You might wonder why we spent time looking at bricks, brick bonds and the topic of walls at our family service! Well, the evening was inspired by the verse found in 2 Samuel 22:30 and Psalm 18:29: ‘With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.’ We all know the expression ‘it’s like talking to a brick wall’ and anyone who is involved in long-distance running knows the expressing ‘hitting the wall’ for that feeling that we cannot go any further. Life can seem like a whole series of obstacles which are insurmountable, and most of us identify more with Danny’s approach to fences and barriers than Sergeant Angel’s in this clip from ‘Hot Fuzz.’
David was no strangers to enemies, opposition and hurdles. We see him killing the giant Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 and he even knew about enemies who had once been friends (many of the psalms being written as he was being hunted by Saul.) Later on in his life, he was to experience the betrayal of his own family, for his son Absalom conspired against him, wanting to oust him as king. (2 Samuel 15) These passages in 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18 show us his secret for overcoming high walls, however, for they are full of praise to the God who delivers.
Eph 2:1-22 shows us our desperate plight without God, but also reminds us that Jesus himself ‘is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.’ Sinful man could not approach a holy God and the curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was a visual reminder of this fact. Matt 27:51 reminds us that this veil was torn in two from top to bottom when Christ died on the cross for our sins, thus reconciling us to God. The biggest wall of all has been broken down and with God’s help now we can scale any wall, confident that we can approach the throne of grace and find mercy and help in our times of need. (Heb 4:16) God is our deliverer and our help and with God, all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)