Selah: Pause and Reflect

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

History is being written before our eyes. It is said that history is written by the victors but our understanding of history also depends upon our viewpoint, both chronologically and ideologically. As Dennis asked last Sunday, what can we believe when we suspect that history is being re-written before our eyes? Here is one perspective, written from very close to the Ukraine border.

In 1854 at the time of the battle of Balaklava, the peninsular of Crimea was part of Russia; some 100 years later it was transferred to Ukraine by a leader of the USSR with his own Ukrainian connections. As Ukraine was at that time a Soviet satellite state, border changes like that were little more than an administrative exercise.

Around 1990 the then President of the USSR granted a high degree of autonomy to many of these satellite states. After the dust settled some of these states stayed close to the Russian Federation; others started to explore other alliances. The population of Ukraine consists of primarily two ethnic groups, one with affinities to Russia and the other tempted by western values.

For some years the country’s leadership swung between one group or the other. In the years leading up to 2014, efforts by the European Commission to force a regime change resulted in civil unrest and were seen as a threat to Russia’s area of influence. Then a certain former KGB officer with an interest in national security decided that too much of his domain was disappearing into the sunset. What followed is less history, more current affairs.

Why this potted history of eastern Europe? No longer can we say that what is happening is far away and irrelevant. But what are the implications for us?

Care for the homeless, the fatherless and widows is a reflection of God’s provision for our own needs. The rapid and generous response of many individuals is in contrast to the indifference and hostility being demonstrated by others who hide behind official formalities.

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25 v40

Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow. Deuteronomy 27 v19

There is a widespread tendency to dismiss history as just being a thing of the past, no longer relevant. The same attitude is applied to Biblical prophecy; the books of Daniel and Revelation are preached selectively, concentrating on the bits that are easy to understand and with the rest ignored. Yet both history and prophesy have lessons for us.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the Scriptures might have hope. Romans 15 v4

One of the challenges of studying history is that there is more of it every day. History is being made now, there is more history to come. God is writing a history book, and he has a chapter on you; will you be happy with what is written there?

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. … The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. Revelation 20 v12

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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author