Following Micheal Kelly’s invention of wired fencing, Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio was the one who first received a patent for his invention of barbed wire, a zinc coated steel wire fencing, in 1867, then known as ‘thorny wire’. It was not until Joseph F. Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois produced a machine to manufacture and produce his new and improved version of it in 1874, that it began to become popular. Barbed wire is given the accolades of having ‘tamed the West.’ It was often difficult for the cowboys to round up all the strays on the open range, whereas with fences, it offered an inexpensive way of keeping them corralled. Wooden fences were not much of an option, because of the scarcity of trees in the west and the smooth wire fencing did not deter entering or exiting, thus the popularity of barbed wire grew rapidly. It is still the standard way of keeping cattle in their boundaries over a hundred and fifty years later. Before farmers, cowboys, ranchers, and cattlemen really knew value it offered, relationships were thwart with contention; however, it has proved to promote a successful way of defining individual property lines.
Barbed wire was also used during wars for people to protect their property and was used by Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War of 1898 to defend their camps, and the British had already made use of it as a defense a decade earlier. It was also used to guard blockhouses sheltering the troops in World War I as well as for a military weapon. The military still uses it today to establish territorial boundaries and protection of their installations as well as prisoner confinement. In keeping with the wild, wild west’s initial initiative, barbed wire is still used widely today in commercial and domestic properties, such as warehouses, storage sites, construction zones, large ranches, or small farms, to keep out intruders and ner-do-wells.
My husband and I recently took a trip out west on his motorcycle, his pride and joy. We drove 4669.5 miles from Tennessee, where we live, to California and back. We passed through Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. I can say as a first hand witness that three quarters of Oklahoma, California, and Texas, and all of New Mexico and Arizona are desert. I arrived home with a swollen face and dry, flaky body from the extreme heat and wind, but it was so much fun. One thing we noticed along the way were the barbed wire fences. Many of these probably dated back to decades gone by, because we did not see any cattle or horses on the properties, though a few had a lone cow or two every now and then. Understandably so, because it was a waste land, with no water, therefore, livestock would not survive there. This may have been why the open range was popular, because the cattle could roam and find water. The only water we saw was the Colorado River which starts in La Poudre Pass Lake, Colorado, and meanders through several states until it reaches the Pacific Ocean. All the ditches, creeks or river beds that were marked as such, were as dry as a bone. However, the fences had another meaning. They indicated and gave the message that this was private property, and that only authorized personnel or the property owners were allowed past those fences. They were to keep things out to protect their land and any possessions that were behind them.
The concept of fences, boundaries and borders is not new. We see it mentioned in scripture time and time again, how God allowed his people to take over cities that had already been fenced, this being another benefit of war and a part of their bounty or spoil if you will. This may not seem much to us now, however, in their time, more often than not, their fences were made of stone or were actual walls. This called for much time, and sweat equity to achieve; therefore, it was of immense value to them. They would live in cities they had not fenced, live in houses they had not built, and eat crops they had not planted. This was quite a benefit because all of this would have taken years to accomplish otherwise. When Israel became disobedient to God, they often received word from the prophet of God, declaring the same doom upon themselves. Jeremiah 5:11-17 states on one such occasion, “For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. They have belied the Lord, and said, it is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus, shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understands what they say. Their quiver is as an open sepulcher, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trusted, with the sword.”
My husband and I woke up one morning recently to find that we had trees that had fallen onto our wooden fence. Our concern was that we were headed out on a trip that day, and the fence that was damaged was to our horse paddock, and as such, these are what gives them their boundaries, keeping them in, as well as keeping unwanted critters out. We had to make a quick decision and temporarily mend the fence with barbed wire until we had an opportunity to fix it correctly. A portion of the fence that was broken, had already been mended before; therefore, it was disappointing to say the least.
We discovered this problem around 8am that morning, and as life would have it, when it rains it pours, at 9 am we received a call regarding an urgent family matter that needed attention as well. This news felt the same; just as if the fences had been broken, everything that had been protected was now vulnerable to outside forces and in danger of being compromised. With this information, and still needing to go on our trip, and us not being completely responsible for the breakage or the repair, we again jumped in to offer a temporary fix for the situation by metaphorically helping mend their fences. After we were done, we went on to make the trip we had planned but I could not keep from thinking, in both scenarios the mending was not complete. Physically, there was still work to be done. We knew that wood still had to be purchased, all the tools retrieved from the barn and set up. The wood must be measured, cut to size, and placed into the broken fence. This was going to be quite a process, but not something we had not been through before. It is achievable.
As to the other matter at hand, emotionally and spiritually, there was still work to be done. This would require prayer, fasting, delving into the word of God, church going, love and compassion; however, this was not anything we had not encountered before either, and is attainable. The prayer and hope in both circumstances is that it would never happen again or not often anyway; however, this is what we all know is called ‘maintenance.’ This we will have with us always when we own possessions that are worth protecting. We have all witnessed at some point in our lives unexpected breakdowns of equipment, our possessions in general, as well as relationships with others and God.
