“Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand.” (2 Chronicles 16:8)
The prophet Hanani uttered these words to Asa, king of Judah, after the king had decided to bribe the king of Aram to break a treaty with Israel’s king, who was now at war with Judah. Though Asa, we may assume, believed that he had acted shrewdly, the prophet declares that he been foolish and that wars would plague him throughout the remainder of his reign (v. 9). The deal that he had hoped would bring his kingdom peace would spell the beginning of a series of conflicts that would last the final five years or so of his reign.
Yet in the verse before us King Asa is commended for his actions against the armies of Ethiopia led by Zerah and that consisted of over a million men (2 Chron. 14:9). Greatly outnumbered, Asa stood firm against the horde of soldiers, fortified in the knowledge that the Lord stood with his army. His reliance in that battle was on God and not the alliance of some other kingdom.
God is glorified when we choose to trust in Him, despite the odds, and rely on Him and not our own strength. The lesson given again and again throughout the Hebrews ancient wars was that God could give them victory, regardless of their being outnumbered, if they would only put their confidence in Him. We may not be fighting literal wars and military conflicts in our daily lives, but the same principles still apply. When we make the decision to trust in the Lord despite how great the odds are against us in our own battles, the Lord is pleased and the glory will go to Him.
“A man with God is always in the majority” – John Knox
[Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) © The Lockman Foundation and are used by permission.]
