Back the Badge – Archuleta. 2020 Sept

Back the Badge

By Donald Shoemaker

“Blessed are those
who maintain justice.” – Psalm 106:3

Deputy Sheriff Daniel Lee Archuleta, 35,

Kern County Sheriff’s Department, California

End of Watch: September 12, 2004

I was privileged to be Dan’s pastor for many years. He grew up in the church. He had been an Explorer with the Seal Beach Police Department. He was deeply devoted to God, his wife and family, his church and community, and to his duties with the Kern County Sheriff’s Department. Tragically, Dan died in a vehicular accident as he was responding to back up another deputy.

My wife and I travelled to Bakersfield for his funeral, where I was privileged to sing and offer a tribute. Later, a memorial was held at Grace Community Church in Seal Beach for the benefit of our own members and locals, and for some deputies of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, where he once served.

During my message I actually departed from my prepared remarks to discuss an issue heavy on my heart. I was angry, as I am now as I write this. My mind was on how a book explained these verses from Psalm 91 –

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

As a police chaplain, I’m always looking for literature that might help link spiritual principles with police work. So at a chaplain training conference I grabbed up a displayed book on Psalm 91, Your Shield and Buckler by Jorge Diaz (Maiden Voyage Publishing Company, 2002). The title is taken from Psalm 91:4 (KJV) – “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”

The key thought of the book is, “…even though we have discovered that God has made divine protection available to us, we still have to choose to partake of His provision. We have to activate God’s Word to experience His power in our life” (page 58).

So supposedly we are to think of the Bible as if it were a credit card. The card is just numbers on plastic—no power to you unless you ACTIVATE it. The Bible is just words on a page (or scroll, if you please)—its promises have no power for your life unless you ACTIVATE them by faith (sometimes called a “positive confession”). This is a version of the false “name it and claim it” Health and Wealth Gospel.

So officers, activate Psalm 91 and let the bullets fly. Let dangers surround you. Let the plague (today: COVID-19) rage around you. God will protect all who have activated the Psalm.

But, I thought, wait a minute! In the Bible story wasn’t Job a godly, prayerful man and didn’t tragedy (death of his children and terrible financial loss and painful disease) come on him? Didn’t he say, “The Lord has given; the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21)?

Yes, he did. And the author knows that. “Rather than place his faith in God’s ability to keep his family and him secure, Job chose to confess his fears until they ‘came upon him.’ Throughout his ordeal, Job continued speaking in fear. Job’s best-known negative confession [Job 1:21] is still misconstrued by some Christians to this day.” “Job was only half right: the Lord does give, but it is Satan who takes. He comes to steal, kill and destroy if we permit him to do so either by our words or by our actions” (page 73, bold italics mine).

This attempt to twist the story and compromise Job’s heart for God won’t pass biblical examination: “Shall we accept good from the Lord and not accept adversity?” Job asked. “In all this, Job did not sin in what he said” (Job 1:22; 2:10). Job thought and spoke rightly!

This author is just another one of “Job’s Counselors” – the men who came to Job to tell him his suffering was his fault. If he had just made a “positive confession” none of this would have happened to him. This kind of thinking is horribly wounding to families of faithful people who experience harm.

By this teaching, if a law enforcement officer is harmed or killed in the line of duty, it is because he failed to activate Divine Protection. He’s as much to blame as the officer who forgets to put bullets in his duty weapon. But what does this say to the family and fellow officers of a person known to love God with all his heart and to live faithfully before him?

I confess I’m puzzled on how best to understand Psalm 91. But Asaph, one of the Bible’s psalm-writers, would be puzzled too. He struggled with why the righteous suffer and the bad guys win (or why bad things happen to good people). “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure… All day long I have been plagued…” (Psalm 73:13).

For an answer, Psalm 73 tells us to go to church (so to speak—“When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood…”) and try to understand life by looking down from the perspective of Heaven (see verses 16-26). Psalm 73:23-26 –

Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

2021 Update: Psalm 91 as quoted by Jesus…

Jesus, too, heard the “protection promise” of Psalm 91 when he faced great temptation. His response puts this promise in balance with what Scripture says elsewhere about how we “trust God” in the midst of testing and danger. The “balance” involves the general principle that one scripture needs to be compared with other scripture, not left to speak in isolation.

On this occasion the words came to Jesus from the Devil himself (Matthew 4:5-6):
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written [Psalm 91:11-12]:
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus replied (Matthew 4:7):
“It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Psalm 91 is a valid promise of God’s protection. But Jesus’ warning makes us cautious. Psalm 91 must never be used in a way that “tests God” (by taking unwise or immoral chances and seeing if God will protect us in spite of ourselves).

Nor does it mean we will never experience harm facing trials. In the “Plan of God”, often a mystery to us, persecution, pain, even death may come as it did for Jesus. In his “Hour of Suffering” that led to the cross, an angel came and ministered to him not to keep him safe from the danger but to strengthen him through it (Luke 22:39-44).

“Back the Badge” is an occasional essay written by Donald Shoemaker, an ordained minister with over 50 years’ experience and a police chaplain with Master Certification and 20 years’ experience. To receive “Back the Badge” free by email, simply send an email to the address above.