REFUGE: khasah, verb, to take refuge (Strong’s 2620); makhaseh/makh’seh, masculine noun, refuge as a place (Strong’s 4268).
Root: חָסָה
The story of Ruth is remarkable. Israel was an ancient society heavily dominated by patriarchy (as all societies were at that time), so this story about an outspoken valiant (khayil) foreign woman seems out of place. Ruth was a Moabite who married an Israelite. Her husband died and she gave up all her (minimal) rights to protect her mother-in-law, Naomi (who had no living husband or sons to protect her). Ruth, the widowed daughter-in-law, became a rescuer and refuge for Naomi. But society, being what it was, demanded that Ruth and Naomi needed a male provider because, outside of prostitution, only men could be gainfully employed. So when Ruth met, and pursued, Boaz the relationship formed was the result of not taking refuge in each other, but taking refuge in YHWH.
Ruth asked Boaz…
Ruth 2:10b-12
…“Why have I found favour in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. May YHWH reward your work, and may your wages be full from YHWH, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge [la-khasoht לַחֲס֥וֹת].”
Boaz recognized that Ruth sought refuge in YHWH and so he spoke a blessing to her. He prayed that God would reward her for her trust. YHWH would indeed reward her, but He would also reward Boaz as well. They became the great-grandparents of David, king of all Israel, and the ancestors of the long-awaited Messiah.
The Refuge of Lies
Ruth was a Moabite. She came from a people group whose primary deity was Khemosh, a god to whom children were sacrificed (see 2 Kings 3:27). Ruth rejected the War god of her heritage and turned to YHWH as her refuge. She would become a mother to Israel and a grandmother in the line of the Messiah. She turned to the God of her husband’s family and found true refuge.
While Ruth sought out the God of the Israelites, many Israelites rejected YHWH and turned to the gods of their neighbours. They sought refuge in the wrong place:
Isaiah 30:1-3
“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares YHWH, “who execute a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin; who proceed down to Egypt without consulting Me, to take refuge [w-la-kh’soht וְלַחְס֖וֹת] in the safety of Pharaoh, and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.”
They were putting their safety in the hands of the most powerful politicians, but God told them it was a misguided refuge. Pharaoh wouldn’t protect them. Any promises Pharaoh made would be a refuge of lies, because powerful people almost always protect themselves before protecting others.
God doesn’t need protecting, so He protects people without an agenda. Seek His protection and He will be a place of refuge for you. But if you put your trust in other things (gods) such as a job or money or notoriety you’ll find yourself unprotected and exposed:
Deuteronomy 32:37-38
“And He [YHWH] will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge [khasayu חָסָ֥יוּ]? Those who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you, let them be your protection!”
This kind of false protection from man-made things (idols, money, fame) were places of refuge built on lies:
Isaiah 28:15-18a
Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have made a pact. The gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by, because we have made falsehood (lies) our refuge [kazav makh’senu כָזָ֛ב מַחְסֵ֖נוּ] and we have concealed ourselves with deception.”
Therefore this is what the Lord YHWH says:
“Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. The one who believes in it will not be disturbed. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level.
Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies [makh’seh kazav מַחְסֵ֣ה כָזָ֔ב], and the waters will overflow the secret place. Your covenant with death will be canceled, and your pact with Sheol will not stand…”
The people were concealed in deception. They had tricked themselves into believing that they had made themselves safe. Their money would protect them; their popularity would protect them; their trinkets of faith would protect them. They were wrong. It was all a lie. Only God could gather them together and be a true refuge for them. Only God could save them from the death that wanted to consume them.
Isaiah 57:13
[YHWH:] “When you cry out, let your collection of idols save you. But the wind will carry them all up, and a breath will take them away.
But the one who takes refuge in Me [w-ha-khohseh vi וְהַחֹוסֶ֥ה בִי֙] will inherit the land and possess My holy mountain.”
YHWH is the true refuge… an impenetrable fortress, a shield and an illuminator to the path that leads to life. Idols do nothing for us. YHWH does everything for us. Use Him as your refuge and you’ll find yourself walking safely towards the Land of the Living.
Image by Gerd Altmann (Pixabay.com)
Refuge in the Psalms
Refuge is one of the most popular words in the Psalms. The phrase, “In YHWH I take refuge” is Ba-YHWH khasiti [בַּֽיהוָ֨ה חָסִ֗יתִי] (Psalm 11:1a), is a repeated theme, and it’s a theme that just keeps on giving in the Psalms. Let’s take a look at a few…
Psalm 5:11-12
[David to YHWH:] But rejoice, all who take refuge [khosey ח֪וֹסֵי] in You, sing for joy forever! And may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You. For You bless the righteous person, YHWH, You surround him with favour as with a shield.
