The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 30:25,
"I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt."
After the events of 9/11 and our country's engagement of the war on terror, our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, I recall reading literature on what might be considered a "just war". I'm speaking of discussion on war as a principle here, not specifically Iraq or Afghanistan or any war particularly.
Should we be engaging in war as a country? What conditions might make it just? Can it ever be just? Some of what I read were documents prepared by certain Christian denominations, some were articles in Christian as well as secular periodicals. Some of the discussion centered around "what would Jesus do", "turn the other cheek", all war is immoral and wrong. Principles drawn from the teachings of our Lord on our individual personal behavior extrapolated (in ridiculous fashion!) to apply to the theater of international events, etc.
Something that seemed to get lost in a lot of what I read was how the Lord actually reveals himself in the pages of Scripture. Plenty of "proof texts" given, little in the way of context offered, and very little on passages that have direct bearing on the subject. Here in this passage we read that the Lord clearly provoked war, aided one side, and fulfilled his purposes through it.
As this text demonstrates, as in many other places in Scripture, the Lord engages in war to fulfill his purposes and to accomplish his desires. Where there may be plenty to discuss relative to the wisdom to go to war given a specific occasion, any discussion on the abstract concept of war leaves me somewhat perplexed. Doesn't anyone read their Bibles anymore? And if there are so many groups, many respectable groups at that, who claim to know God and are so befuddled over what God might think of war per se, leaves me wondering about a lot.
If the many good folks (educated folks!) I have read seem so fuzzy about a perspective God may have, particularly something as relevant as war in the affairs of mankind, I suspect I have my own issues with being "fuzzy" and unclear about some of the differing aspects of God. I really find much room here for humility and caution for myself and feel an utter dependence on the Scriptures to keep me clear on just how the Lord reveals himself. I feel very confident about some of the things I know of the Lord, his love for us, his kindness and mercy, his anger, jealousy and judgment. But I also lack much that brings plenty of ground for humility in my knowledge of him. But, I will say, what I do know takes my breath away…
After the events of 9/11 and our country's engagement of the war on terror, our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, I recall reading literature on what might be considered a "just war". I'm speaking of discussion on war as a principle here, not specifically Iraq or Afghanistan or any war particularly.
Should we be engaging in war as a country? What conditions might make it just? Can it ever be just? Some of what I read were documents prepared by certain Christian denominations, some were articles in Christian as well as secular periodicals. Some of the discussion centered around "what would Jesus do", "turn the other cheek", all war is immoral and wrong. Principles drawn from the teachings of our Lord on our individual personal behavior extrapolated (in ridiculous fashion!) to apply to the theater of international events, etc.
Something that seemed to get lost in a lot of what I read was how the Lord actually reveals himself in the pages of Scripture. Plenty of "proof texts" given, little in the way of context offered, and very little on passages that have direct bearing on the subject. Here in this passage we read that the Lord clearly provoked war, aided one side, and fulfilled his purposes through it.
As this text demonstrates, as in many other places in Scripture, the Lord engages in war to fulfill his purposes and to accomplish his desires. Where there may be plenty to discuss relative to the wisdom to go to war given a specific occasion, any discussion on the abstract concept of war leaves me somewhat perplexed. Doesn't anyone read their Bibles anymore? And if there are so many groups, many respectable groups at that, who claim to know God and are so befuddled over what God might think of war per se, leaves me wondering about a lot.
If the many good folks (educated folks!) I have read seem so fuzzy about a perspective God may have, particularly something as relevant as war in the affairs of mankind, I suspect I have my own issues with being "fuzzy" and unclear about some of the differing aspects of God. I really find much room here for humility and caution for myself and feel an utter dependence on the Scriptures to keep me clear on just how the Lord reveals himself. I feel very confident about some of the things I know of the Lord, his love for us, his kindness and mercy, his anger, jealousy and judgment. But I also lack much that brings plenty of ground for humility in my knowledge of him. But, I will say, what I do know takes my breath away…
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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