In Exodus, Moses is leading his people out of Egypt. Pharaoh has changed his mind (because "the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh" (Exo 14:8)) and pursues them. So Moses tells his people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of YHWH, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. YHWH will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exo 14:13-14). Does that strike you as ... odd? The Lord ... will fight? I mean, aren't we supposed to ... I don't know ... abhor violence or something? Apparently ... not.
It's a recurring theme. In Deuteronomy, Israel is getting ready to enter the Promised Land. Moses assures them, "YHWH your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory" (Deut 20:4). In 1 Samuel 17, David faces Goliath. David assures Goliath, "This day YHWH will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head" (1 Sam 17:46). Kind of gruesome, but apparently he was right. "For the battle is YHWH's, and He will give you into our hand" (1 Sam 17:47). In 2 Chronicles, Jehoshaphat faced an army he couldn't beat, so he took it to God. God answered, "Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's" (2 Chron 20:15). It doesn't stop at the Old Testament with the physical battles Israel faced. We are told we will face battles ... especially spiritual ones (Eph 6:12) ... but Paul wrote, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom 8:31) In that text, he goes on to say, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Rom 8:37). "Conquerors."
Two running themes ... "Fear not" and "The battle belongs to the Lord." We will face conflicts and we will have to be in battles, but it's of immense comfort to know that we don't do this alone. The battle belongs to the Lord. I like Jehoshaphat's battle plan in that account in 2 Chronicles. "You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of YHWH on your behalf ..." (2 Chron 20:17). Come and watch the Lord work on your behalf in the battles you face in life and be "more than conquerors."
3 comments:
Pacifism has never seemed to be a Christian value to me with all the battle talk in the Bible. Sure, some times the Israelites were made to be ready to fight, only to stand back and watch God work, but they were still made ready to fight. Thankfully, we don't fight in our own strength. Praise the Lord for His mighty hand.
As we are told in Scripture that there is a time to fight, if we're devoted to Him, we will likely only engage in violence to fight off evil, and He will be with us. We can't always be certain our cause is just, but I don't think we're judged on any level of guarantee in that regard, but on our mindset with relation to Him.
But this all comes after prayers for His intervention and then for guidance if we're to engage at all. And then of course, the certainty that the outcome doesn't matter as much as we are willing to remain faithful to Him regardless of it.
I am mindful that while the physical battles of the Old Testament were pertinent for their time and place, the all-important and ongoing spiritual battles described in Eph. 6:12 are very real to those of us in the Church and should fully engage us until the Lord returns. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Fortunately, we have not been left defenseless, as we are urged to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (v. 11).” And just like in the incidents you mention in your post, “the battle belongs to the Lord,” as you say, and we can “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (v. 10). Fear not and conquer, indeed.
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