Psalm 25:20-21
[David to YHWH:] Guard my soul and save me; do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge [khasiti חָסִ֥יתִי] in You. Let integrity and uprightness protect me, for I wait for You.
Psalm 46:1-3
[Sons of Korah:] God is our refuge [makha’seh מַחֲסֶ֣ה] and strength, a very ready help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth shakes and the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah
Psalm 57:1
[David to YHWH:] Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge [khasayah חָסָ֪יָה] in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge [ekhseh אֶחְסֶ֑ה] until destruction passes by.
Psalm 62:5-8
[David:] My soul, wait in silence for God alone, for my hope is from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my refuge stronghold/defense; I will not be shaken. My salvation and my glory rest on God; the rock of my strength, my refuge [makh’si מַ֝חְסִ֗י] is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us [makha’seh lanu מַחֲסֶה־לָּ֣נוּ]. Selah
Refuge from the Storm
God is our refuge, but refuge from what? He is our refuge from anything that tries to attack us… any kind of storm, physical, emotional, mental… anything that tries to tear us down, be it another human or our own brains. Anyone enslaved is under attack. If you are a slave to another human, a slave to your own dark thoughts, a slave to your finances or your job, then you need a safe space. YHWH has His arms open to be a place of refuge for you:
Isaiah 25:4-5
For You have been a stronghold for the helpless, a stronghold for the poor in his distress, a refuge [makh’seh מַחְסֶ֤ה] from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a rain storm against a wall.
Like heat in a dry land, You subdue the uproar of foreigners; like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is silenced.
All who take comfort in the refuge of YHWH are His well-protected people:
Zephaniah 3:12-13
“But I will leave among you a humble and lowly people, and they will take refuge in the name of YHWH.
The remnant of Israel will do no wrong and tell no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths; for they will feed and lie down with no one to frighten them.”
This remnant people would be unafraid followers of YHWH. A people who would “do no wrong” seems unlikely, but it was God’s forgiveness, through the power of the cross, that would make them guilt-free, and beautiful image-bearers of the Creator. They would be so in-tuned with YHWH, reflecting Him so well, that they couldn’t tell lies. This is what it will look like to be truly living in God’s Kingdom.
Yeshua took that verse and made a claim about one of HIs disciples:
John 1:43-47
The next day He [Jesus] decided to go to Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.”
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!”
Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!”
Nathanael was one of the remnant, a follower of Yeshua whose sins were washed away. He was one who would take refuge in YHWH and speak truth. He lived in the world like the kingdom was alive in his lifetime.
Yeshua was a refuge and a place of rest for so many people who were physically, emotionally, and mentally unprotected and restless. He preached that people could come to Him. He would be their refuge:
Matthew 11:28-29
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Who do you take refuge in?
The word refuge begs to ask the questions: Who do you follow? Who protects you?
Psalm 118:8-9
It is better to take refuge [la-kha’soht לַחֲס֥וֹת] in YHWH than to trust in people. It is better to take refuge [la-kha’soht לַחֲס֥וֹת] in YHWH than to trust in nobility.
YHWH will never fail you; He will be a stalwart refuge during all the hardships that you face. Humans, on the other hand, are fallible. Politicians, religious leaders, bosses might help you in a time of storm but they might also look after themselves first and leave you in the rain.
YHWH has nothing to lose by helping you and so God is 100% reliable during your storm lifetime.
Nahum 1:7
YHWH is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge [khosey חֹ֥סֵי] in Him.
YHWH is keenly aware of those who trust in Him as their refuge and those who trust in themselves.
People who have been hurt by others tend to self-protect. They can’t trust anyone; they feel they can only rely on themselves. They become guarded and may push people away as an act of self-preservation. This may, in fact, be you.
If we are to look like Jesus, in word and deed (and be true Israelites in whom there is no deceit), then we are called to connect with people, especially those who have a hard time trusting others. We should prove to them that they can trust in someone other than themselves because Yeshua (who we are to emulate) is a trustworthy refuge, a shelter for the hurt and vulnerable. God is the epitome of unchangeable love… full of great mercy and compassion, and that’s what makes YHWH the very best refuge. He will never ever turn away anyone who seeks His love and protection. And we are also called to look exactly like that… reliable, dependable, a very safe space for everyone (no questions asked) on this planet. If you want to bear God’s Image, you must also be a place of refuge for others:
Psalm 18:30-32 (see also 2 Samuel 22)
[David:] As for God, His way is blameless; the word of YHWH is refined; He is a shield to all who take refuge [ha-khosim הַחֹסִ֬ים] in Him.
For who is God, but YHWH? And who is a rock, except our God, the God who encircles me with strength, and makes my way blameless?
Next week: stop/break/rest
