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those of that doubting generation
were restricted to wandering in the
Sinai wilderness for forty years.
None of them ever entered the
promised land.
In spite of that, ancient Israel still
didn't learn the lesson of applying
the remedy for war. Later, again not
trusting in God, they decided to
form armies to fight neighboring
tribes. They overlooked faith and
the plain meaning of the sixth com–
mandment. Yet God still honored
the promise originally made to their
ancestor Abraham, that those Israel–
ites, despite their sins, would inherit
the land. God would not go back on
his word.
Therefore, at times, God would
use the physical army of Israel as a
tool to clear the way to the inher–
itance he had promised. At times, he
even intervened on behalf of the ar–
mies of the lsraelites in their con–
quests. The life of David is filled
with similar instances. But because
God at times used such arrnies for
the fulfilling of his promises, that
did not at all mean he condoned
such killing. Israel chose the way of
war of their own free will; God did
not force them to follow the way of
peace. The formation of puny ar–
mies by the Israelites was a totally
needless, wasteful action, as we shall
now see.
King Asa Learns a Lesson
Israel had initially accepted the
theocratic form of government
which God had presented to them.
But , typical of their hard–
headedness, they ultimately rejected
it. They insisted on a humanly led
government, mainly because all the
other nations had one.
After that switch, bowever, things
went badly. While the reigns of
David and his son Solomon brought
prosperity, an uncontrulled econ–
omy brought higher taxes and re–
sulted in the ultimate rejection of
Solomon's successor to the throne.
After that, it was nothing but down–
hill for the twelve tribes of Israel.
PlAIN TRUTH September 1973
The nation suffered and was even–
tually divided. The tribe of Judah
was on one side, with most of the
remaining tribes on the other.
Asa was a king of the House of
Judah and a descendant of David.
Because Judah had chosen to de–
fend itself without God's help, it
was subject to the invasions of sur–
rounding nations.
One of those invaders was Zerah,
king of Ethiopia. Zerah's army
numbered about one million, ama–
jor force by anyone's standards. Per–
haps it was these overwhelming
odds which forced King Asa to trust
in God, but the fact that he did
decide to reverse policy and rely on
God won the battle.
"And Asa cried unto the Lord his
God, and said, Lord, it is nothing
with thee to help, whether with
many, or with them that have no
power: help us, O Lord our God;
for we rest on thee, and in thy name
we go against this multitude. O
Lord, thou art our God; let not man
prevail against thee" (11 Chronicles
14: 11). Asa obviously meant what
he asked in this prayer, and God, in
his merey, hooored that request:
"So the Lord smote the Ethiopians
before Asa, and before Judah; and
the Ethiopians fted" (verse 12). Un–
fortunately, King Asa did not con–
tinue his policy of trust in God.
Jehoshaphat, the son ofKing Asa,
had a similar experience. Three al–
Iied armies carne to do battle
against Judah. Naturally, everyone
was frightened. Jehoshaphat knew
that they wou1d lose the battle with–
out God's help. He proclaimed a
fast and called upon God for assis–
tance. God answered through a
prophet: "Be not afraid nor dis–
mayed by reason of this great multi–
tude; for the battle is not yours, but
God's" (II Chronicles 20: 15).
Then Jehoshaphat did, by anyone
else's standards of war, a very
strange thing. He appointed a group
of singers, " ... that should praise
the beauty of holiness, as they went
out before the army, and to say,
Praise the Lord; for his merey en–
dureth for ever" (verse 21).
What was the outcome of that
battle? "And when they began to
sing and to praise, the Lord set am–
bushments against the children of
Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir,
which were come against Judah;
and they were smitten. For the chil–
dren ofAmmon and Moab stood up
against the inhabitants of mount
Seir, utterly to slay and destroy
them: and when they had made an
end of the inhabitants ofSeir, every–
one helped to destroy another" (ver–
ses 22-23). The grand alliance had
fallen apart, and Judah was granted
peace for a time.
What About Today?
These examples all took place in
what is rather negatively referred to
as "Bible times." Everyone knows,
of course, that God does not operate
in the same manner today, if he op–
erates at all. That, at any rate, is the
assumption of most people.
However, God says, "1 am the
Lord, 1 change not" (Malachi 3:6).
God's promises are just as binding
in the twentieth century as they
were before the birth of Christ. His
commandments are also as abso–
Iutely just and binding as they were
when he announced them to the
lsraelites at Mount Sinai. God never
breaks his promises. No nation on
the face of the earth need ever figh t
another war with any other people,
no matter how strong the opponent,
how formidable the weaponry, or
how great the apparent odds are
against winning - as long as that
nation puts its trust in God. But that
decision God has never yet forced
on any nation.
There need never be another
Hiroshima. There need never be an–
other war, period. That would take
trust in God, and faith, but it is not
an inconceivable situation, not if
men rely on God to protect them.
As Deuteronomy 1:30 says: "The
Lord your God which goeth before
you,
he shall jight for you."
This is
the remedy for war.
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