Feathers and a Covering

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.  Psalm 91:4

Mention God’s wings, and I think of Ruth. 

Her life had taken some dark turns, and loss had become her companion.  She had no husband, no heritage, and no children.  She lived in a land as a vulnerable widow but one day, she looked up from her circumstances long enough to cry out to the one who could redeem her story.  She approached Boaz as he was sleeping on the threshing floor to protect his store of grain from being robbed.  She startled him, and then did something outrageous.  She asked him to spread the edge of his garment over her.  It was an intimate request.  To be under His garment, his tallit, was to be united to him in covenant love.  In Hebrew, the account reads like this ~ ‘She pulled his wing over her.’ The four corners of a Jewish man’s tallit symbolize being under God’s wings.

Move forward in Jewish history. Jesus’ tallit was touched by many who were sick and they became well.  He spread his garment over Jairus’ daughter and raised her from the dead.  The woman with the issue of blood touched the fringe of Jesus’ tallit and in doing so, she was healed.  And the good news is this ~ God makes this covering available to me.

These days, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.  God’s tallit beckons.  He lifts me up out of the shadows and hides me under His wings, a place of protection, perspective, and healing. 

David said, “I will stay in Your tent forever: I will trust in the cover of Your wings.”  Psalm 61

There is an invitation to dwell under God’s wings.  In doing so, I am lifted from tortuous thoughts to praise.  He lifts me up to the cliffs, away from the carnage of the valley, where the billows of His wings descend upon the shoulders of the afflicted. 

Jesus, I’ve learned not to just make a visit to the shelter of Your wings; I’ve learned to live there.  I am hidden in You.  Amen