May 2, 2017

WHOSE SIDE ARE WE ON?

Judith 5:20-21

“Now my lord and master, if there is any sin of ignorance in this people and they sin against their God, then we will identify their offense and will go up to defeat them. But if there is no lawlessness in their nation, then let my lord leave them alone, lest their Lord shield them, and their God defend them, and we will become a reproach before the whole earth.”

Encouraging Words

Here in Judith, one of the Old Testament apocryphal books, we have Achior, an Ammonite, informing Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army, about the nation of Israel. The Ammonites were neighbors to Israel and had seen many of the mighty things that their God had done in their history. The Assyrians were conquering the known world and now had Israel in their sights. In this short passage, Achior is warning Holofernes to be careful with the Israelites. If they have not been sinning against their God then they will be a formidable force because their God will be commanding their puny army and He never loses a battle. Is this not a powerful message for us today? If we are striving to live our lives for our God, submitting our wills to Him, and obeying His precepts, will He not protect us as He did the nation of Israel? He keeps his covenants! Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!