Psalm 122:1-9 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, And prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
Dome – a rounded vault for protection and separation. A glass or steel dome over the food keeps germs out and warmth in. A dome over a lab specimen keeps it from getting out and the environment from contaminating it.
The famous Iron Dome of Israel is an all weather Israeli air defense system. That’s why missiles have a hard time getting into Israel. My friend Joe Hoff is in Israel. He said that’s the safest place to be is under the protection of the Iron Dome.
Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
Translated from Hebrew instead of firmament it says a dome, a circular protective structure. Interesting.
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) Genesis 1.6 God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the water; let it divide the water from the water.” God made the dome and divided the water under the dome from the water above the dome; that is how it was, and God called the dome Sky. So there was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
I heard a phrase once ‘sticking together like wet and water’. Fascinating terminology. Here, the book of Genesis was probably written by Moses in Hebrew. We don’t know. But I love the wording. There was a difference between the wetness. It explains things better. Before this the world was created a big wet ball of water. And the Spirit of God moved across the face of the waters. And then God ‘spoke’ and said (Jesus is the Word of God, God’s voice) He was saying separate the waters by degree of wetness. Here they say dome. After seeing the foiled attack of Israel by Iran we can easily picture a dome of separation.
Just like God separated waters by their degree of wetness, (air is wet ‘humid’ just not as wet as a swimming pool.) God separated Iran’s missiles and drones from Israel’s. If you have ever seen the tiny piece of land that was given to Israel 3000 years ago, in comparison to all the Islamic countries surrounding, it is almost invisible. But permanently there, much to the Ishmaelites’ dismay.
Just as God has protected Israel from Iran, Palestine (taken from the word Philistines, not a country but group), and the rest of the surrounding countries, He has faithfully protected Israel as a country since its inception from invaders. Just as God’s dome of separation (protection) has protected Israel, so has God’s dome of separation protected His believers and servants (us). An Israeli citizen that leaves Israel doesn’t have the physical dome of protection anymore because he left the area where the Iron Dome protected. But if he is a believer on Jesus, he is still under God’s dome. Just as any other born again follower of Christ is under God’s dome. If he ignores God’s Word and instruction, he is leaving the dome of protection and he is vulnerable to all kinds of disasters. Staying in obedience to God is staying in separation from the traps of the world. Running from sinful temptation is the best way to stay under God’s dome.
2 Cor 6:17 Wherefore Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch not the unclean thing; And I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, And ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
The problem with domes, other than the case of the Iron Dome which is only 99% effective, is that they are invisible. As we know from the Bible, and life in general, that the visible thing is an imaginary temporary illusion. The real things that are important and everlasting are invisible. So how do we know when you are crossing out from under the invisible dome? By staying as far away from the edge of the dome as possible. Try to stay right smack dab in the center of the dome’s coverage. Don’t tempt fate by playing at the border of the zone with sin. Don’t reason with the devil who is slick. It’s invisible, you won’t know when you crossed the line. Just obey God and Run from any appearance of sin. If it offends your other Christian brothers, it’s best probably to not do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:22-23 Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Just so you know, God’s dome of protection doesn’t mean that nothing bad will ever happen to you. We all go through bad stuff and will even die someday. More Christians died for their faith in Christ last year than any year in the history of the world. Millions of Christians die each year of poverty, hunger or horrible illnesses and accidents. Like God’s dome of protection for Israel, 99% of the missiles could not get through. 1% of the missiles got through, but it’s a lot better than 100% of the missiles getting through. Christians are a lot safer physically under God’s dome of protection through separation, but it’s more important to be under God’s dome to keep us being a good testimony.
How to stay under God’s dome of protection.
1. Don’t grieve the Spirit of God. If someone asks you for example to pray and or fast with them, do not slough it off just because you don’t like fasting or praying. Maybe that is exactly what God wants you to do. Maybe God wants you to seek Him instead of going to a Hooters for chicken wings. Not grieving God’s Spirit means not mocking other Christians cause you don’t believe like they do. This mocking spirit brings you out from under God’s dome of protection against sins like blaspheming God or making someone stumble.
2. Say yes to God, and act immediately on what you think He whispered to your spirit, your inner man. If you misheard, God won’t be mad. If you hesitate and talk yourself out of it, you lose in so many ways. #1 He won’t usually say anything else to you until you complete His last request. God is a gentleman, He won’t push you, He’ll just stop suggesting things to you. He’s more concerned about your love and obedience. If He shows you to get up in the middle of the night and take a walk, you are probably going to have a great time in Him, whether by meeting someone and sharing the Gospel, or just a great quiet time, God will be pleased. Even if you are mistaken, God is pleased.
3. Pray. Talk to God.
4. Read the Bible. Hear from God.
5. Testify what Jesus has done for you. Let people know you are a follower of Christ, don’t make them guess.
6. If something becomes a religious act, stop doing it. God hates religion. It’s the opiate of the people. It’s man trying to reach God through works and rites and traditions. Seek God daily through praying on your own (not reading something out loud someone wrote for you to read, but from your heart) and reading the Word for yourself.
7. Ask God continuously if it is Him showing you what to do or just a wild idea of your own or someone else (like religion does).
8. Ask Him daily what to do, where to go, for correction and encouragement.
9. Abide in Him. Mostly, just develop that one on one relationship with Him. He’ll stay over you if that is your desire.
10. Seek Godly, Jesus fanatic friends.
If you’ve been sloppy, how do you get back to the protection of God’s dome? On your knees (figuratively) like a new born baby crawling to mama when He’s hungry.
1 Peter 2 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, ^2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
If you are not a born again Christian (I heard about a Sunday Teacher of 30 years that wasn’t saved) accept the Lord now. If what you’ve been doing doesn’t work, if you are still outside of God’s protective dome of separation, do something new. Ask Him into your heart today.
Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.