(1) He talks about how traps that people set for each other often trap those who set them.
Illus: Have you ever set a rat trap and had it snap and catch your finger?
Illus: A good example of setting a trap and getting caught in it is found in the Book of Esther, where wicked Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai.
There are folks that spend their life setting traps for others.
• There are those who are our enemies and they are always setting destructive traps for us, to bring as much misery to us as they can
• Merchants who want to sell us their merchandise are always setting traps for us. While we are sleeping at night, they are behind closed doors trying to figure a way to trick us into buying their merchandise
• The highway patrolman is always setting traps for us. The highway patrolman will park in some inconspicuous place behind some bushes, and wait for us to come along and fall into the speed trap he has set for us
Illus: Speaking of speed traps reminds me of the a man who had decided that he was going to ride a 10-speed bike from Phoenix to Flagstaff Arizona. He got as far as Black Canyon City before the mountains just became too much and he could not go any further.
He stuck his thumb out, but after 3 hours hadn't got a single person to stop. Finally, a guy in a Corvette pulled over and offered him a ride. Of course the bike wouldn't fit in the car. The owner of the Corvette found a piece of rope lying by the highway and tied it to his bumper.
He tied the other end to the bike and told the man that if he was going too fast, to honk the horn on his bike and he would slow down. Everything went fine for the first 30 miles.
Suddenly, another Corvette blew past them. Not to be outdone, the Corvette pulling the bike took off after the other. A short distance down the road, the Corvettes, both going well over 120 mph, blew through a speed trap. The police officer noted the speeds from his radar gun and radioed to the other officer that he had two Corvettes headed his way at over 120 mph.
He then relayed, "...and you're not going to believe this, there is a guy on a bike screaming and honking his horn trying to pass them.”
Solomon teaches that when it comes to setting traps, we need to be careful! Why? Because we may be the one WHO SETS THE TRAP and the one WHO GETS CAUGHT IN THE TRAP.
Over and over again, the Word of God has proven to be true; WE REAP WHAT WE SOW!
But this wise man says something else in this verse of scripture.
(2) He said, “…And whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.”
WHAT IS SOLOMON SAYING? He is saying that God has set up hedges around us to protect us from outside trouble in our life.
WHAT IS A HEDGE? A hedge physically can be a number of things:
• It can be a fence around our yard to keep outside danger from entering our yard
• It can be a thick row of bushes around our yard that prevents outsiders from entering our yard
• It can be a bunch of low trees planted as a fence or boundary to keep outsiders from entering our yard
A hedge provides protection from things that MAY ENTER OUR LIFE.
God has set up a SPIRITUAL HEDGE around our life to protect us from outside evil forces that threaten us each day of our life. We all need to thank God for the hedge He has built around our homes. The only reason we are not in a hospital or some funeral home today is because God has built a wall of protection around us to keep Satan from getting to us.
Let’s take a good look at these hedges. We need to consider-
I. THE REALITY OF THE HEDGE
The Bible tells us that JOB HAD A HEDGE AROUND HIM. Satan wanted to get to Job, he wanted to bring as much harm and misery to his life as he could. But God had built a hedge of protection around him and Satan could not get to him.
Let me show you some things in the life of Job that many do not know. Many folks do not know that Satan was kicked out of heaven, but he still has access to visit there.
Look at Job 1:6-7, we read, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
These verses in Job make us think of 1 Peter 5:8, where we read, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
Every day of our life, Satan is pacing the earth to find someone he can pounce on and bring misery to their lives.
WHY DOES HE DO THAT? It is not personal! Satan is angry with God for kicking him out of heaven and he wants to hurt God in every way he can. He does this in two ways:
(1) HE KNOWS THE BEST WAY TO HURT GOD IS BY HURTING HIS CHILDREN
Every parent can relate to this. If you really want to hurt someone, the best way is to attack their children. Satan is no match for God, but he is more than a match for us. If he can find some way to break through the hedge of God in our life he knows he can hurt God.
He tries to hurt God in another way. He appears before God the Father-
(2) ACCUSING US OF NOT LOVING THE FATHER
Satan then and Satan now is going to and fro upon the earth to find some Christian he can accuse of not loving the Lord.
