"When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses
and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them; for
the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land
of Egypt. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that
the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, and shall say
unto them, Hear, O Israel! ye approach this day unto battle against
your enemies; let not your hearts faint; fear not, and do not tremble,
neither be ye terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He
that goeth with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save
you." (Ver. 1-4.)
How wonderful to think of the Lord as a Man of war! Think of His
fighting against people! Some find it very hard to take in the
idea--hard to understand how a benevolent Being could act in such a
character. But the difficulty arises mainly from not distinguishing
between the different dispensations. It was just as consistent with
the character of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to fight against
His enemies, as it is with the character of the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ to forgive them. And inasmuch as it is the revealed
character of God that furnishes the model on which His people are to
be formed--the standard by which they are to act, it was quite as
consistent for Israel to cut their enemies in pieces as it is for us
to love them, pray for them, and do them good.
If this very simple principle were borne in mind, it would remove a
quantity of misunderstanding, and save a vast amount of unintelligent
discussion. No doubt it is thoroughly wrong for the Church of God to
go to war. No one can read the New Testament with a mind free from
bias and not see this. We are positively commanded to love our
enemies, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that
despitefully use us. "Put up again thy sword into his place, for all
they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." And again, in
another gospel, "Then said Jesus unto Peter, 'Put up thy sword into
the sheath: the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink
it?'" Again, our Lord says to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this
world: if My kingdom were of this world, _then would My servants
fight_"--it would be perfectly consistent for them so to do;--"but
_now_ is My kingdom not from hence"--and therefore it would be wholly
out of character, utterly inconsistent, thoroughly wrong, for them to
fight.
All this is so plain that we need only say, "How readest thou?" Our
blessed Lord did not fight; He meekly and patiently submitted to all
manner of abuse and ill-treatment, and in so doing, He left us an
example, that we should follow His steps. If we only honestly ask
ourselves the question, What would Jesus do? it would close all
discussion on this point, as well as upon a thousand other points
besides. There is really no use in reasoning--no need of it. If the
words and ways of our blessed Lord, and the distinct teaching of His
Spirit by His holy apostles, be not sufficient for our guidance, all
discussion is utterly vain.
And if we be asked, What does the Holy Ghost teach on this great
practical point? hear His precious, clear, and pointed words.--"Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves; but rather give place unto wrath; for
it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine; _I will repay_, saith the Lord.'
Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him
drink; for in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be
not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. xii.)
These are the lovely ethics of the Church of God, the principles of
that heavenly kingdom to which all true Christians belong. Would they
have suited Israel of old? Certainly not. Only conceive Joshua acting
toward the Canaanites on the principles of Romans xii! It would have
been as flagrant an inconsistency as for us to act on the principle of
Deuteronomy xx. How is this? Simply because in Joshua's day God was
executing judgment in righteousness, whereas now He is dealing in
unqualified grace. This makes all the difference. The principle of
divine action is the grand moral regulator for God's people in all
ages. If this be seen, all difficulty is removed, all discussion
definitively closed.
But then, if any feel disposed to ask, What about the world? how could
it get on upon the principle of grace? Could it act on the doctrine of
Romans xii. 20? Not for a moment. The idea is simply absurd. To
attempt to amalgamate the principles of grace with the law of nations,
or to infuse the spirit of the New Testament into the frame-work of
political economy, would instantly plunge civilized society into
hopeless confusion. And here is just where many most excellent and
well-meaning people are astray. They want to press the nations of the
world into the adoption of a principle which would be destructive of
their national existence. The time is not come yet for nations to beat
their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, and
learn war no more. That blessed time will come, thank God, when this
groaning earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the
waters cover the sea; but to seek to get nations _now_ to act upon
peace principles is simply to ask them to cease to be--in a word, it
is thoroughly hopeless, unintelligent labor. It cannot be. We are not
called upon to regulate the world, but to pass through it as pilgrims
and strangers. Jesus did not come to set the world right. He came to
seek and to save that which was lost; and as to the world, He
testified of it that its deeds were evil. He will, ere long, come to
set things right; He will take to Himself His great power and reign.
The kingdoms of this world shall most assuredly become the kingdoms of
our Lord and of His Christ. He will gather out of His kingdom all
things that offend, and them that do iniquity. All this is most
blessedly true, but we must wait His time. It can be of no possible
use for us, by our ignorant efforts, to seek to bring about a
condition of things which all Scripture goes to prove can _only_ be
introduced by the personal presence and rule of our beloved and
adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
But we must proceed with our chapter.
Israel were called to fight the Lord's battles. The moment they put
their foot upon the land of Canaan it was war to the knife with the
doomed inhabitants. "Of the cities of these people which the Lord thy
God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing
that breatheth." This was distinct and emphatic. The seed of Abraham
were not only to possess the land of Canaan, but they were to be God's
instruments in executing His just judgment upon the guilty
inhabitants, whose sins had risen up to heaven, and become absolutely
intolerable.
Does any one feel called upon to apologize for the divine actings
toward the seven nations of Canaan? If so, let him be well assured of
this, that his labor is perfectly gratuitous, entirely uncalled for.
