TEVET 26
On Being Kept
“O KEEP me, Lord, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed or disappointed, for my trust and my refuge are in You.” (Ps 25:20 AMPC, emphasis mine)
This passage from the Scriptures has long been one of favorites, one that merited a spot on my fridge door for years. And truthfully, this verse puts an entire new spin on the phrase ‘kept woman’ when we focus on who the keeper is: THE Creator of the universe.
Shâmar (Strong’s H8104) is the Hebrew word that has been translated as ‘keep’; other Bible translations use the words guard or protect, and both are also correct. However, as with much of the Hebrew language, this word implies more than simply guarding or keeping. Jeff Benner defines shâmar as “The act or the duty of protecting or defending; to watch over or guard in the sense of preserving or protecting.”[1] Mr. Benner further amplifies his definition by these statements:
The image painted by the Hebrew word shamar is a sheepfold. When a shepherd was out in the wilderness with his flock, he would gather thorn bushes to erect a corral to place his flock in at night. The thorns would deter predators and thereby protect and guard the sheep from harm. The word shamiyr, derived from this root means a thorn. The word shamar means to guard and protect and can be seen in the Aaronic blessing, May Yahweh respect you and guard you. One keeps the commands of Elohiym by guarding and protecting them.
We often, in the ‘busi-ness’ of everyday living, lose sight of the fact that the Creator of the universe, the One who spoke the word, and it came to be, is the One who keeps, guards, protects, defends, and preserves those who choose to walk in His ways. In our hurried lifestyle, how often do we blast our way through the walls and fences of the sheepfold that our Abba Father has placed to protect us, setting ourselves up for disaster? For myself, I can say that I have done this too many times.
As with all the promises found within the pages of the Scriptures, this one too is conditional. We must choose, by an act of our own will, to stay within the confines of the sheepfold, to live within the parameters of Torah, before Elohim will ‘keep’ us, as He desires to do.
“YAHWEH bless you and keep you; YAHWEH cause His face to shine on you, and be gracious to you; YAHWEH lift up His face to you, and give you peace.” (Num 6:24-26 HRB)
“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to KEEP thee in all thy ways.” (Ps 91:11 KJV, emphasis mine)
©2020
[1] Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible; ©2006 Ancient Hebrew Research Center; ISBN: 1589397762 Author: Jeff Benner
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