ON THE VANGUARD

SMACKDOWN
“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.”
Psalm 91:7-8

While growing up, I never watched the WWF or any of those wrestling shows. Honestly. I have never had the desire. Maybe the wrestling is fake – I do not know. Regardless, though, I can name a few of the big stars from wrestling. But whether one is John Cena or ‘The Rock’, the fact is no one can put a smackdown on anyone else the way God Almighty can.
In Psalm 91:7 we see just a hint of the smackdown that God brings as a form of His protection. We read that a thousand may fall at our side, and ten thousand at our right hand. And while both use the word thousand, both the thousands are not the same in the Hebrew language. The thousand that fall at our side is based on the word ‘ELEPH, which translates as the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, but also as the true number 1000. This is interesting to me since some words in the Hebrew do have a double meaning, and in this case both meanings relate. Both the ‘first unit’ and the ‘thousand’ will fall, NAPHAL, to become overthrown or a fugitive to another, at our side.
But it is ten thousand that will fall at our right hand. This thousand is the word R’BABAH, which translates as a myriad, many, or millions. And while this constitutes a great number, we would do well to also understand the meaning of the right hand in this verse. This term is the word YAMIYN, meaning literally the right hand or side of a person or object. This is also the term used of Jacob’s son, Benjamin. His name was translated as “son of my right hand.” I am further reminded of Isaiah 41:10 where we read that we are strengthened, helped, and upheld with God’s righteous right hand. The right hand is associated in religious circles with honor, and we see here that God offers protection to those who attack whom He has called His honor.
Because of His protection, no harm will come near us. In fact, instead of seeing harm we are told we will see the punishment of the wicked. The term we read in the New International Version in verse 8 is the ‘punishment of the wicked.’ The term we read in the King James Version is the ‘reward of the wicked.’ The true wording in the Hebrew is SHILLUMAH, meaning retribution. Whether quoted as a punishment or a reward, the fact remains that what is coming is not good for the one opposing God’s people. In reading this I almost sense a ‘Whoa!’ being given.
God desires to pour out His love on all His creation, but God will not stand for those who oppose His ways and seek to destroy what is His. As such, He reminds us in these two verses that He will stand as our guard. The enemy will be unable to break His sealing, and will fall in droves when they try. Yet again, I cannot stress enough that this level of protection only comes when we dwell and rest in Him. The if/then statement continues and if we desire to see the enemy falter in its attack on us, we must remain under God’s umbrella. I continue to urge you, dwell under God’s covering.