What folly for any poor worm of the earth to think of entering upon
such work! and what folly, too, for any one to require an apology or
an explanation! It was a high honor put upon Israel to exterminate
those guilty nations--an honor of which they proved themselves utterly
unworthy, inasmuch as they failed to do as they were commanded. They
left alive many of those who ought to have been utterly destroyed;
they spared them to be the wretched instruments of their own ultimate
ruin, by leading them into the self-same sins which had so loudly
called for divine judgment.
But let us look for a moment at the qualifications which were
necessary for those who would fight the Lord's battles. We shall find
the opening paragraph of our chapter full of most precious instruction
for ourselves in the spiritual warfare which we are called to wage.
The reader will observe that the people, on approaching to the battle,
were to be addressed, first, by the priest, and secondly, by the
officers. This order is very beautiful. The priests came forward to
unfold to the people their high _privileges_; the officers came to
remind them of their holy _responsibilities_. Such is the divine order
here. Privilege comes first, and then responsibility. "The priest
shall approach and speak unto the people, and shall say unto them,
Hear, O Israel! ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies;
let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye
terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He that goeth with
you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you."
What blessed words are these! how full of comfort and encouragement!
how eminently calculated to banish all fear and depression, and to
infuse courage and confidence into the most sinking, fainting heart!
The priest was the very expression of the grace of God,--his ministry
a stream of most precious consolation flowing from the loving heart of
the God of Israel to each individual warrior. His loving words were
designed and fitted to gird up the loins of the mind, and nerve the
feeblest arm for fight. He assures them of the divine presence with
them. There is no question, no condition, no "if," no "but." It is an
unqualified statement. Jehovah Elohim was with them. This surely was
enough. It mattered not, in the smallest degree, how many, how
powerful, or how formidable were their enemies, they would all prove
to be as chaff before the whirlwind in the presence of the Lord of
Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.
But then the _officer_ had to be heard as well as the _priest_.--"And
the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there
that hath built a new house and hath not dedicated it? let him go and
return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man
dedicate it. And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard and hath
not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest
he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. And what man is there
that hath betrothed a wife and hath not taken her? let him go and
return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take
her. And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they
shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him
go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well
as his heart. And it shall be that when the officers have made an end
of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the
armies to lead the people." (Ver. 5-9.)
Thus we learn that there were two things absolutely essential to all
who would fight the Lord's battles, namely, a heart thoroughly
disentangled from the things of nature and of earth, and a bold
unclouded confidence in God. "No man that warreth entangleth himself
with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen
him to be a soldier." There is a very material difference between
being _engaged_ in the affairs of this life and being _entangled_ by
them. A man might have had a house, a vineyard, and a wife and yet
have been fit for the battle. These things were not, in themselves, a
hindrance; but it was having them under such conditions as rendered
them an entanglement that unfitted a man for the conflict.
It is well to bear this in mind. We, as Christians, are called to
carry on a constant spiritual warfare. We have to fight for every
inch of heavenly ground. What the Canaanites were to Israel, the
wicked spirits in the heavenlies are to us. We are not called to fight
for eternal life; we have gotten that as God's free gift before we
begin. We are not called to fight for salvation; we are saved before
we enter upon the conflict. It is most needful to know what it is that
we have to fight for, and whom we are to fight with. The object for
which we fight is, to make good, maintain, and carry out practically
our heavenly position and character in the midst of the scenes and
circumstances of ordinary human life from day to day. And then as to
our spiritual foes, they are wicked spirits, who, during this present
time, are permitted to occupy the heavenlies. "We wrestle not against
flesh and blood, [as Israel had to do in Canaan,] but against
principalities, against powers, against the world-rulers
[κοσμοκράτορας] of this darkness, against wicked
spirits in the heavenlies."
Now, the question is, what do we want in carrying on such a conflict
as this? Must we abandon our lawful earthly callings? must we detach
ourselves from those relationships founded on nature and sanctioned of
God? Is it needful to become an ascetic, a mystic, or a monk in order
to carry on the spiritual warfare to which we are called? By no means;
indeed, for a Christian to do any one of these things would, in
itself, be a proof that he had completely mistaken his calling, or
that he had, at the very outset, fallen in the battle. We are
imperatively called upon to work with our hands the thing which is
good, that we may have to give to him that needeth. And not only so,
but we have the most ample guidance, in the pages of the New
Testament, as to how we are to carry ourselves in the varied natural
relationships which God Himself has established, and to which He has
affixed the seal of His approval. Hence it is perfectly plain that
earthly callings and natural relationships are, in themselves, no
hindrance to our waging a successful spiritual warfare.
What, then, is needed by the Christian warrior? A heart thoroughly
_disentangled_ from things earthly and natural, and an unclouded
confidence in God. But how are these things to be maintained? Hear the
divine reply: "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye
may be able to withstand in _the evil day_,"--that is, the whole time
from the cross to the coming of Christ,--"and having done all, to
stand. Stand, therefore; having your loins girt about with _truth_,
and having on the breastplate of _righteousness_, and your feet shod
with the preparation of the gospel of _peace_; above all, taking the
shield of _faith_, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints." (Eph. vi.)
