Obviously the father, Mattathias, has died when we begin
this reading. The first few verses are
truly verse rather than prose, they are an ode to Judas and his leadership of
the people in battle. There is a
Braveheart quality to the narrative, you can easily see Mel Gibson in the role
of Judas. The ode is to his leadership
and his tenacity in battle, getting the people to do more than they could ever
imagine for God and country. We are told
of two particular battles and the first is an easy victory over some Gentiles
led by a man named Apollonius. The
second battle, with the Syrian army sees Israel in a familiar position, vastly
outnumbered and afraid. Judas, however,
reminds them of what all the great commanders in her history have said,
strength isn't in numbers it is in the Lord.
Outcomes are always in His hand and with that he and his people rushed
into battle and won the day. It is
important when we are doing kingdom work to remember this lesson.
The Transfiguration is a sign for the three disciples Jesus
kept closest to Him. They need to know
where He fits prior to His death. When
He is transfigured He is talking with the heroes of the faith and the nation,
Moses and Elijah, who fought the good fight without much support. They fought with the nation as often, it
seems, as they fought with others. The
disciples are tempted to put Jesus on a level plane with these men, a great
honor indeed, but He is more than that, they aren't on a level plane. He is the beloved Son in whom the Father is
well-pleased and they are servants just as the writer of Hebrews will
argue. We all need to see Jesus as more
than anyone who has ever lived, He stands alone and apart. The great lie from hell that is frequently
shared by those who "believe" in Jesus is that He is a great teacher
and rabbi. He is not that. These disciples would never make such a
mistake in diminishing Jesus to that level and we must take care to never
insinuate that or allow it to be advanced by anyone who claims to know
Him. It is a lie that must be corrected.
The scene with the armies of Gog and Magog surrounding the
saints is fearsome. Until, that is, fire
comes down from heaven and consumes them.
Interesting that God allows the saints to be under great threat and fear
and the armies of the enemies to be confident before He acts on behalf of the
saints. I wish it weren't that way in my
life but apparently there is something that I need that requires God to do
things this way. I need to overcome fear
with faith, I need to sort out temporal and eternal and these situations are
meant to focus me on those truths not only for now but also for the future,
they are learning experiences, lessons of faith I can't get without exercising
faith. The end of times comes
immediately after this moment, the devil is thrown into the lake of fire and
all else is swallowed up in the throne of judgment. Let him who has ears, hear and perceive the
implications of failure of faith.
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