The Word of God tells us
He is our protection
and that
He takes care of us.
Psalms 121:5-8 The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. By day the sun will not strike you, nor the moon by night. The LORD will guard you from all evil; he will guard your soul. The LORD will guard your coming and going both now and forever. Nabre KJV NIV NLT NKJV ESV.
Some translations use the word protector,
some say keeper,
some say guardian and others preserver.
This word guardian is one we often use for a person who protects another, or is given legal responsibility over another.
To guard or a guard, a watchman meaning:
someone or something that guards to a legal custodian of a minor or property.
Psalm 121:5 The Lord is your Guardian; the Lord is your shadow; [He is] by your right hand. ה יְהֹוָ֥ה שֹֽׁמְרֶ֑ךָ יְהֹוָ֥ה צִ֜לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ: 6 By day, the sun will not smite you, nor will the moon at night.
השומר
שומר shomar/shomer guardian
A word used in Hebrew for guardian is Shomer
Strong’s Hebrew: 7763. שׁוֹמֵר (Shomer)
… Σωμηρ; = שֶׁמֶר 2b.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
Shomer {sho-mare’}; active participle of shamar ; keeper;
Also:
Strong’s Hebrew: 8104. שָׁמַר (shamar) — to keep, watch, preserve
keep (156), keeper (8 ), keepers (2 ), keeping (10), keeps (19), kept
The Hebrew root for the verb protect in the verse is
shamar
which first appears in Genesis 2:15.
This is where Adam was told to tend and shamar/guard the garden. It’s also used in Genesis 17:9 where Adam was instructed to keep His covenant.
Shamar is used over 400 times in the Old Testament/Tanakh and its basic meaning is:
to exercise great care over
to watch over
to guard
to take heed and
to tend or restrain, as a flock of sheep.
Strong’s Hebrew: 7778. שׁוֹעֵר (shoer) — a gatekeeper
… shaar Definition a gatekeeper NASB Translation gatekeeper (2 ), gatekeepers (33), gatekeepers* (1 ), keeper (1 ) .
Brown-Driver-Briggs שֹׁעֵר37 noun masculine porter (denominative from שַׁעַר); — absolute 2Chronicles 31.
guardian noun. guardians. שׁוֹמֵר, מֵגֵן; אַפּוֹטְרוֹפּוּס.
Example sentences of using guardian as a noun:
After the death of her parents, her uncle was appointed as her guardian.
More Hebrew words for guardian.
noun אַפּוֹטרוֹפּוֹס. custodian, bailee.
noun אְפִּיטרוֹפּוּס. administrator, trustee, custodian, executor, procurator.
5The Lord is your Guardian; the Lord is your shadow; [He is] by your right hand.
היְהֹוָ֥ה שֹֽׁמְרֶ֑ךָ יְהֹוָ֥ה צִ֜לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ:
7The Lord will guard you from all evil; He will guard your soul. זיְֽהֹוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע יִ֜שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ:
8The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from now and to eternity. חיְֽהֹוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָר־צֵֽאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ מֵֽ֜עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם:
When we read all evil, the Hebrew word for
evil in this passage is ra.
It is a general term which may mean physical harm or personal distress; but more often refers to the immoral or evil actions of others, where evil infers everything that is out of harmony with our Heavenly Father and His kingdom.
In Ps. 121. The Lord who is the maker of heaven and earth
is the One Who will
preserve/shamar the soul/nefesh
of the one who looks to Him for help .
He will guard/shamar that soul and will not slumber,
He will watch over Israel /shamar and will not sleep. He is the keeper shamar of that soul and will both preserve/shamar that one from evil and guard/shamar its life from evil, the Lord God of Israel will guard/shamar that individuals coming and going forever.
The Lord will keep your going out and
your coming inform this time forth
and forevermore.
Ps. 121:8.
In response to Gods precise and caring protection of our lives, we are instructed to likewise guard our hearts and keep them engaged with the Lord.
Proverbs. 4:23
Above all else
guard your hearts
for out of it flow the springs of life.
Tehillim (Psalms) – Chapter 121
1A song for ascents. I shall raise my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come? |
אשִׁ֗יר לַֽמַּֽ֫עֲל֥וֹת אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֖ינַי אֶל־הֶֽהָרִ֑ים מֵ֜אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי: |
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2My help is from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. |
בעֶזְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהֹוָ֑ה עֹ֜שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ: |
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3He will not allow your foot to falter; Your Guardian will not slumber. |
גאַל־יִתֵּ֣ן לַמּ֣וֹט רַגְלֶ֑ךָ אַל־יָ֜נ֗וּם שֹֽׁמְרֶֽךָ: |
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4Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. |
דהִנֵּ֚ה לֹ֣א יָ֖נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן שׁ֜וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל: |
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5The Lord is your Guardian; the Lord is your shadow; [He is] by your right hand. |
היְהֹוָ֥ה שֹֽׁמְרֶ֑ךָ יְהֹוָ֥ה צִ֜לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ: |
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6By day, the sun will not smite you, nor will the moon at night. |
ויוֹמָ֗ם הַשֶּׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹֽא־יַ֜כֶּ֗כָּה וְיָרֵ֥חַ בַּלָּֽיְלָה: |
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7The Lord will guard you from all evil; He will guard your soul. |
זיְֽהֹוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע יִ֜שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ: |
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8The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from now and to eternity. |
חיְֽהֹוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָר־צֵֽאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ מֵֽ֜עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם: |
1I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.
4Behold, the Protector of Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is the shade on your right hand.