Look what the Lord said to him in Job 1:8 10, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.”
And Satan immediately said, “Yes, I have, but I can not get to him because you have built a hedge around him!”
WHAT DID SATAN MEAN BY THAT? He accused Job of not really loving God. The only reason he was serving God was because of what He had blessed him with. He said that if God would remove the hedge around him, he would prove Job really did not love God. This was a lying accusation he had made against Job. There is not one ounce of truth to what Satan was saying.
No one likes people who go around telling lies to people. I MEAN NOBODY LIKES A LIAR!
Illus: That reminds me of a truck driver who detested politicians for the many lies they tell. It is a known fact they tell all kinds of lies to get into office, and when they get in office they do not care a thing about keeping the promises they made to those who put them there.
Because of their lies, this truck driver detested politicians so much that he amused himself by running over politicians as they walked down the side of the road.
Every time he saw a politician walking along the road, he would swerve to hit him. There would be a loud "thud", and then he would swerve back onto the road.
As the truck driver drove along one day, he saw a priest hitchhiking. He pulled over and asked the priest, "Where are you going?"
The priest said he was on his way to his church up the road.
The truck driver said, "I'll give you a lift." The priest climbed into the passenger seat and the truck driver continued down the road.
Suddenly, the truck driver saw a politician walking down the road and instinctively swerved to hit him. At the last minute, he remembered he had a priest in the truck and swerved back onto the road.
Even though he knew he missed the politician, he still heard a loud "thud."
Unsure of where the noise came from, he glanced in his mirrors. When he didn't see anything, he turned to the priest and said, "I'm sorry, Father. I almost hit a politician."
The priest replied, "That's OK, I got him with the door."
Nobody likes a liar! So many politicians are despised because they are known for the big lies they tell to get in office, but once they get in, they break every promise they have made. NOBODY LIKES LIARS! NOBODY!
Illus: A busload of politicians were driving down a country road, when all of a sudden the bus ran off the road and crashed into a tree in an old farmer's field. The old farmer, after seeing what had happened, went over to investigate. He then proceeded to dig a hole to bury the politicians.
A few days later the local sheriff came out, saw the crashed bus, and asked the old farmer where all the politicians had gone. The old farmer said he had buried them.
The sheriff asked the old farmer, "Were they all dead?"
The old farmer replied, "Well, some of them said they weren't, but you know how them politicians lie."
Listen, nobody likes a liar, and Satan is the biggest liar that ever walked on this earth. He tells God things like:
• The only reason they are going to church is because they are showing repeats on television, they really do not love you!
• The only reason that some of the young folks come to church is because they love someone there, they really do not love you!
• The only reason they are giving is because of a tax write-off, they really do not love you!
• The only reason they are going to church is to be seen and heard, they really do not love you!
Satan was telling God that Job did not really love Him. WHAT A LIAR! Job did love the Lord, and Job said in Job 1:21-22, “… Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”
He accused Job of not loving the Lord, but he was a LIAR! BUT GOD KNOWS HOW TO DEAL WITH LIARS.
Illus: This reminds me of the four women who were summoned to appear in court. They had some serious problems in the apartment complex in which they lived. When they arrived in the courtroom they began to accuse each other of being the troublemaker causing the problem!
The wise old judge knew how to deal with such women. Things were getting out of order, so with Solomon-like wisdom he ordered them to all be quiet and not say another word. He said, "I'll hear the oldest first."
The case was closed for lack of evidence.
No one can stop Satan from telling his lies, and every day he is standing before God telling lies and accusing us of not really loving God. We all need to thank God for the hedge of protection He has placed around us to protect us from Satan.
Illus: In Chimney Rock, North Carolina, some of the mountain folks had a family feud. One of them went to the house of someone they were angry with and was ready to do some bodily harm to them. But a young mountain boy about six-foot-six saw this man going for his dad, and he stood between this man and his dad and said, “You can do whatever you want to do to my dad, but you first have to deal with me.”
The good news today is that the Lord Jesus does the same for us.
We looked at THE REALITY OF THE HEDGE, now look at ...
II. THE REASON FOR THE HEDGE
WHY DO WE HAVE TO HAVE A HEDGE AROUND US?
