YHWH MAGEN (may^ gan) God is my Defence
Psalm 89:18 KJV
18 For the Lord is our defence (maygen); and the Holy One (kadosh) of Israel is our king.
My brothers and sisters in Christ. You are under attack. Really. You are under attack from all sides and satan is leading the attack against you.
As long as you are alive, fellow Christian, you will face attacks, Christians are the prime targets of the devil, he is our common enemy.
Now more than ever, he unleashes his rage and destruction against people because he knows that his time shortens.
1 Peter 5:8 NIV
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
-that someone to devour is you and me - we’re under attack
Christians experience relentless attacks,
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We have mental attacks, attacks on our minds
Satan plants in our minds -‘did God really say that’
Like he said to Adam and Eve and doubt, & fears creep in
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We have emotional attacks,
-satan reminds us, you’re not good enough, poor esteem, or satan causes tension & stress in our relationships -it hits our emotions, they’re torn
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We have spiritual attacks.
-Q -are we really forgiven, or I’m not a very good Christian
- Q -does God really care …
Questions from hell itself taunt and haunt us - or our faith weakens & fears creep in, worries overtake us
Rev.12 10 -near the end of earthly time, we hear this heavenly chorus
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God, day and night, has been hurled down.
satan is always on the prowl like a lion, just looking for any chance he can, to get you to take your focus off of God. Have you ever had a time when you just felt like things were coming at you from every direction? It could be your life is getting way too busy and you have so many demands on your time, …then something goes wrong at home, (Just one more thing) or you find out some other bad news and you are left asking the question how much more can I take??? More times than not, these are the devil’s schemes to try to get you feeling so bogged down, and feeling off track and under attack that you lose your focus on God.
In such assaults upon us, we are not defenceless.
We have YHWH Maygen, God our defence.
Statistics. The following statistics from Pew Research Center show that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world today followed by Islam, and then Judaism.
But we have YHWH Maygen, God is our defence.
Defence definition:
-the action of defending from or resisting attack, danger, attack, or harm;
-it can be a person or a thing that provides such resistance.
Q Does defence also mean protection? YES, but mostly a shield (major)
THE natural BODY has 3 lines of defence in the body’s immune system?
But a good immune system in your body won’t help in spiritual warfare, it is not a defence that works.
THE natural MIND has some common negative defence mechanisms:
-such as Denial Repression Projection. Displacement. Rationalization etc
In your mind if you deny the attack or rationalize the attack, you are not helped defensively. That is like burying your head in the sand.
Did you know that there are 17 Common Defenses to Criminal Charges in court.
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You can plead Innocence. -defence is -I didn’t do it
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You can say as a defence that it violates my constitutional rights -or I have an alibi or one can plead insanity etc.
Life is not a criminal court with one defending themselves claiming themselves innocent or insane or having an alibi. It doesn’t work with satan and it doesn’t work with God.
Nay, Nay. This is life and we are being attacked and we desperately need real and sure protection, a defence that works and will not fail. We need to be shielded by God our defence YHWH Maygen.
Sorry for the lesson in Hebrew but there are 5 main Hebrew words translated as defence and not all are directly related to God our defence.
‘betser’ defence -the best defence against poverty and calamity is obedience to God says Eliphaz one of Job’s miserable comforters in Job
‘tsel’ defence -Solomon declares in Eccl. 7 that wisdom is like a shade, a defence for us
‘matsudah or a matsor’ God’s defence is like a fortress, a stronghold, a cleft in the rock -a place to hide in and run to, like a refuge.
‘misgab’ here God’s defence is like a high tower, a place of defence
-listen to David’s description of himself being under attack
Psalm 59
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. 2 Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood.
3 See, Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, Lord. 4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight! 5 You, Lord God Almighty, (he calls on YHWH El Shaddai) you who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors.
6 They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. 7 See what they spew (slanders and gossip) from their mouths—see how they lie in wait for me!
The words from their lips are sharp as swords, and they think, “Who can hear us?
” 9 You are my strength, I watch for you; you, God, is my DEFENCE (MAYGEN/shield), 10 my God on whom I can rely.
Here is the primary Hebrew word for defence that I would like to highlight. YHWH Maygen -God is my defence, my SHIELD. In a world where we are being attacked, where we are scorned, put down, mocked, laughed at, lied to and gossiped about. In a world where we are told that we are not ‘woked’, just old fashioned, prejudiced, bigoted and out of step. In a world where satan uses any and every means possible to cause us doubts, fears, anxieties and worries -trying to take us away from a closeness with God and trying to deliver us into satan’s lioness grip.
WE HAVE A DEFENCE, WE HAVE A SHIELD - it is YHWH Maygen who shields us
Psalm 89:18 KJV
18 For the Lord is our defence (our shield); and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
Think of a shield as something that goes between you and the attacker. The enemy attacks and (BAM) in comes the shield. For the attack to get to you it must go through that protective, defensive shield.
-wow that is exactly the meaning of God our defence
The shield of defence, God, has stepped between you and the attack and our God defends and shields you. -and if God shields us who can defeat us
Psalm 89:18 is written exactly like this in Hebrew
Mal-ke^-nu Yis^ra-el^ we-liq-do-wos Mag^-in -ne-nu Yah weh
Our king of Israel & to the Holy One our shield (belongs) YHWH
So when you are under attack, know that satan opposes you and he will uses any means to devour you. He can use other people, even family members, satan can use situations, stress points, finances -anything to take you down and tear you up.
Pause to recognize the battle, who the enemy really is, and what is
going on
Prepare your mind. Know this - that God is a shield to you.
God can defend you so draw close to God.
Pray for God’s shield of protection to help you now and believe
The Lord is my defence, my shield -YHWH Maygen
Praise Lord God Almighty that he will save you from your attackers.
God will win in the battle against satan.
Under attack? Listen to the Apostle Paul describe our attackers
and the struggle that it is battling satan and his followers.
Ephesians 6:12
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Under attack? Listen to David’s words.
Psalm 59:9
Because of His strength will I wait upon you: for God is my defence.
March 22, 2023
