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wrong-that is MAN's decision!
These Israelites did not need to
fight.
God ALLOWED them to SIN by
taking up arms.
Now you know WHY the nation
Israel went to war- WHY God him–
self even
commanded
them to go to
war, driving out the pagan nations
from the Promised Land.
Many people have wondered
WHY, if God's teaching is that WAR
JS WRONG, he actually commanded
his own nation to fight in war.
The answer is that God made
man with FREE MORAL AGENCY–
God not only
allows
humans to
have a CHOICE- he compels us to
choose!
God alone determines WHAT is
sin. God
does not allow
MAN to
decide WHAT is sin, or WHAT is
righteousness. But he does allow
man- he actually
compe/s
man to
decide WHETHER tO Sin.
God made it PLAIN to ancient
Israel that they need never go to
war. He guaranteed complete pro–
tection from outside enemies. He
guaranteed PEACE-if they would
trust him and obey the laws of his
government! He demonstrated his
ability- and his POWER! But the
Israelites chose WAR. Just as
ALL
nations have chosen WAR! Just as
our
nations do- needlessly- to–
day!
Case History No. 2
The preceding article gave the
first actual case history showing,
in detail, how the ETERNAL God,
by supernatu ral miracles, did
deliver the Israeli tes at the Red
Sea from the army of the then
greatest nation on earth, the
Egyptians.
Notice Case History No. 2.
This concerns King Asa of tbe
kingdom of Judah. The king of
Ethiopia carne against the Jew·s
with
300
chariots and an army of
ONE MILLION soldiers. They had
majar size armies in those days,
strange as that may seem.
In those days the Jews also had a
sizable army-but not nearly large
enough to withstand an invasion of
a force of a million troops.
Perhaps, had the Ethiopians
come wíth a smaller army, Asa
míght have gone to war with them
relying wholly on his armed force,
March 1982
instead of on God. But, regardless,
the FACT is that in thís instance this
king
did
rely on God for his
defense!
"And Asa cried unto the Lord
his God, and said,
O
Lord, it is
nothing with thee to help, whether
with many, or with them that have
NO POWER: heJp
US,
0 Lord our
God; for we rest on thee, and in thy
name we go against this multitude.
O
Lord, thou art our God; Jet not
man prevail against THEE! So THE
LoRD smote the Ethiopians before
Asa, and befare Judah;
and the
Ethiopians jied"
(11 Chron. 14:11-
12).
But there is an unhappy seque!
to t his tremendous event- where
reliance on Goo put A MILLION
ARMED MEN TO FLIGHT!
The king of ISRAEL, Baasha,
carne with an armed force against
the J ews. Incidentally, note care–
fully, the kingdom of ISRAEL was
here fighting against the J Ews of
the kingdom of J UDAH! They were
two altogether
different nations!
The people of the northern king–
dom of ISRAEL
never
were called
Jews!
This time Asa neglected to rely
on God to fight off the attacking
military force! This time he did
PRECISELY WHAT THE UNITED
STATES ANO BRITAIN ARE DOING
TODAY! He
hired
an ALLY-the
kingdom of Syria (11 Chron . 16:1-
3).
"And at that time Hanani the
seer carne to Asa, king of Judah,
and said unto him, Because thou
hast relied on the king of Syria,
and
not
relied on the Lord thy
God, therefore is the host of the
king of Syria escaped out of thine
hand. Were not the Ethiopians
and the Lubims a huge host, with
very many cbariots and horse–
men? yet , because thou didst rely
on the Lord, he delivered tbem
into thine hand. For the eyes of
the Lord run to and fro through–
out the whole earth, to shew him–
self STRONG in the behalf of them
whose heart is perfect toward him.
Herein thou hast done foolish–
ly:"-JUST LIKE THE UNITED
STATES ANO ALL NATIONS TO–
QAv!-"therefore from henceforth
THOU SHALT HAVE WARS" (II
Chron.
16:7-9).
If
you wonder why OUR NATIONS
are continually having w ARS,
there
is your answer!
Case Hlstory No: 3
The next case history involves
Asa's son, Jehoshaphat, the next
king of Judah.
Tbree all ied armies carne against
Judah, with a mighty military
force.
"And Jehoshaphat feared, and
set himself to seek the Lord, and
proclaimed a fast throughout all
Judah. And Judah gathered them–
selves together, to ask help of the
Lord. .. .
"And Jeboshaphat stood in the
congregation of J udah and Jerusa–
lem, in the house of the Lord,
before the new court, and said,
O
LORD God of our fathers, art not
thou God in heaven? and RULEST
NOT THOU OVER ALL THE KING–
DOMS OF THE HEATHEN?"-that is,
over all gentile nations, as well as
Israelitish.
Continue: "and in thine hand is
there not POWER and MIGHT, SO
that none is able to withstand thee?
Art not thou our Goo, who didst
drive out the inhabitants of this
land before thy people Israel ... ?
And now, behold, the children of
Ammon and Moab and mount Seir,
whom thou wouldst not let Israel
invade.. .. Behold, 1 say, how they
reward us, to come to cast us out of
thy possession, whicb thou hast giv–
en to us to inherit.
O
our Goo, wilt
thou not judge them? for WE HAvE
NO MIGHT AGAINST THIS GREAT
COMPANY that cometh against us;
neither know we what to do: BUT
OUR EYES ARE UPON THEE"
(11 Chron.
20:3-7 ,
1
0-12).
Could God
be GOD.
and fail to
heed a heartrending prayer like
that-coming from helpless people
who were obeying and TRUSTING
him?
Immediately God answered
througb one of his prophets:
"Thus saith the Lord unto you,
Be not afraid nor dismayed by rea–
son of this great multitude;
for the
batt/e is
NOT YOUR'S, BUT
Goo's....
"Ye shall
not need to fight
in
this battle: set yourselves, stand ye
still, and see the salvation of the
Lord... . And Jehoshaphat bowed
his head with bis face to the
ground: and all Judah and the
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