God. Rather, God withdrew from him in order to accommodate a wager with satan! What’s happening, Lord. Why have you done so? Why am I in such dire straits? Does God owe us an explanation? No, he doesn’t, not any more than a conquering army owes the conquered an explanation for the things they do. The conquered may disagree with the things that are done and ask for an explanation, but no explanation is owed them. God is free to be God, just as man is free to be who he is. It is only by his grace, his gratuitous favor, that God blesses those who seek him, but he also has the right to remove any blessing he has given. The idea my seem repulsive to us, but it is true, nonetheless. However, God is good. He has integrity and has good reason for the things he does (Jeremiah 29:11), even when it doesn’t seem like he is blessing us.

The idea of the Lord removing the hedge he put about his people concerns building their strength, enlarging their faith (James 1:2-4). If Abraham’s faith was never tried, how would he or anyone else know how strong his faith was (cp. Genesis 22:1-14), and because Abraham endured the trial, not only was he blessed, but all nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 22:16-18). Thus, we are able to conclude that the blessings prior to the trial do not ascend to the blessings one receives after the trial is over. So, one could say, the Lord accepted satan’s wager in order to bless Job even more than he had already blessed him. Indeed, satan opened the door to greater blessings for Job.

In conclusion, while in the Garden of Olives, Jesus, for the first time in eternity experienced what seemed to be an emptiness, a lack of the presence of his Father. This apparent withdrawal of God from his Son continued, until Jesus gave up his life on the cross. However, communion with his Father was restored at the resurrection, and because Jesus endured the Father’s withdrawal, we have the blessing of being in the presence of God, when we receive Jesus as our Savior. We are blessed forever, because Jesus endured God removing from him the hedge of communion with his Father, taking away one blessing in order to bless him more abundantly.