TWO CIRCLES OF RESPONSIBILITY TWO CIRCLES OF PROTECTION • do all you can to protect yourself (Circle of Human Protection) and leave the rest up to God (Circle of Divine Protection) • the life of David is a beautiful example of how God protects "a man after His own heart" (1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22) A STRONGHOLD • a stronghold (metsudah) is a place with natural or manmade rock defenses: it may be a cave (1 Sam 22:4), an inaccessible rock column or pillar (Job 39:28), or a walled fortress such as Jebusite Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:7, 9; 1 Chr 11:5) • "God is my stronghold!" is a metaphor: it means "God is like a stronghold to which I may flee for protection in time of danger" • God was David's stronghold (Psa 18:1–2; 31:1–3; 144:1–2), but in times of danger David also sought refuge in natural rock strongholds—the Cave of Adullam (1 Sam 22:1–5; 2 Sam 23:13–14) and the caves near Engedi (1 Sam 23:29–24:3) (many limestone caves exist near the lowland city of Adullum and in Nahal David, Nahal Arugoth, and Nahal Hever near Engedi) • others trusted God as their first line of defense (Psa 71:3–4; 91:2) A HIDING PLACE • a hideout (seter) is a hiding place used by bandits, fugitives (1 Sam 19:2), and refugees (Isa 16:4) • God was David's hideout (Psa 32:7; 119:114), but in danger David hid in a literal hideout— behind a stone in a field (1 Sam 19:1–3; cf. 20:5, 19, 24, 41) • he can hide all he wants but he's not safe unless God protects him (cf. Deut 7:20; Rev 6:15–17) PROTECTION PROVIDED BY HOUSING, MILITARY, AND FAMILY • building a house, guarding a city, and working hard to protect yourself is futile without God's protection (Psa 127:1–2) • God protects members of families (Psalm 127:2d), but also gives sons to protect their families (127:3–5) TWO CIRCLES OF RESPONSIBILITY • you are responsible to do whatever you can for yourself (Circle of Human Responsibility) and God will do for you what you can't do for yourself (Circle of Divine Responsibility) • God will supply all our needs (Phil 4:19), but we must work for a living (2 Thess 3:10)—we must do what we can to make money (Prov 10:4) and God will provide jobs, health, opportunities, and customers (Deut 8:17–18; 1 Chr 29:12) • God is not willing that any perish (2 Peter 3:9), but we must go and make disciples of all the nations (Matt 28:19)— we must learn how to witness and God will prepare hearts (John 16:8) and open doors for the Gospel (Acts 16:6–10; Col 4:3) • the Holy Spirit illuminates the Truth (Psa 119:18), but we must study to show ourselves approved (2 Tim 2:15) LESSONS FOR LIVING • any hiding place can be discovered and any natural stronghold or human fortification can be overcome • God is a perfect hiding place and a perfect stronghold • God usually does not interfere with natural function, but he can intervene at any time • do all you can to protect yourself and your family and leave the rest up to God • when you have done all you can do, God will step in • doing nothing to protect yourself or others and leaving it all up to God is not the normal way of life in the Bible (for exceptions, see Exod 14:13 and 2 Chr 20:17) • fleeing, seeking a place of safety, and hiding in times of danger is not a lack of faith in God