The place of salvation
Page 10
CHAPTER TEN
THE PLACE OF REFUGE
While in Egypt, all the plagues that befell the land could not harm the people that were in Goshen, because they were found in God. They were all shielded from the plagues regardless of where they were in the physical. It wasn’t Goshen as a geographical location that kept them from harm. It was the place where the covenant had brought them into with God.
The Lord said to Moses, “… when I see the blood, I will pass over you and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses” so Israel was preserved not because they locked themselves in their houses but by reason of the blood. That night when the angel came all of Israel was saved. The scriptures said that not even an animal in all the camp of Israel was killed talk more of any of their child.
The place we are talking about is not a physical place it is a spiritual place in God that gives us a cover even if we are walking in the physical realms.
When Israel was about to take down Jericho; Joshua sent spies into the land. The king of Jericho was informed of their presence which necessitated them to hide in the house of a prostitute named Rahab.
Rahab had heard about what Israel had done in their previous battles and she knew the God of Israel was a powerful God. As a matter of fact, all Jericho was in fear of the Israelites. The gates of the city were shut such that no man came in or went out of the city.
The king had been informed of the spies that they had gone to Rahab’s house, when he sent messengers to her, she would not give them up. But the woman had another plan at heart. She aimed to save her family so at the instructions of the spies she brought her family and loved ones into the house where she tied the red scarf as she had been told by the spies.
The proceeding events unfolded to the day that the children of Israel gave the final shout which brought down the walls of Jericho into the earth. Rahab’s house was spared regardless of the fact that her house was on the walls of the city.
By the covenant that Rahab made with the spies, she brought herself into a place of divine covering. The shout brought down the walls of the entire city. These were events that had no human factor to them but she was spared. She entered into a place of refuge that was not of physical means but of spiritual means. So it didn’t matter that the next house to her own had just gown down with the rest of the walls, her own house was spared.
This is what David meant when he said: “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Ps 91:7-11
This is the place that the entire psalm 91 is talking about. There is a place in God that shields us from the troubles of the world. Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” if these are the promises of God, why do Christians so often fall prey to the devices of the devil and to the changes that occur in the physical world? There is safety in the Lord.
We must be people of the spirit to walk in this place. Paul talks about those who walk after the flesh minding the things of the flesh and those who walk after the spirit minding the things of the spirit.
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Rom 8:5-6
Many people read this portion of the scriptures without fully understanding what Paul is talking about. Some feel that Paul is talking about spiritual exercises. That is, one should engage in spiritual exercise so as not to fall into sin and the traps of the world.
The term “mind” is talking about a consciousness, an awareness of the realm in which one operates. If we mind (are conscious of) the things of the Spirit, we will be able to invoke the covering of the spiritual refuge. But if we mind the things of the flesh, we become limited to the world of the flesh.
We can better understand this when we study the story of Elisha and his servant when the king of Syria sent an army to capture the man of God. A series of events had unfolded to this point.
“…when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:15-18
The two categories of people Paul talked about are clearly represented in the characters of Elisha and his servant. Elisha was a man that was mindful of the things of the spirit that’s why he was not moved by the sight of the soldiers. It’s all about spiritual maturity
Elisha’s servant on the other hand was limited to the natural world. As far as he could see, their end had come and there was no way out. Jesus said the man of the spirit is like the wind whose ways are not known, you can’t trap such a man. Just when you think you’ve caged him in, he takes another angle that is totally unknown and unexpected to you.
If the king of Syria had sent his men to capture just any other man, the operation would have been a success because they all would have been of earthly origin. But his mistake was that he sent to capture a citizen of the kingdom of God- heaven had to respond. The kingdom will always cover its own.
Now notice something, the heavenly hosts just stood on the mountain top doing nothing. They did not attack the soldiers they just stood there until Elijah prayed and asked the Lord to smite the soldiers with blindness and he smote them with blindness. He invoked the operations of the host by his prayer; this is how the Christian walks under the influence of the spiritual atmosphere of the kingdom of God.
Elisha was simply a servant of God. He had not come into the son-ship that we have come into in Christ Jesus so his prayer was directed toward God as a servant. But as sons of the kingdom, we have come to the command of the host of heaven.
Another incredible example of the spiritual refuge that we talk about can be seen in the story of the three Hebrew children found in the book of Daniel.
It had been reported to the king that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would not bow before his image. In his rage he ordered that the three boys be brought to him. The king’s statement when they came before him was one that had concluded the story: “…and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” (Dan 3:15). But he was greatly mistaken to think that Gods power can be limited by physical or natural means. He limited the power of God to his natural senses.
Even before the king they stood their grounds not to bow regardless of the outcome.
Nebuchadnezzar ordered that the three Hebrew boys be thrown into the burning fiery furnace which had been heated seven times more. They were thrown in the furnace but after a while, the king himself noticed that the fire had no power over the men and they walked freely in the company of a fourth man in the midst of the fire.
The refuge they had in God was not of natural origin and did not depend on their natural location. So whether it was in the fire or water sphere at all, it didn’t matter to God. The refuge still covered them
You could be walking on the streets and still be under the covering of God. You could be flying in the air and yet be under that refuge it doesn’t matter where you are the kingdom will always cover you. It is a place carried by your spirit regardless of your geographical location.
For every trouble that hits the world, God has provided a refuge for His children. As a matter of fact, heaven responds before you can even realize there is a pr
oblem. You need to let your spirit respond and walk in this atmosphere.