The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. Psalm 121:5-6
When my family moved from Illinois to Colorado after my freshman year of High school, one of the things I remember was the intensity of the sun. I remember appreciating how much less humidity there was in the summer, but also feeling like the sun would fry me if I stayed in it for more than a few minutes. The temperature difference in the shade vs the sun is drastic in Colorado. When Psalm 121 speaks about shade, it portrays the safety shade can provide.
Much of Israel is an intense desert. The sun is a dangerous thing and shade is both a protection and a gift from that blistering heat. When this psalm speaks of God being our shade, it depicts the feeling of stepping out of the heat and into the comfort of a shady tree.
The psalmist also speaks of protection against the “moon by night”. What is going on here? In ancient cultures, the moon and the night came to represent the unknown. In our modern world of streetlights, it is hard to appreciate the uncertainty that night represents. This psalm alludes to both the dangers of the day and the night. The daytime offers dangers that can be seen, but the nighttime presents dangers that we can’t anticipate. God protects us from the known and the unknown. There is no darkness for him, so we can rest at peace in his presence.
Today, as you step in and out of the shade, let it remind you that he watches over you through it all. When your future is unknown – like the night – remember, it is light to him, and he shows his love to you in it. You can live in peace because neither the sun nor the moon can harm you.
by Aaron Bjorklund
Note. To access scripture links that don’t appear in the email version, read the differently formatted web version in your browser.
