Warrior’s Weakness – LLC12

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Tuesday May 12 War

Faith – war – LIGHT; seeing courage in conflict |

Not even the armies of the greatest power on earth could be allowed to keep people in bondage when Yahweh orders their release. Moses was in his best form when he said “Chill out and see Yahweh’s salvation”.  How many people do we know who would take no action against an attacking army?  There is Israel’s uncommon courage in the face of existential threat.

But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever. (Exo 14:13)

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Hope – war – LIGHT; trusting endurance |

The release of Abraham’s descendants, 400 years after the promise to Abraham, is graphic evidence of God’s providence. We do not know what the oral tradition of the promise looked like, but we know that, in the end, God I responded to the cry of his people on the Egyptian oppression.

Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. (Gen 15:13)

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And the Lord said, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. (Exo 3:7)

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Love – war – LIGHT; embracing reconciliation |

Love appears in the ancient narrative without mushy love talk, but love’s dimensions are unmistakable.  Reconciliation is never one-sided but needs to end in a new status, not necessarily something one had before.

7. “The Lord did not make you His beloved nor choose you because you were greater in number than any of the peoples, since you were the fewest of all peoples, 8. but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deu 7:7-8)

The armies of the world fight to make new realities; they contend for territory, for control of people’s lives, and they seek to establish their reputation as supreme, but God swears to liberate people from Egyptian power.  He has shown that he is capable of reducing any superpower to rubble.  Who else can make wars end?

Death – war – LIGHT; becoming silence after struggle |

Which warrior does not go to war in order to win?  Prayer warrior, civil rights warrior, religious reformers,  activists for the rights of freed slaves, all struggle to change the world. The customary follow up to war is partying, parades, and a lot of primping and strutting.  Christ takes the unusual step of sitting down in silence and near perfect rest. If warfare sat at the top of Christ’s agenda then the cross marked the point where the soldier checked out.  Beautiful golden silence.