Look again at 1 Pet. 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
We live in a cruel and evil world today. There are terrorist groups today who do not know a thing about us or our families, but if they had their way, they would blow us from the face of the earth and afterwards sit back and laugh about it.
We have some today in our society that want to pretend that the terrorists that have vowed to destroy us are not to be taken seriously, but we can all be thankful that we have a president like George W. Bush, who has vowed he will destroy them before they destroy us.
Illus: We all still remember the attack on the trade towers and the Pentagon where thousands were killed. Later, Osama bin Laden and his cohorts met in a cave and we saw them laughing and congratulating each other for what they considered to be a tremendous victory.
If God did not provide a hedge of protection around us, Satan would destroy every one of us and sit back and laugh at what he had achieved.
We see THE REALITY OF THE HEDGE and THE REASON FOR THE HEDGE, now look at ...
III. THE REMOVAL OF THE HEDGE
CAN THE HEDGE BE REMOVED? YES, it can be removed for a number of reasons.
A. THE HEDGE CAN BE REMOVED BY GOD
Why would God want to remove this hedge of protection from our life? It may be removed -
1. FOR GOD’S HONOR AND HIS GLORY
Again, Job’s life is a good example of this. Satan accused Job of serving the Lord because of His blessings. But He was wrong!
HOW DO WE KNOW HE WAS WRONG? Because God allowed the blessings to be removed from his life and he continued to be faithful to God. God received GLORY from the life of Job.
Notice that the hedge was only removed for a brief time and then replaced when God’s will had been accomplished!
It is important for God to remove the hedge from our life so He can point his finger in the devil’s face, who is constantly accusing us, and say, “You are a dirty stinking liar, they do love me!”
But there are times when God removes the hedges for another reason.
2. TO CHASTEN HIS PEOPLE
When we walk in disobedience, we are asking for trouble.
Illus: If we are walking in the rain and I have a BIG umbrella, and I invite you under the umbrella with me, you are protected from the rain. If you choose to step our from under that umbrella, then you are no longer protected from the rain.
Israel would often walk outside the hedge of God’s protection and they paid a price for it.
Isa. 5:1 7, “Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine press therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I WILL TAKE AWAY THE HEDGE THEREOF, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.”
Ecc. 10:8b, “Whoso breaketh an hedge, A SERPENT SHALL BITE HIM.”
Interestingly enough, the Devil is described in the Word of God as a serpent! Christian, if you break through the hedge of God’s protection, the devil is going to BITE YOU!!
Here again, once the people repented and got right with the Lord, the hedge was replaced!
We see THE REALITY OF THE HEDGE, THE REASON FOR THE HEDGE, THE REMOVAL OF THE HEDGE, and …
IV. THE RECIPIENTS OF THE HEDGE
A. THERE IS A HEDGE ABOUT THOSE WHO FEAR HIM
Psa. 34:7, “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
Those who fear the Lord, who have been delivered by the Lord, are the SAVED! In my study of the Word, I don’t find that there is a hedge around the lost person. Aren’t you glad you are saved??
B. THERE IS A HEDGE ABOUT THE HOME
There are three institutions that God has set up: HOME, GOVERNMENT and the CHURCH! We should honor all three!
There are times when Satan will viciously attack all three of these.
C. THERE IS A HEDGE ABOUT THOSE WHO STAY IN CHURCH
Heb. 10:25, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."
God cautions us not to forsake worship together. It is not just for His GLORY, it is also for our GOOD!
Psa. 92:13 14, “THOSE THAT BE PLANTED IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;”
How many have dropped out of church, only to see their marriages destroyed, their standards dropped, etc. their lives become a mess!
Illus: We all know of families that left good Bible-believing, Bible-preaching churches because the church down the street offered more activities for their children. Now years have gone by, and some of those children’s lives are completely messed up today! I can’t help but wonder where those children would be today if they remained in a Bible believing, Bible teaching church.
Conclusion:
We have looked at:
I. THE REALITY OF THE HEDGE
II. THE REASON FOR THE HEDGE
III. THE REMOVAL OF THE HEDGE
IV. THE RECIPIENTS OF THE HEDGE
