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1 Chronicles 8:1-9:1

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war…

In chapter 7, we looked at how God calls us to be fighting men and women, ready to go out to war (11b). In the words of a book title, we are Born to battle. Like it or like it not, as a Christian you’ve enlisted. There’s a war on and you’re in the army now.

In chapter 8, I see three key characteristics of a Christian warrior:

a.)    Bravery (40)…brave warriors… It undoubtedly takes courage to live the Christian life. My pastor at the ‘Elim’ church in Wigan often said, ‘If it’s worth being a Christian, then be a real one!’ But we know that being the genuine article is far from easy. It takes guts. Let’s not pretend otherwise. What do you need courage for today? Right now ask God to supply your need.

b.)    Zeal (13b) …who drove out the inhabitants of Gath. You may know that Gath was in Philistine territory. It was where Goliath hailed from. It was a stronghold of pagan religion. A Christian soldier is zealous to see God’s Name glorified and false religion exposed and driven out. A Christian soldier is zealous to overcome all opposition to the glorious gospel. Also, he/she has zeal to see the enemy overcome in their personal life. They want to drive out bad attitudes, wrong motives, sinful words and thoughts that will not submit to the Lordship of Christ. They have a passion for holiness. They hunger and thirst for righteousness (Mt.5:6). They deeply desire to get rid of everything in their lives that is displeasing to God. This is not a fight where we seek to bring people to conversion using worldly weapons (2 Cor. 10: 3, 4). Such an attitude is mistaken. We are in a spiritual battle in which we use weapons such as praise, prayer, fasting and the preaching of the gospel. Our fight is not one in which we seek to kill people, but rather bring them to life through faith in Jesus.

c.)     Skill (40)…who could handle the bow. God gives special abilities to each of us and He asks us to do all that we can with what He has put into our hands. There are areas of expertise that we each have been entrusted with, and we are to use them by His power and for His glory. (Think again of Psalm 144:1)

In the middle of this line, standing between the two statements in (13 & 40) we have Saul. We are going to be thinking more about this man, Israel’s first king, very shortly. Although he was to go badly off the boil ultimately, he started out well. But note the point that there were great soldiers both in his ancestry and his progeny. We reproduce what we are. There were warriors in Saul’s line both before and after him. May we be Christian soldiers of such bravery, zeal and skill that what we reproduce is a blessing to the generations to come.

If you’re a Christian, you can’t get away from soldiering. It’s just a question of whether you’re playing army games or really engaged in the fight.

Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus that you are with us on the battlefield, and we do not fight alone. Even more, thank you that you have already won the war, and that we are fighting from victory and not for it.

1 Chronicles 7

Amidst another long list of names (and some interesting insights into the lives of certain people) there is a repeated expression here. It was easy to see it in my Bible because I’d highlighted it some time back: fighting men (2, 5, 7, 9, 11b).

When I was involved in a church plant in my home city of Lancaster, in the early 1980’s, someone who was endeavouring to plant a church in the Scottish Highlands preached at one of our services. He had a repeated theme, much like the one you see in chapter 7.  Again and again during the course of his sermon he looked at me and said, ‘It’s a fight all the way, but fight on brother!’ I knew down to my boots that he was right. It was a struggle. Spiritually speaking it was ‘blood, sweat and tears’, and around six months after I left Lancaster this little church I had laboured over closed down. It was heart-breaking.

Where have all the Christian Soldiers gone? asked Graham Kendrick in one of his great songs. He went on to affirm: God put a fighter in me. In the fight we grow up. Spiritually speaking, ‘boys’ become ‘men’. Praise be to the LORD, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle (Ps.144:1). It seems to me that much of that training goes on in the battle. Let’s listen to ourselves; so many of our prayers are to avoid, or be rid of, unpleasant things. This is totally understandable. We are congenitally allergic to pain. But war is dangerous (21), and the call of God is to Endure hardship…like a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Tim.2:3). It takes difficulties in our lives for us to learn to endure, and, it seems to me, God’s training ground for soldiering is much tougher than any earthly parade ground or camp. He doesn’t want us to be chocolate soldiers (C.T. Studd) who melt in the heat of battle. I believe it is true of some professing Christians that although they will accept the description fighting men as a useful theoretical description, in no way are they ready to go out to war (11b; see also 4 and 40).

On a different note, in life ‘stuff happens’ (21-23): ‘stuff’ you didn’t choose and don’t want. But you can’t escape it. In times of trial and grief you experience another dimension of the battle, as you fight, by God’s grace, to continue to walk with Him and enjoy Him, in spite of the hurt. There is a time to mourn, but there is also a time to move on. Ephraim allowed himself time to grieve his terrible loss (22) and that is so important. This process should not be short-circuited by your own impatience (or anyone else’s). But you will see that although he remembered; he never forgot; he also moved on (23). I met an inspirational elderly lady a year or two ago. She had been a widow for around 20 years. She and her husband loved each other very much, and served God together. It was a big blow to lose him. But she said to me, ‘When my husband died, I decided I was going to live!’

Finally, here’s an interesting sequel on the church plant in Lancaster. Recently I travelled over to that area to see elderly relatives who are very ill. I passed Ryland’s House where we used to meet. It’s  a community centre set in park land: formerly the home of Lord Ashton, who was a great benefactor to the city. More or less opposite the entrance to Ryland’s House, I noticed the former Methodist Church building. It is now the home of what is, I understand, a thriving ‘Elim’ Pentecostal church. It was re-launched probably towards ten years ago, and our former secretary was a part of the new beginning. It was with great joy that he rang me to tell me, and my heart leapt at the news. Was all that praying and fasting in Ryland’s House worth it? Look across the road today and tell me it wasn’t!

