“If Jesus Christ is not the lodestar, there is no benefit in the sacrifice; but when the sacrifice is made with the eyes on Him, slowly and surely the molding influence begins to tell.” -Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, August 25.
2 Kings 18:3-8
3 He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestor David had done. 4 He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for until then the Israelites were burning incense to it. It was called Nehushtan.
5 Hezekiah relied on the Lord God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him. 6 He remained faithful to the Lord and did not turn from following him but kept the commands the Lord had commanded Moses.
7 The Lord was with him, and wherever he went he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.
He did what was right in the Lord’s sight, prospered; but he was still not peaceful with his neighbors and was vnot bowing to the people who had authority over him.
18:7 says: He rebelled against the king of Assyria. That means that he took action, not defended himself.
Verse 8 says “he defeated the philistines.” This is fighting, war.
The Assyrians were cruel, had torturous ways of killing people. The Philistines were powerful, definitely not weak. Going up against both of these would have been blood, and people would have died–both soldiers and civilians, including women and children.
We seem to have this belief that everything on earth is to be calm and peaceful, everyone is supposed to get along. The world doesn’t work that way. The world is Satan’s domain. There will always be evil on earth, as long as Satan rules.
It is tough to determine when we should physically defend ourselves, our culture, our nature, and when we should be more generous and giving of our resource. The US is a nation rich with resources, but it will not be if those resources are allowed to be overran and abused by foreigners or even portions of the American population.
He who has will get more–if a resource is bestowed on someone, they must manage it properly and it will grow. If they mismanage, giving it all away–including the means of production–they will have nothing more to give.
Sustainable has become a buzzword in the last few decades, especially with the facing and ranching sector. A cow/calf operation is a great ample of a resource that must be properly managed. Cows are bred, 9 months later they have calves. Calves are weaned from the cow in 6-10 months, and then calves are usually put on grass, the next part of the supply chain to put beef in the mouths of consumers.
Operating and management of a cow/calf ranch is very complex, but even a layman can understand that if you eat your cows, you will no longer be able to produce calves, the cycle stops.
Honestly, being a cow/calf producer, this is something we have to think about. If the Zombie Apocalypse is going to be starving masses coming from the cities, what will “zombies” be going for? Will they care if it is a calf, bull, or producing cow? There ia giant–98%+ (?)–change that they won’t even know the difference, nor will they care.
This poist is not only applicable on a physical level. As with so many stories in the Old Testament–basically the complete text of the Old Testament–the stories are physical examples of spiritual concepts.
Management of resources is everything–physical, mental, spiritual, all realms. We are instructed to love God with all of it. Does that mean give it all away? Maybe. Most likely, though, it means proper management.
You cannot give what you do not have. The more you have, the more generous you can be, the more people you can help. To have, proper management is required.
This could be a whole article! Probably a whole book, or a whole book series! I’m working on it!
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