God demands to be our hedge

Published 9:26 pm Friday, January 11, 2008

By Staff
A hedge is a means of protection, a margin that can move us back from the edge of reality.
We like hedges. Comfort zones are provided by hedges. There is nothing wrong with hedges except when we build or develop our own and forget God.
There is a fine line between faith and foolishness. God calls our attention to the ant in Proverbs, chapter 6, verses 6 and 8: "Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise . . . [She] provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest."
God has ordained seasons to do certain things. The apostle Paul encouraged saving up to give in a special offering in 1 Corinthians, chapter 16, verse 2, but God condemns the one who withholds his corn in a time of need (Proverbs 11:26). Proverbs, chapter 13, verse 22, encourages people to leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, while warning against the peril of the ease of gaining inheritance (Proverbs 20:21).
What is the balance? The balance is to always acknowledge God as provider and owner. God will heap blessing on those who have rightly determined who the Owner is and how to follow His instructions.
The most hateful hedge for God is idolatry. Idolatry negates God and establishes us.
When God delivered His people Israel out of Egypt, they were just like their hosts. They lived in the ways of the Egyptians. God had been silent for 400 years. There were no priests, prophets, or rabbis. The people were slaves to their Egyptian masters in work and culture.
God went to a lot of trouble, humanly speaking, to manifest Himself and His power to Israel and to the entire world. Ten plagues devastated Egypt while Israel lived in peace and security. When the time came for Israel to depart Egypt, God ordained the big chase when Egypt pursued Israel right to the banks of the Red Sea. God parted the waters, Israel walked across the seabed on dry land, and the army of Egypt drowned in the depths when God released the walls of water. Israel witnessed all this and saw the corpses of Egyptian soldiers wash up on the seashore.
God led Israel into the wilderness and provided water, food, and military might "just in time" every time. They came to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. Here God intended to establish His people morally and culturally above the rest of the world. God called Moses up to the mountain to give him the Law, which was the means to pull the people forward in the means and ways of living before God and manifesting His glory.
All the people had to do during this time was trust and wait. They certainly had enough record with God to know His power and care for them.
Trusting and waiting are not in the human psyche naturally. The children of Israel wanted a hedge. They desired to do what they wanted to do. At this point, they were not sure all God had in store for them in lifestyle, so they reverted to the old ways. The Egyptian world was established on the principles of the world: "Get all you can and can all you get."
First of all, Israel thought they needed an idol, a symbol of Egypt and the lifestyle. Once the idol was in place, the orgy began. When you fashion your own God, you can also fashion your own theology.
Rather than trusting and waiting, Israel indulged. Read God's response in the Old Testament book of Exodus, chapter 32, verses 1-10.
A hedge is anything we put in the place of trusting and waiting on God. Even today we can have a hedge in our sex life, our financial life, our family life, our church life, etc.
God delights in His people listening to Him, trusting in Him, and waiting on Him. Every hedge we fashion to keep from trusting and waiting on God will come to ruin.
Trusting and waiting are difficult. It seems that God never gives as much information as we think we need. That is where faith comes in. God is very capable of being God. We must let Him!