AN ATTITUDE OF PEACE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’"

“The officers shall say to the army: ‘Has anyone built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may dedicate it. Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her.’ Then the officers shall add, ‘Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his brothers will not become disheartened too.’ When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it.”

“When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.”

“However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.”

“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them? However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls.”

Deuteronomy 20

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

One thing was certain as Israel was about to enter the Promised Land. They weren’t entering a land that wasn’t already occupied and those who were there weren’t going to surrender without a fight. Conflict was inevitable.

There was one other thing that was sure. The Israelites weren’t any ordinary force coming into Canaan for they had the Lord on their side…the Almighty, Omnipotent God of all Creation…the God who promised He would be with Israel and deliver their opposition to them. We know this is truth from our scriptures today where we read this:

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be faint-hearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’"

What an assurance this must have been for Israel! For they knew God was with them before they even entered any conflict, working things out in their favor in accordance with His will.

And so it is with us as well today.

For it’s inevitable that we will enter into our own skirmishes in life as well. Sometimes these happen when we enter new territories but more often than not, they occur on ground that is more common and familiar to us like the workplace, in our home, or perhaps with family members close and afar. Regardless of the situation, the part or parties involved, or the location of the adversary, God is with us nonetheless and is ready to lead us through any battle we might encounter, a truth we should never forget.

Before I close, there is one other important part of this scripture passage for today. Look at these words again:

“When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city.”

Note here that the Israelites weren’t supposed to enter into immediate attack on every city it came upon. No, the first thing they were to do is offer peace before conflict and although we don’t know how many cities accepted this offer, I would have to guess there were some. This tasking for Israel was important because resolution of a potential battle can sometimes happen quickly if the right initial attitude is taken…an attitude of peace.

I know I can vouch for this from personal experience. In fact, I have found that I can often bring someone with a combatant attitude to my place of peace by refusing to exchange the same combatant attitude with them. Maybe you can relate to this. For have you ever witnessed two people get into an argument with one another and watch it escalate as neither person is willing to back down? Usually it results in one person trying to one-up the other until words turn into physical altercations. No one wins in these circumstances and, more often than not, someone just gets hurt.

Conversely, have you ever witnessed someone who wanted to get into an argument with someone but the other person remained calm, collected, and unwilling to enter into heated discussion with the other? Perhaps you noticed in these circumstances where the dispute ramped down to the level of the calmer person much like throwing cold water on a burning flame? Either that happens or the angry person just walks away frustrated because the peaceful person refuses to engage them in anger.

I have learned in my life that this approach is golden and use it all the time because I want to be an instrument of peace, not strife…just like Jesus, the Prince of Peace. And I can do it because the Holy Spirit is alive within me.

So how about you?

How do you handle matters of conflict?

Are you an instrument of dissension or peace?

Do you see God as always being with you…ready to guide and direct you through any clash when it comes?

Friends, God’s Word today is speaking loudly, bringing us great wisdom and good news. Thanks be to God that we never need to fear walking this world alone. Thanks be as well that as we do walk it, we can do so with an attitude of peace.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.