So often we as humans are opposed to and resistant to any type of rules or regulations in any way, shape, or form, because we feel they are there to restrict us or hold us back. If I had a penny for every time I have heard the statement, “The Bible is just a book full of rules telling us to not do this and not do that,” I would be a wealthy woman. Though the statement within itself is not entirely wrong, the understanding of the word and the God of the word is way off track. The boundaries set by God were always for the good and the protection of his people. Not to keep them confined or pinned in to something, but to keep intruders, evil doers, and trespassers out. 1 Timothy 6:5-6 states, “Perverse disputing of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain.” We often have the opposite view of things whereas if we could see things through the eyes and mind of God, how much more content we could be.
An example of this are the dietary laws that God gave the people of Israel, were for their good. In the wilderness God told them to only gather the manna they could completely eat, for each day. This was not because He was being chincy or stingy, but because there was no way of keeping it fresh in the desert. Also, God did not want them to marry those from other nations, not because he was a ‘stick in the mud,’ but because they brought with them unhealthy and immoral customs that turned them away from God. So often we bring evil or hurt upon ourselves and the lives of our loved ones, because of our own greediness, selfishness, and pride. In Job19:6-8, Job says, “Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net. Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard. I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.” Job did not realize that God was keeping the enemy at bay with those fences, but even though he was afflicted and lost everything he had, complained, and threw a pity party, he kept the faith and stayed within the boundaries God had set, which allowed him to be restored.
The concept of boundaries, borders, hedges, and fences are so significant to God that it is riddled throughout scripture in varying ways and was so ingrained into the minds of the Israelites that when God introduced the idea of ‘cities of refuge’ it seemed natural and quite acceptable. We read about this in Numbers 35:10-12when24-29, “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killed any person at unawares. These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killed any person unawares may flee thither. Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil. But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. So, these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” The bottom line was that the fences and borders were for their protection.
It is still the same today, whether physically, emotionally, psychologically, or spiritually, we must protect our possessions, our minds, and our hearts from thieves. Jesus said in John 10:7-11, “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” I am certainly guilty of trying to cut costs on products and I will admit, I am always intrigued by a good deal, but the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” When it comes to our salvation, soundness of mind and heart, we must not skimp. Jesus is the only way to go. He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” He has bridged the gap and paid the price to give us direct access to a personal relationship with God once again, which is our only hope of safety and salvation. Cutting corners will not be beneficial overall.
Once we realize their benefits and have built up fences in our lives, we know there will be regular maintenance required as we saw in my original story of our fence issues both physical and spiritual. What I did not mention was that the root cause of the huge limbs continuing to fall and break our fences repeatedly, had not been addressed. We have about sixteen extremely large White Pines along our fence line that we discovered about a year ago have been eaten up by beetles. We were informed that this has been plaguing other land owners in Tennessee as well. The trees are eaten from the inside out and can sometimes look healthy on the outside for up to two years before really showing any outward signs, yet they get weaker and weaker as time goes on and are therefore no longer strong enough to sustain storms and severe winds, thus they begin to lose their branches. We were quoted a cost of $6000 to have them cut down, which we could not afford, but rather than ignore the problem, we have now invested in a new chain saw and have begun cutting them down ourselves. This is quite a job, however, well worth the time and effort to protect our power lines, house, and property.
The same is true in our lives spiritually. Ignoring a problem does not make it go away and is not a solution. Yes, the cost up front may come with a hefty price tag, however, you get what you pay for. Small temporary, cosmetic fixes will not kill the canker worm that is eating you from the inside out. People may not be able to see that you are literally dying for quite some time from outward appearances, but it does not mean it is not happening slowly from the inside out. We must eradicate the source of our sin, sickness, or disease before complete deliverance, healing and victory can be ours and our fences will be permanently restored for our safe keeping. Fences do not keep breaking in the same place without there being underlying issues and a root cause. We must say with the Psalmist the words from Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” Then we can make our fences, borders, and boundaries sure and secure. The old timer’s prayer, “Lord, put a hedge around them.” is right on point and still applicable today.
Psalm 62 says, “Truly my soul waits upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? Ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies, they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah. My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. Trust not in oppression and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongs unto God. Also, unto thee, O Lord, belongs mercy: for thou will render to every man according to his work.”
Allow God to protect and keep you. Everything He does and requires or asks us to do is to that end. He knows that the enemy has snares and ‘barbed wire’ laid out to catch and entangle us. Stay in the sheepfold where there is no want, need, or harm that can befall you as Psalm 23 tells us, and no regret that you will later have to live with. Keep those fences mended, solid, and intact because they are for your protection. Psalm 4:8 says, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makes me dwell in safety.” What a wonderful feeling.