Over these summer weeks, I have been spending some time thinking about God being a shield. After initial reflection, it really is remarkable to think that God can be shielding you.
A shield is a defensive weapon. It is a piece of the soldier’s armor. It is used to block/guard/protect anything that is coming at you. God is a shield.
In the Bible, the word “shield” is used over 70 times. That is quite a bit!
Proverbs 2:7 says “he is a shield to those who walk in integrity.” Here in this book of wisdom we are taught that God protects those who are walking in His ways.
Psalm 3:3 declares “but you, O Lord, are a shield about me.” Here we see the writer of the Psalm crying out to God in hope declaring that God is His shield. The Psalmist finds strength in knowing that God protects him.
In Genesis 15:1, we have God telling Abram that He is his shield. Amazing! “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield.” For all the benefit to being taught that God is a shield, and for all the benefit we find from declaring to God that He is our shield, there is an extra level of blessing and confidence from hearing God say to His child the comfort that He is a shield to them. Just absolutely remarkable!
Genesis 15:1 is the very first time in the whole Bible that we find the word “shield.”
Again, “shield” is found over 70 times in the entire Bible. Do you know how many of those are in the New Testament?
Only one!
Only one time in the whole 27 books of the New Testament is the word “shield” used. This is fascinating to both the child of God and the student of the Word of God. It reminds us that there is Old Testament language that does not necessarily carry over to the New Testament. “Shield” is one of those examples. The believer loves the OT passages that speak of God being a shield. While that truth is certainly still true in the NT, now, and always, we just do not see that language used in the NT much.
The only instance of “shield” in the New Testament comes from Ephesians 6:16 and it says “In all circumstances take up the SHIELD OF FAITH, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”
Many recognize right away that this is the passage on the armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18 is one of the most instructive passages to believers on how to live by faith in the world. Many Christians have these verses memorized.
Here the New Testament teaches what the Old Testament teaches – that God is a protecting God to His children. He is a shield to them. But it says it in a fortifying way. The Christian has a “shield of faith.” In other words, believing God is what protects us!
The evil one attacks. He has schemes. Life is hard. We wrestle with opposition. We are called to be strong and to stand firm. We need protection. We need a shield, and we have one – God. We are to believe Him!
No matter what, if one will believe Christ, they will be protected by God the shield! What a comfort!