A BIRD IN A CAGE

 

Like Israel of old

I foolishly sought man's protection

And trusted in the shadow of the flesh

Until You showed me the strength

Of Your invincible arm

And how easy You can make

My journey's difficult path;

How foolish I was to trust in man's might

How foolish to seek mortal comfort

And settle for feeble sentries of the heart

In studying the history of the House of Israel, I am always amazed at man's propensity to place his trust in 'the arm of the flesh' rather than exercise faith in God. Ancient Israel was particularly prone to this futile habit. Over and over they made political alliances with heathen nations around them for their protection.....very often resorting to Egypt, the very nation they were rescued from. Even King Hezekiah in 705 B.C. who tried so desperately to turn the nation from idolatry to proper worship of Jehovah made a terrible mistake of seeking such an alliance. Because of it Assyrian king Sennacherib, the successor to Sargon, swept into the land of Judah and captured forty-six cities. This is how he described his siege of Hezekiah: "Himself I made a prisoner.....like a bird in a cage" (Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 288). This is exactly what happens when you put your trust in man...you always owe somebody something and it never quite satisfies and often you end up in a cage.

The nations of this earth have replaced God with governments. We have put our trust in the arm of the flesh....to lead us, to instruct us, to protect us. Individually, however, we can choose to place our ultimate trust in Him to whom trust truly belongs.

The Saviour, the Creator, our Sovereign and our God, puts no bird in a cage.....He who created us gave us freedom of choice, of thought, of speech. He is the protection from the storms of life and the guardian of our hearts. In this day of uncertainty, of calamities and threats of our freedom, He is the only choice we can make to keep us truly free.

- Cathryne Allen

(art by Liz Lemon Swindle, "The Creator")