“And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 15:20, ESV)
When in the United States Army, I was stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany during the cold war. We lived in housing area for soldiers and their families near Butzbach. In walking distance was a stone wall, which was built by the Romans as they had occupied territory in Germany. Many do not know this, but the Romans built a 341 mile long “Great Wall” across Germany with watchtowers and fortresses. We were right near a portion of this wall and could walk and see signs of the ruins. This wall was built as a defense system.
The Lord tells Jeremiah that He would make him “a fortified wall of bronze.” Why did the Lord make this statement? It was because the people were opposing the message the Prophet Jeremiah presented to them from the Lord. Jeremiah felt his life threatened and wanted the Lord to bring swift retribution against these people. The Lord used the metaphor of the bronze wall to assure Jeremiah of His divine protection.
The metaphor of a bronze fortified wall is significant. The Roman wall after around 2000 years had deteriorated into ruins. It no longer had the protective ability. It was made of stone. The idea of a bronze wall pictures an impenetrability. The wall that God would make, pictured by bronze, revealed to the prophet that his adversaries could do nothing to him. Jeremiah would stand strong regardless of what they set against him.
How does this apply to us? We who are on mission for the Lord have a bronze wall of protection. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our adversary cannot touch us. He will throw some fiery darts at times, but he cannot touch us. The reason is that we have eternal life. Nothing can separate us from the Lord and nothing can kill us. We have life eternal.
Yes, we have a mortal body, prone to disease, injury, and even physical death. Yet we shall not die but move from the mortal body to life in paradise when we die.
Even in this physical body, the Lord grants us protection just as He promised Jeremiah. That protection is given to us like a soldier on a combat tour of duty. When a soldier’s tour of duty is over, the soldier comes home and experiences release from the havoc of war, rest, and comfort. It is the same for us as soldiers in a spiritual conflict. When Our tour of duty is completed on this earth we leave here and go to our heavenly home. Until that time our bronze wall of protection keeps us safe from the inevitable attacks that come our way.
Renewing the Heart 