Selah: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2022]

When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies. [Numbers 10 v9 NIVUK]

Scholars tell us that this is one of the final instructions given to Moses whilst he was on Mount Sinai. Although not one of the better-known Ten Commandments, nevertheless it does have something to say to us.

Justified defensive action:
Even God’s people can come under attack from those with evil ambitions. Abraham’s herdsmen were required to fight off marauders. Nehemiah’s wall builders carried both the tools of their trade and their weapons of defence. Many times, king David had to defend his nation from external attackers, often with a loss of life on both sides.

It is worth remembering that each one of those who fell were some mother’s son and it is likely that many of them had families of their own; in short they were each a valued member of their society and, although personally innocent, they suffered for defending it.

A blast on the trumpets:
Both a warning and a call to arms, to mobilise God’s people to come to the defence of their land and their society. The blast of the trumpet and the scream of sirens are also a call for help. Are the sirens sounding in Burma, in Afghanistan, in Yemen too far away to be distinct? Surely not so those that are sounding less than 4 hours’ flying time away.

There are some things that we can do to offer assistance but, for us, the call to arms is primarily a call to prayer.

Then you will be remembered:
God claims that his love is greater than that of a mother for her children, even a mother seeking to protect her children from an invading army or a mother giving birth in an isolated bunker attended by medics with the sounds of explosions ringing in their ears.

Do we still believe that God knows what is going on, that God has it all under control, that God is good? How can we declare that to someone who has lost their livelihood, their home, their family? But what else have we to cling to?

Lord, we bring to you our doubts and the scepticism of those around us; help us to overcome our unbelief.

Rescued from your enemies:
In around 473BC the Jews were again facing a threat from a vicious enemy. Queen Esther was asked to intervene but when she hesitated she received a stark warning: relief and deliverance would come but she would suffer for refusing to get involved. She then used her influence and resources to bring about a means whereby the Jews could defend themselves.

Does all this talk of fighting upset you; do you worry about where world is going? Maybe God allows these things so that we will draw closer to him. Here are some words from Jesus; can you spot the reassurance hidden within a depressing prophecy?

You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened [Matthew 24 v6, 22 NIVUK]

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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author