A Call To Stand
There is a question that is often heard, “Why would God place me here?” In a world that is steadily growing darker, many Christians are losing their hope that God has a plan for them. To often we hear Christians wishing for the “good old days”. With this mentality, it is easy for one to become discouraged and not answer the call which God has for us. We become so downtrodden that we forget that God has a plan in place. Not only does He have a plan, but He has given us His Word that offers a guideline of how a Christian should be. One such description can be found in 1 Chronicles 12:31-38.
31 from half the tribe of Manasseh, designated by name to come and make David king—18,000; 32 from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command; 33 from Zebulun, experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon, to help David with undivided loyalty—50,000; 34 from Naphtali—1,000 officers, together with 37,000 men carrying shields and spears; 35 from Dan, ready for battle—28,600; 36 from Asher, experienced soldiers prepared for battle—40,000; 37 and from east of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, armed with every type of weapon—120,000. 38 All these were fighting men who volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the Israelites were also of one mind to make David king.
A quick read of this passage and you would just assume that it is simply a list of the men from the different tribes who all helped to make David king. While this is true, there is so much more to this passage. In fact, there are three aspects to these men that show how a Christian should be when they are called to make a stand.
First, you will see that these men understood the times they were in. “32 From the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command.” Not only did they know war was coming but more importantly they knew the ordnance’s of God and the prophecy which was coming true. David had just been made king (1 Chronicles 11) but there was still the Philistine army to deal with. These men were not about to be caught off guard about what was to occur. They were physically paying attention to the current climate.
Today believers are found in the same scenario of recognizing the challenges we face, the sons of Issachar understood what was at hand, while our adversary might seem different, Paul describes plainly we are in a battle nonetheless. “12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 But like the men mentioned, we need to be paying attention to the times we are in. In this case, that means that we need to be aware of what the Bible says about the end days. We need to be paying spiritual attention to what is going on around us so that we are prepared and equipped to face that spiritual battle. Another example of how we should be prepared and know the times that we are in can be found in Luke 12:35-48 as Jesus Christ discusses the parable of the servant awaiting his master’s return.
The second point that can be seen in the passage from 1 Chronicles is that these men came prepared with the tools that they needed. “33 from Zebulun, experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon, to help David with undivided loyalty—50,000; 34 from Naphtali—1,000 officers, together with 37,000 men carrying shields and spears; 35 from Dan, ready for battle—28,600; 36 from Asher, experienced soldiers prepared for battle—40,000; 37 and from east of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, armed with every type of weapon—120,000.” For us today, we do have the tools that are needed when we are faced with a battle. Our tools can again be found in Ephesians chapter 6 with the Armor of God. If you have not read our series on the different aspects of the Armor of God, I highly encourage you to go back and read them. Each aspect of the Armor of God builds upon one another and allows the believer to stand firm in the face of battle.
Thirdly, we see that these men knew their place. “38 All of these, being men of war who helped in battle formation, came to Hebron with a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel also were of one mind to make David king.” These men were not running around with no direction, they knew where they needed to be and were able to be there confidently because they were prepared.
For us today, it may seem like we do not know our place. We do not know where God wants us to be and that can often make it hard to answer the call to stand. However, God has not left us dissolute. He has given us His Word and the example of men such as these who knew the time of battle was coming, had their weapons prepared, and knew where they were supposed to be. Today we can have the same courage in knowing that we are in the end times and that God has given us the weapons that we need for success.
When it comes to knowing where we should be, I want to remind you of a remark that was said to Esther when she did not know if she would be able to answer the call and stand against the persecution of the Jews. “14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”” Esther 4:14. God is a God of order; He does nothing that does not follow His will. He has placed you here, in this time, in the job that you are in, in the city that you are in, in the home that you are in, in whatever circumstance that you are facing, for such a time as this. God prepared you for this time and had always meant to place you here. Where we are now is where we are meant to take a stand. Encourage friends and family in the faith, witness to those around you who are not saved, and above all else, stand for the truths that are found in the Bible.
If you have read the book of Esther, you will know that she indeed took her stance and was able to help the Jews. However, the verse above did place a warning if she had refused and this warning is still true for us today. If Esther had kept silent, then deliverance for the Jews would have came from another source. For us today, this can be stated as: If we refuse to stand for the faith, God’s will will be completed by someone else and we will miss out on the rewards. This is not to say that we will lose our salvation, remember nothing can cause us to lose our salvation. But God wants to use us, He has placed us here in this place and time to accomplish something. We may not know what it is immediately, but when the moment arises we need to answer the call to stand. “23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.” Colossians 1:23
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex