Whoever dwells
in the shelter of the Most High
will rest
in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1
It is amazing how a verse that you’ve read or heard hundreds of times suddenly catches your attention and doesn’t let go. This week it was Psalm 91:1. Psalm 91 is a powerful Psalm that many hold dear, but sometimes the words become so commonplace that they lose their context. A few days ago, I came upon this verse, and something told me to linger for a while. The two phrases may seem redundant, but they have deeper significance. The Hebrew words recall that first Passover night, and for those awaiting deliverance, it is a call to wait out the darkness of night under the protection of our Almighty God.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High . . .
This verse is first referring to a select group of people. “Whoever dwells” – the Hebrew word here refers to “inhabitants” or “those who settle down and make there residence in a particular place”
These people choose to settle down “In the shelter of the Most High”. The name of God in this passage is “Elyown” which is usually translated “The Most High”. When this name for God is used, it is a reference to his absolute sovereignty over everything and everyone. He is the King – the absolute authority, above whom there is no other.
Lastly, the Hebrew word for shelter generally refers a hiding place or a secret, (although its literal meaning is “behind the back” or “backbiting”).
When God was about to bring the last plague on Egypt, he gave the Israelites instructions – to kill a lamb, and sprinkle the blood on the door frames of their homes. Although he told them what was about to take place, the reason for the blood on the door frames probably made little to no sense to them. Still, in order to be spared, they needed to submit to the sovereignty of God, do as he instructed, and stay in their homes that night.
In doing so, they found safety “behind the back” of God. It is not difficult to envision a father standing with his children behind his back, as he faces down all threats and danger to their well-being.
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. (Exodus 12:12-13)
The Hebrew word for Passover – “Pesach” also recalls the way in which a mother hen, passes her wings over her chicks to protect them from danger. The chicks who obey her calls to them, and place themselves under her authority (even though they may be too young to recognize and understand the danger) are hidden, and safe. No creature can get to the helpless chicks unless he first overpowers the mother hen.
That night in Egypt, those who “chose to dwell in the shelter of the Most High” were safely hidden away from the angel of death.
The same is true for us today. When the One with whom we seek shelter is the Most High God, and nothing can overpower him – then nothing in all of heaven and earth can get to us.
. . . will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
The second part of the verse is not redundant – The word translated “rest” in this passage means to “lodge” or “spend the night”. That night in Egypt had to have been a very long night. Outside of the protection of their blood-marked homes, death was literally on the loose, and every unprotected home lost someone.
“…there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. (Exodus 12:30).
The name of God chosen in the second part of this verse – “dai”, or “day”, (a variation of “Shaddai”) is usually translated “Almighty”, and refers not only to his power to protect, but also to provide, nourish, and sustain.
The word translated “Shadow” literally does mean shade or shadow, but its broader meaning refers to “protection” (as from the sun), or “a covering”.
The Israelites spent the night”shadowed” by Almighty God, and because they were under his protection, the angel of death could not touch them.
We see Jesus expressing desire to do the same for Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
What does Psalm 91:1 tell us?
Whoever chooses to submit to the authority of the Most High God,
Whoever becomes an inhabitant of his Kingdom;
Whoever is completely hidden in him,
will pass the darkness and dangers of the long night
under the protection of Almighty God,
against whom no enemy can prevail.
This Psalm also reveals much about the life Paul described as “hidden with Christ in God”. Oswald Chambers describes this life beautifully:
The Hidden Life
By Oswald Chambers
…your life is hidden with Christ in God. —Colossians 3:3 The Spirit of God testifies to and confirms the simple, but almighty, security of the life that “is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul continually brought this out in his New Testament letters. We talk as if living a sanctified life were the most uncertain and insecure thing we could do. Yet it is the most secure thing possible, because it has Almighty God in and behind it. The most dangerous and unsure thing is to try to live without God. For one who is born again, it is easier to live in a right-standing relationship with God than it is to go wrong, provided we heed God’s warnings and “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7).
https://utmost.org/the-hidden-life/
We live in a turbulent world, one that is often hostile to Jesus and anyone who makes it their ambition to follow him. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged, frightened, and feeling overwhelmed. We have to remember who our father is, who our savior is, and where to run when we feel weak, frightened, or discouraged.
Where will you spend the night?
His Way With People 