6The sun will not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7The LORD will guard you from all evil;
He will preserve your soul.
8The LORD will watch over your coming and going,
both now and forevermore.
7778. shoer
Strong’s Concordance
shoer: a gatekeeper
Original Word: שׁוֹעֵר
Transliteration: shoer
Phonetic Spelling: (sho-are’)
Definition: a gatekeeper
Psalm 121 is a treasure of promise for any believer going through suffering or a crisis in life, whose
“help comes from the Lord ” (verse 2).
In verses 1–2, the psalmist gives glory to the Lord for His guardianship, then he gives assurance to others in verses 3–8. First declaring the nature of God in His role as guarding us in verse 3–4: “He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
In the other 4 times this is written in scripture its at a point where someone who is, or is anticipated by being, overcome by divine judgment, for example in Deuteronomy 32:35.
Then in Psalm 38:16,17 for personal sin or weakness or for enemy oppression as in Psalm 66:9; 94:18. When he said, “He will not allow your foot to slip,” he was probably speaking of the perseverance of the saints.
We need to remember that the psalmist is not promising the absence of pain or that we won’t fail. He is however, promising that, in the middle of the storms of adversity, His children will be protected; not because of their own doing, but because of the preserving hand of the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father.
We are assured in John 10:27-30 that No one can snatch His sheep out of His hand, and the One who has justified us will never again condemn us according to Romans 8:33–34.
This is a promise we can count on!
And is the confidence we have in Him that today that we will remain with Him. This promise is consistent and unchanging. He is with us always. For us it is always today, however for our Guardian Father, He has seen all our tomorrows and has already made provision for us in them; and all we have to do is follow in His footsteps.
All that remains for us to do is to thank Him, remain totally dependent on Him and humbly ask for His grace to sustain us.
Together with ensuring our perseverance, in the first part of verse 3, our Heavenly Father’s guardianship also means He is constantly watching over our souls (verses 3b–4).
The Hebrew words in verse 4 suggest:
a development from that which goes before it.
In contrast the words in verse 3 imply
“your Guardian” will not slumber now,
verse 4 stresses
“Israel’s Guardian” will never slumber nor sleep.
In Psalm 127:2 we are assured that God “gives to his beloved sleep”, and we are able to rest only because we know God never does. Isaiah 40:28 declares “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary”. Your Heavenly Father the Creator of the Universe is always awake, always aware, and always watching over His children as our Guardian.
We are not to put our hope in ourselves today, or at any time; if it were not for the Lord, we would surely stumble, slip and fall.
It is because of His ever-sustaining mercy, our faith will remain. We have His promise in Psalm 94:16–18: “Who stands up for me against evil doers? If Yahweh had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, ‘My foot slips,’ your steadfast love, O Yahweh, held me up.”
We are sustained by the steadfast love of the Lord. It never ceases but it is renewed every dawn. Lamentations 3:22–23.
The days in which we are living are stressful to put it mildly. Many are facing issues that were un-thought of even just a few years ago.
Whether our sleepless nights are filled with pain, tears and prayers or caring for children and maybe the sick and elderly, God is with us to provide all the energy and grace we need. The key is, don’t forget Him but look to Him at any moment in our hour of need, day or night.
God’s your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.
7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.
Our Heavenly Father’s guardianship means that He ensures our perseverance as well as our protection. He constantly watches over His own through all the fiery trials we will encounter. Peter encourages us in 1Peter 4:12,13. To think it not strange….
A great example for us is:
The 3 Hebrew children in the fiery furnace.
The three Jewish men refuse and express confidence that God will save them from the furnace, but even if He does not, they will still not worship the gods of Babylon.
They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
29 Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble.
In those days there was a requirement of self sacrifice among the Hebrew/Jewish people. There are three sins for which one is always required to die rather than transgress: idolatry, sexual misconduct such as incest, adultery, homosexuality, or bestiality and murder It was called
Yehareg ve’al ya’avor (“Let him be killed rather than transgress”)
refers to the requirement to give one’s life rather than transgress a law. Although ordinarily one is permitted to transgress halakha when a life is in danger, certain situations require one to give one’s life.
This is why they seemed undismayed to go through this trial. Their faith was strong in that they knew the Lord would protect them according to His plan for them as they were being obedient to those laws. One thing is certain the 4th figure in the furnace was their guardian in the refiners fire.
Daniel 3:16-28
25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Many think it was the pre-incarnate Messiah and others the angel Gabriel??
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him…Whoever it was, the protection of a heavenly spiritual guardian could be seen by everyone!
We are tried by fiery trials to see if our faith in Him is built on the right foundation.
God never once promised we would be without difficulties, in fact, Yeshua/Jesus promised we would have trials in this life: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” John 16:33.
What fiery furnace are we faced with?
What refining fire is trying us?
Family relationships, a tough marriage?
Perhaps a job loss or the passing of a loved one, or so many other issues we all face.
We may not be threatened by a furnace or required to give our physical lives before bowing to a foreign god and/or denying our Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. But sometimes the trials and testings of our faith can many times seem like they will be more than we can handle. However we must not give up because the word says in 1 Corinthians 10:13-16 Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.
And when we endure we can say with Job, when I am tried I will come forth as gold. Job 23:10.
The guardian of our lives will never leave us nor forsake us
and the trial will not be greater than we can bear.
There are always more with us than there are against us just as Elisha showed Gehazi in
2 Kings 6:16 “Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
The angels are always around us on assignment from
the guardian of our souls,
we just don’t always see them with our physical eyes but …
they are there.
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