Reader, mark the qualification of a Christian warrior as here set
forth by the Holy Ghost. It is not the question of a house, a
vineyard, or a wife, but of having the inward man governed by "truth,"
the outward conduct characterized by real practical "righteousness,"
the moral habits and ways marked by the sweet "peace" of the gospel,
the whole man covered by the impenetrable shield of "faith," the seat
of the understanding guarded by the full assurance of "salvation," and
the heart continually sustained and strengthened by persevering prayer
and supplication, and led forth in earnest intercession for all
saints, and specially for the Lord's beloved workmen and their blessed
work. This is the way in which the spiritual Israel of God are to be
furnished for the warfare which they are called to wage with wicked
spirits in the heavenlies. May the Lord, in His infinite goodness,
make all these things very real in our souls' experience, and in our
practical career from day to day.
The close of our chapter contains the principles which were to govern
Israel in their warfare. They were most carefully to discriminate
between the cities which were very far off from them and those that
pertained to the seven judged nations. To the former, they were, in
the first place, to make overtures of peace; with the latter, on the
contrary, they were to make no terms whatever. "When thou comest nigh
unto a city _to fight against it_, then _proclaim peace_ unto it"--a
marvelous method of fighting!--"And it shall be, if it make thee
answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be that all the
people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they
shall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with thee, but will
make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it; and when the Lord
thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every
male thereof"--as expressing the positive energy of evil--"with the
edge of the sword. But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle,
and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof"--all that was
capable of being turned to account in the service of God and of His
people--"thou shalt take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of
thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. Thus shalt thou
do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not
of the cities of these nations."
Indiscriminate slaughter and wholesale destruction formed no part of
Israel's business. If any cities were disposed to accept the proffered
terms of peace, they were to have the privilege of becoming
tributaries to the people of God; and in reference to those cities
which would make no peace, all within their walls which could be made
use of was to be reserved.
There are things in nature and things of earth which are capable of
being used for God--they are sanctified by the Word of God and prayer.
We are told to make to ourselves friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness, that when we fail, they may receive us into
everlasting habitations; which simply means that if this world's
riches come into the Christian's hands, he should diligently and
faithfully use them in the service of Christ; he should freely
distribute them to the poor, and to all the Lord's needy workmen; in
short, he should make them available, in every right and prudent way,
for the furtherance of the Lord's work in every department. In this
way, the very riches which else might crumble into dust in their
hands, or prove to be as rust on their souls, shall produce precious
fruit that shall serve to minister an abundant entrance into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Many seem to find considerable difficulty in Luke xvi. 9, but its
teaching is as clear and forcible as it is practically important. We
find very similar instruction in 1 Timothy vi.--"Charge them that are
rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in
uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all
things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works,
_ready to distribute_, willing to communicate, laying up in store for
themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may
lay hold on eternal life."[21] There is not a fraction which we spend
directly and simply for Christ which will not be before us by and by.
The thought of this, though it should not by any means be a
motive-spring, may well encourage us to devote all we have and all we
are to the service of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
[21] It may interest the reader to know that the four leading
authorities agree in reading ὄντως instead of αἰωνίου
in 1 Timothy vi. 19. Thus the passage would be, "That they
may lay hold on life in earnest," or in reality. The only real life
is, to live for Christ--to live in the light of eternity--to use all
we possess for the promotion of God's glory and with an eye to the
everlasting mansions. This, and only this, is life in earnest.
Such is the plain teaching of Luke xvi. and 1 Timothy vi; let us see
that we understand it. The expression, "That they may receive you into
everlasting habitations" simply means that what is spent for Christ
will be rewarded in the day that is coming. Even a cup of cold water
given in His precious name shall have its sure reward in His
everlasting kingdom. Oh, to spend and be spent for Him!
But we must close this section by quoting the few last lines of our
chapter, in which we have a very beautiful illustration of the way in
which our God looks after the smallest matters, and His gracious care
that nothing should be lost or injured. "When thou shalt besiege a
city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not
destroy the trees thereof, by forcing an ax against them; for thou
mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of
the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege; only the trees
which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy
and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that
maketh war with thee, until it be subdued." (Ver. 19, 20.)
"Let nothing be lost," is the Master's own word to us--a word which
should ever be kept in remembrance. "Every creature of God is good,
and nothing to be refused." We should carefully guard against all
reckless waste of aught that can be made available for human use.
Those who occupy the place of domestic servants should give their
special attention to this matter. It is painful, at times, to witness
the sinful waste of human food. Many a thing is flung out as offal
which might supply a welcome meal for a needy family. If a Christian
servant should read these lines, we would earnestly entreat him or her
to weigh this subject in the divine presence, and never to practice or
sanction the waste of the smallest atom that is capable of being
turned to account for human use. We may depend upon it that to waste
any creature of God is displeasing in His sight. Let us remember that
His eye is upon us; and may it be our earnest desire to be agreeable
to Him in all our ways.