God's Hedge

"Then Satan answered the Lord and said, 'Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him 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 1:9-10)

Surely all of us can recall instances throughout our lives when we should have suffered greatly or even perished due to unwise choices. Yet somehow, we avoided calamity. I’ve always thought of such instances as convincing evidence of one of God’s hedges around those who believe in and seek Him. The word "hedge" is found in Scripture in this context primarily in Job and Hosea, defined essentially as "to hedge, or fence up or about."

A hedge or fence provides two basic forms of protection. First, it serves to contain livestock. Like sheep, we often wander off in pursuit of something that looks a bit greener, rarely considering the dangers waiting in the tall grass. The hedge prevents us from wandering into ruin. Second, it protects what is contained from outside attack; a thief or predator must go over or through the fence, which makes an assault difficult. A third, initially less obvious but invaluable benefit provided by an enclosure is a sense of security. It offers those inside peace of mind.

God’s hedge can be seen and sensed in varying forms in our lives if we’re looking for it. The Ten Commandments and the laws found in Leviticus were, and remain, one of God’s first hedges. One might think of these laws as simply a code of conduct, but study confirms them to be a written definition of what is—and what is not—loving. For the Children of Israel, the law was a moral and spiritual guardrail that protected them from harming themselves and others.

They enjoyed a sense of security as they strove to stay within those confines, but the law was a limited form of protection since it required perfect compliance. The problem wasn’t the hedge itself—the Law—but our inability to stay within its lines. When Jesus came, He revealed that the law actually serves to drive home the reality that we cannot consistently conform to its confines. As Paul concluded, “The letter [law] kills” (2 Cor. 3:6). We need more protection than the law alone can provide.

We rarely dwell on it, but we are also blessed with more active and personal hedges, like guardian angels. “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). We often thank God for the accidents we survived, but we rarely think to thank Him for the ones that never happened because the hedge held firm. Sometimes we seek this protection through prayer, but often we receive it without even asking, simply because God knows our hearts.

God’s final, magnificent hedge is realized through Jesus’ invitation: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). We are the lost sheep of God—now found by the Good Shepherd. “I am the door,” our Savior reveals (John 10:9). In ancient times, the shepherd would

often lie across the entrance of the fold at night; nothing could get in or out without crossing over his body. By faith, Jesus becomes that for us. He is the door to a kingdom nestled safely within a priceless hedge of eternal security.

Within it, we find freedom from the evil one’s most powerful weapons: guilt, shame, and the feeling of being unworthy of God’s love. We enter this Kingdom not by our own merit, but cloaked in the righteousness earned by God’s obedient Son. Through our faith in the perfect work of our Savior, the evil one still complains about our state, just as he did with Job: “Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?”

Father, thank You for the hedge of Your protection that surrounds us, even when we are unaware of the dangers we’ve escaped. Help us to trust the "fences" You have placed in our lives, knowing they are built from Your love and designed for our peace. When we are tempted to wander, draw us back to the safety of Your presence. Thank You for being our Door and our Shepherd, providing a security that the world cannot take away. Amen.

mgb