In the Shadow of His Wing
Last week’s blog posting was pretty heavy, so this week I am choosing to go with something light and fun.
The Shadow
There are so many obscure concepts in scripture that I find fascinating. I was intrigued by a new one this week, and it is this idea of God’s shadow. Let’s start with this verse from Psalm 91.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
– Psalm 91:1, ESV
It is poetic. It gives us a sense of safety. There is something protective about being in the shadow of God Almighty. There are echoes of the popular concept from Psalm 17, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”1 Jesus used this same imagery as he grieved over Jerusalem.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
– Matthew 23:37, ESV
Returning to our opening Psalm (Psalm 91), note that it is not just someone who occasionally hangs out in God’s shadow, maybe to get out of the scorching heat for a moment. No, this person “dwells” there, and “abides” there. We have an implication of longevity in this verse. We are truly at home under the shelter and in the shadow of God. It is there that we take up residence, as confirmed by verse nine of the same Psalm.
Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
– Psalm 91:9-10, ESV
To be in your shadow, I generally have to be close to you. To be under the protective shelter of the mother bird’s wing, the young must be nestled right up next to her, close enough to feel her touch and her warmth, close enough to hear her heartbeat and the rhythm of her breathing.
The Bad Thing is a Good Thing
If we limit ourselves to egocentric, fleshly thinking, the idea of living in the shadow of another is not considered complementary. It is not a desirable thing to be overshadowed by another. It means you’re not getting attention, recognition, career advancement.
But living in the shadow of the Almighty is a profoundly good thing. It is in God’s shadow that we find protection, care, safety, healing. I do not mind, in the least, being in God’s shadow because, as John said, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”2
What the world considers undesirable and condescending is, for the believer, a comforting, uplifting, protective, sought-after truth. We live in the shadow of the Almighty. He, alone, is “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”3
The Hiding Place
If you look at Psalm 91:1 in a number of translations, side-by-side, you’ll note that the overwhelming majority of them speak of the “shelter” of the Most High, while a handful of them go with “secret place.” The word in question is סֵתֶר (sē·ṯěr). It is most definitely a hiding place, a place of shelter and refuge, a place that is safe from danger. Sometimes it is used figuratively to describe a veil that covers something to keep it secret or hidden.
Jewish tradition holds that Psalm 91 was written by Moses. The Septuagint4 credits Moses for its authorship, and this makes sense, as Psalm 90 is directly attributed to him. If Moses is the author (and I have no reason to doubt this) then his writing in Deuteronomy makes perfect sense.
There is none like God, O Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
through the skies in his majesty.
The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
– Deuteronomy 33:26-27, ESV
It is a subtle difference, but take note of the fact that not only does God provide shelter, God is our shelter, our safe place. He covers us with his wing and protects us with his everlasting arm. Psalm 90 opens with the line, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” When you consider Moses leading Israel in the wilderness for forty years, with no place to call home, the idea of God being their dwelling place for generations makes perfect sense.
I want to close this with a beautiful piece from One for Israel Ministry,5 “In the Shadow of Your Wings.”
(Note: If you’re not reading this on my site ‘damonjgray.org’ you may not see the video, but the link should open it for you.)
1. Psalm 17:8
2. John 3:30
3. Psalm 91:2b, ESV
4. The Septuagint is the earliest existing translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek, a task performed at the order of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The translation, done in the third century BC, was carried out (ostensibly) by seventy-two Hebrew translators, six from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
5. https://www.oneforisrael.org/
