Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” (Job 1:8-10)

The Hedge Of The Lord

The trouble with the devil is that he can turn truth into a half-truth that becomes a lie. When Satan tempted Jesus, he quoted scripture, but to his own advantage. As the father of lies, Satan can never be trusted to speak the truth. In the story of Job, Satan makes a charge against God that was based on some truth that became a lie as the devil was seeking to impugn the character of God. The Lord asked Satan if he had considered the faithfulness of Job, that there was none like him on the earth. Job had a blameless character, being an upright man. He was not sinless, but he strove daily to be pure in the eyes of the Lord. Job feared God with godly fear and kept evil as far from him as possible. In the eyes of the Lord, Job was one of the most righteous men on earth.

Satan took the Lord’s blessing on Job and tried to turn it to his evil deeds. He accused God of protecting Job so much that Job was predestined to be saved without any effort on his part. The devil accused God of placing a barrier around Job that would not allow the wiles of the devil to penetrate; thus, Job could not sin because God protected him. Job was a blessed man above all men on earth. He had ten children, immense wealth, and Job lived a sanctified life of goodness through the blessings of the Lord. Satan accused God of creating a hedge around Job that disqualified his righteousness as nothing more than divine intervention. As in all cases with the father of lies, Satan was telling a half-truth.

God does place a hedge around His people. The nation of Israel was a protected people who were highly favored through the blessings of the Lord. Moses told the people that if they obeyed the Lord God, He would bless them above all nations. After leaving Egypt and wandering for forty years, Israel only lost one battle against their enemies. The Hebrews were not a nation of soldiers. At best, they were bricklayers. Only through the power of God were they delivered from Egypt and became a mighty nation. The Lord hedged in His people, but they chose to rebel against Him, and He removed that hedge when Nebuchadnezzar burned Jerusalem and the temple to the ground.

When someone obeys the gospel of Christ in baptism, they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. God places a spiritual hedge around the obedient soul that will not allow them to be tempted beyond what they can bear. Temptation is the common lot of all men, but it is dealt with differently for those in Christ. God is faithful and will not allow His children to be overwhelmed by the wiles of the devil. He places a hedge around His children to protect them. When the king of Syria sent his army to capture the prophet Elisha, a servant of the prophet became very afraid. Elisha assured his servant that God would protect them, and the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. The spiritual hedge surrounding them was the army of the Lord.

The Christian has a hedge placed around them by the power of God to protect and keep them from the evil one. This hedge is put there by the grace of God to be used by the Christian to stand against the wiles of the devil. God’s hedge does not keep the heart from temptation but protects the soul if the heart is willing to trust in the Lord to protect them. The hedge of the Lord is placed around the child of God to give them the power to resist the devil. This hedge needs the nourishment of the word of God and prayer to remain healthy. God never suggests He will protect the soul without the person making a diligent effort to walk in the light. Sadly, many fail to care for the hedge of protection given by God, and in time, the devil is able to regain the heart to his evil ways.

The protective hedge of God is found in the prayer of Jesus, asking God to deliver the soul from the evil one. An essential part of prayer is seeking the protection of the Father from the evil darts of the devil. Paul describes it as the armor of God. The armor will have no value if not worn daily. Every Christian is at war and needs protection. God places a hedge around His people to protect them and to give them a blessed assurance of hope. The devil can be resisted by the power of God. If God is for us, who can be against us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Thank God for the blessings of the hedge!