The Rearguard Of The Redeemed

Isaiah 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

Isaiah 52:12   For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

Numbers 10:25      And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, which was the rereward of all the camps throughout their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

REREWARD is the KJV word for “rearguard” which comes from the Hebrew word “aw-saf”

It means “to gather or collect into the company of others” or simply “to bring up the rear”

In Israel, the tribe of Dan served as the rearguard.  Although Dan was not distinguished among the tribes (last to receive portion which was smallest of the twelve), they were given this important task.

The rearguard (literally “gathering host”) gathered up all that were left behind as the camp marched forward.  This host was not just women and children (they were taken care of by their own tribes), but all the unclean, the mixed multitude, and all that were weak, weary and feeble.

The other crucial task of the rearguard was to secure Israel from enemies which pursued them.

The commander of the rearguard was Ahiezer (“helper”), son of Ammishaddai (“people of the Almighty”); literally the rearguard chief was “the helper of the people of the Almighty”!

Isaiah prophesied that when God’s people fasted and loosed sin’s bands, etc. (ie: moved forward!) that – among other blessings – the glory of the Lord would be their rearguard.

When the church moves forward, the glory of the Lord follows them as their “helper” to gather up those that are too weak or weary to follow, and to protect them all from the enemy who pursues.

The image of the Glory of the Lord as a rearguard is best illustrated by what happened to Israel when they were pursued by the forces of Egypt to the banks of the Red Sea:

Exodus 14:19   And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:  And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Scripture is filled with hints of this impressive image of the Glory of the Lord following His people:

Psalm 139:5  Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

Isaiah 30:21  And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Ezekiel 3:12  Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.

Revelation 1:10-11a  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last …

The Glory of the Lord obviously followed Jesus, and still follows believers today!

Luke 8:43-44  And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

Psalm 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Mark 16:17  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

When the church moves, the best advice is “get in the Glory!”  Let the Lord be your rearguard!

There is a great host being gathered up by the Glory of the Lord; the weak, the sick, the elderly, the mentally handicapped, the weary.  They may not be able to fight, but they can still get in the Glory!

The Glory of the Lord sets a dividing line between the victorious church and the past which pursues!

So how do we bring the Glory of the Lord in behind us?

Psalm 34:3, 7  O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. … (then) … The angel of the LORD encampeth round about (“surrounds them on every side”) them that fear him, and delivereth them.

MAGNIFY means “to enlarge, to make or declare great, to esteem highly and celebrate, to extol, to make conspicuous, to nourish up, to cause to grow”

Magnifying the Lord doesn’t make HIM bigger, but it makes OUR FAITH in Him much bigger!

GET IN THE GLORY!