God is With Us - He is Our Leader

My dear friends in Christ,

War is on our minds. Every day brings an update on our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you are a fan of PBS, maybe you've caught an episode of Ken Burns' documentary, The War. He draws on the experiences of soldiers and families from four different places, including Luverne, MN, to tell the story of World War II. No matter how it's portrayed, whether on the news or in a documentary, war is ugly and destructive. One World War II witness said, "The real war involves getting down there and killing people. And being killed yourself or just barely escaping it. And it gives you attitudes about life and death that are unobtainable anywhere else" (Paul Fussell, www.pbs.org/thewar/about_letter_from_producers.htm). That was true almost 3000 years ago on a battlefield in the Promised Land. Two sides took up arms, killing people, some just barely escaping. The two sides learned a lesson about life and death—this time it was a lesson from God. Let's take a closer look at this record of war and see how "God is with us, he is our leader" in every battle that we face.

In World War II, it was the Allied Forces vs. the "Axis of Evil." Today it is the United States vs. Iraqi insurgents. In 2 Chronicles 13, it was North vs. South embroiled in a violent civil war. The leader of the Northern army was King Jeroboam. Solomon had exiled this trusted advisor for rebelling against him. After Solomon died, Jeroboam returned and led a second, more successful rebellion that split the nation of Israel. The 10 northern tribes followed him, giving him a kingdom that stretched from Bethel in the south to Dan in the north.

Jeroboam wasn't satisfied with the territory he had taken. He wanted more. He massed his force of 800,000 soldiers and marched south. Ahead of the army went two golden calves—the statues Jeroboam had made for his people to worship as their gods instead of the LORD. A contingent of priests accompanied the idols to offer sacrifices and look for the gods' assistance during the anticipated battle. The priests weren't from the Levite tribe. The Levites had moved south so they could carry out their duties at the temple in Jerusalem. Jeroboam had to appoint his own priests, so he consecrated anyone who volunteered and brought the right animals for a sacrifice.

The leader of the Southern army was King Abijah, Solomon's grandson. Abijah's father, Rehoboam, had contributed to the breakup of Solomon's kingdom by his stubborn refusal to follow sound advice and treat his subjects with kindness and respect. He chose to rule them harshly and tax them heavily. As a result, the 10 northern tribes broke away to follow Jeroboam, but the remaining two—Benjamin and Judah—followed Rehoboam. As a result, the southern kingdom was known as the kingdom of Judah.

Abijah was the rightful heir to the entire kingdom. He went out to meet Jeroboam with a force of 400,000 soldiers, just half the size of Jeroboam's army. He had no golden images going ahead of them. He and his men knew that the LORD went ahead of the army, just as he had done for Joshua and King David. The priests of the LORD went with Abijah's army, just as they had for Joshua and King David. They were Aaron's descendants, chosen not by the king of Judah but by the King of heaven and earth.

Two sides. A battle looming. We ask, "Why are there so many wars?" People have been asking that question for a long time. Since the day Cain attacked his brother and killed him, war has been part of our world. Families split in two. Nations take up arms. Arrows and stones fly. Swords flash. Bullets whine, bombs thunder. Why are there wars? Jesus said, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come." (Matthew 24:6). We live in a world dominated by sin. The reasons nations go to war vary from the desire to liberate to the desire to dominate. The reasons are many, and the sad truth is we will see war in our world until Jesus returns, thanks to sin.

We aren't soldiers serving on a front overseas. We fight our own battles every day. Some are in our own homes. We struggle against anger that explodes in our conversations and divides families as quickly and painfully as any civil war. Some take place in the quiet of our own hearts. We fight appetites that lead to addictions. Sinful desires lead us through minefields on the internet, looking for something that might satisfy those hungers. Sometimes the battle rages in our bodies. We fight weight gain, old age, and cancer.

All those battles are skirmishes in a colossal war. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). We are fighting for our lives in a spiritual battle against armies that dwarf the size of Jeroboam's army. The devil is after us "like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus said, "The world hates you" (John 15:19), and is looking to destroy our faith. Our own sinful nature is just as vicious. "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want" (Galatians 5:17). These armies carry their own gods and priests out in front. They oppose God and everything he has ever said and done. They are on the attack, and will do whatever it takes so that we lose the war!

King Abijah was in a tenuous position. Outmanned, outgunned, he didn't have a chance. During his speech from the mountainside, Jeroboam outmaneuvered him, sending an ambush behind the Judean army lines. Despite the odds being stacked against him, Abijah had a weapon that would turn the tide. He remembered the promise the LORD had made to David: "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16). Abijah reminded Jeroboam about that eternal promise when he called it a "covenant of salt." With that confidence, Abijah shouted, "The Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you" (2 Chronicles 13:10,12).

Jeroboam had turned away from the LORD. He trusted in his own might and tactics. He was fighting a battle he had no chance of winning. As the Israelite army attacked, the priests blew their trumpets, the soldiers raised the battle cry, and "God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah" (2 Chronicles 13:15). This was no accidental victory. The Northern army suffered casualties numbering 500,000—over half the assembled force. Abijah was able to capture some key cities, and Jeroboam never regained his former strength. The people of the southern kingdom succeeded because God fought for them.

Have you ever seen a grandson proudly escorting grandma through the store or into church? Her legs are weak, her eyesight poor, her balance iffy. She leans on him and clings to his arm, knowing that he will get her where she needs to go. Listen again to the last verse in this section. "The men of Judah were victorious because they relied [leaned] on the Lord, the God of their fathers" (2 Chronicles 13:18). They weren't strong enough to win. God was, and he won the war for them!

Whom can we lean on as we wade through skirmishes and fight in the war raging around us? Remember, Abijah shouted, "God is with us!" 200 years later, the LORD would promise another king of Judah, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). 700 years after the king heard that promise, the Virgin Mary looked at her newborn boy. She saw the fulfillment of God's Word. She could say, "God is with us!" 2000 years later we can shout, "God is with us!" Jesus entered the war to fight for us. He won every skirmish against the devil and told him, "Away from me Satan!" (Matthew 4:10). The world hated Jesus, but that didn't stop him from fighting and winning. He said, "But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus even defeated our sinful nature by dying on the cross and taking away all our sins. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

Jesus has already fought the war and won. We will see the results when this world ends. John saw in his Revelation: "They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers" (Revelation 17:14). We have that victory already because Jesus has called us. He chose us to be part of his family. He gives us strength to follow and serve him.

That doesn't mean that we have an exemption from the battles we experience every day. We still face our enemies—the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature—until the day we die. We need to remember what Paul told the Corinthians: "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3-4). Good soldiers know the importance of training with their weapons. They learn accuracy and react to situations sometimes without thinking because they have practiced over and over again. We have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Armed with that Word, we can fight every battle. We need to train hard with the Word. God promises that we will be ready. We won't need to worry, because Jesus also guarantees that we aren't fighting alone. He said, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

War is ugly. Sometimes our lives are ugly. We can see the two sides fighting, and sometimes it seems as though we're going to lose. Don't lose heart! Remember Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15: "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57). Amen.