Prayer: However hot the fight, and no matter how disappointingly the battle may seem to be going, strengthen me Lord, please, to fight on. It’s a fight all the way, but by your grace I trust to endure.

Psalm 89:30-37

These verses continue with God’s promise to David (a section begun in verse 19). Sometimes we can have problems with the Bible because of what we think it says rather than what it actually does say. In other words, the problem does not lie in its meaning but in our interpretation. The central dilemma of this Psalm is resolved when we look closely at what God did say. Verses 30 -32 outline what happened. This was the very situation they were wrestling with. But God had said: If they spit on the directions I give them and tear up the rules I post for them – I’ll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion and make them face the music. The Message. Here was a very important feature of God’s unconditional covenant with David: if any individual king broke the covenant, that king would be punished (32), and all of Israel would suffer as a result (see 2 Samuel 7:14). But God’s love would not be taken from him (33). That is, his line would not be utterly destroyed.

However, there then comes a reiteration of God’s gracious promise (33-37). There are two important points to hold on to here:

God’s Word is God’s Word: Look at the repetition of my in (30-32). Therefore:

God’s Word is like God Himself: Would it be overdoing it to say that it is His character translated into print? I don’t think so. So, like God Himself, His Word is:

a.)    An inviolable Word (34a);

b.)    An unalterable Word (34b);

c.)     A truthful Word (35b). (God is not a man that He should lie.)

d.)    A loving Word (33a);

e.)     A faithful Word (33b);

f.)      A sure Word (35a). God can swear by no-one greater than Himself (see Hebrews 6:13-20).

Do you think I’d withdraw my holy promise? Or take back words I’d already spoken? I’ve given my word, my whole and holy word; do you think I would lie to David? His family tree is here for good, his sovereignty as sure as the sun, Dependable as the phases of the moon, inescapable as weather. The Message.

Although they could not see it at the time, we know that (36, 37) have been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. Even when the monarchy had to be destroyed because of continuing sin, David’s line was not destroyed, but would (will!) continue for ever (36). It will do so because the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of David, Son of God, reigns forever in the power of an indestructible life. (Luke 1:32, 33; see Romans 1:1-4 and Hebrews 7:16b).

In ‘Every day with Jesus’ many years ago, Selwyn Hughes ran a series looking at character after character in the Bible, and showing how in each life God’s promise seemed to go into reverse gear for a time, only to be fulfilled at a later date. Let’s not judge by appearances, but seek to understand what God has said and affirm it in the face of apparently contradictory circumstances.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, what can I say? I love you and I am in awe of all you are. You simply overwhelm and amaze me. All glory be to your inexpressibly great and mighty Name. What a God! What a plan!!

Prayer: Lord God, this way of treating enemies looks wonderfully neat on paper; and so does the call to love other believers. In reality it can be so hard. So I once again express my need for your helping grace, and I know you will not let me down.

Romans 12: 14-21

Two strands are interwoven in this section:

How to deal with your enemies (14): Verse 14 takes us back in thought to the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5: 10-12). We are to Bless those who persecute us. The word is repeated, as if for emphasis. We are not to curse. Blessing involves thanking God for our enemies (recognising that He has a purpose in their malicious involvement in our lives. Is there someone in your world who is like grit in the oyster? Recognise that God is using this ‘irritant’ to turn you into a ‘pearl’. Thank Him for their major contribution to your sanctification! Hard? Yes. But possible by God’s grace.) It also means we pray for them. It is hard to intercede for people without coming to love them, and to see them in a different light (even if we don’t feel as much affection as we consider we ought to at the start.) Part of blessing is being good to people; being kind (20/21). Reach out a hand to them and seek to help them, even though the only part of their anatomy they’re thrusting at you is a fist. There is a sense of causing them to burn with shame (20b) when you return evil with good. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. The Message. The exhortation here tells us clearly not to try to take matters into our own hands in order to wreak vengeance. Commit them to God; leave them with Him (17a, 19). He is the perfect Expert at dealing with all manner of people. The world says, ‘Don’t get mad, get even!’ God’s ways are so different. In everything, we are called to seek to do what is right (17b). Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. The Message.

How to live with your friends: Paul writes about how to get on with your fellow-Christians.

1. Live sympathetically (15): try to enter into the feelings/experiences of others; to sit where they sit. Empathy has been defined as ‘your pain in my heart.’ It could equally be ‘your joy’ there too.
2. Live harmoniously/peacefully (16a/18): However, whilst we must Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph.4:3), there is a realistic recognition here that we can only go so far. One or two people are so cranky and contentious and war-like that they make it almost impossible to be at peace with them; so determined are they to have a scrap. Nevertheless, do your very best to have loving relationships with everyone.
3. Live humbly (16b; see also 3). Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody. The Message. This, of course, reaches out beyond ‘the pews’ and into life in the world also. Don’t look down your nose at anyone or consider yourself superior. A lady with a rather jaundiced view of things once said to the pastor of a fairly middle-class church: ‘This church is just like a country club! What would you do if someone came in from….?’(and she named a particular housing estate, which was perhaps despised by some in that area). The pastor was grateful that he could calmly respond: ‘Actually, someone has already joined us from there and they are welcomed and loved!!’ His words were absolutely true, and there are no prizes for that particular congregation. That is just how it should be. Whatever our background or social status in the world, in the church we are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal.3:28).

O Lord, let us truly recognise that how we treat others is how we treat you. Cause this understanding to sink deep into our hearts and transform our relationships