WAR!

A CHRISTIAN cannot hear the word “War” without sober reflection. It leads to a re-examination of the scriptures and how they should be applied in given circumstances. By far the most concise and helpful book I have read upon this subject is, War and Conscience, by the noted preacher and attorney, Allen C. Isbell. Whether one is a pacifist or a non-pacifist, he will profit by the arguments made by both sides on such a complex issue.

Beyond the personal convictions one might hold, there looms for me the question of what God is doing in our world today. The Bible declares, “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne” (Psalm 47:8). Again God speaks, “If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will repent of the evil that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will repent of the good which I had intended to do to it” (Jeremiah 18:7-10).

King Nebuchadnezzar was made to eat grass like an ox before he learned “that the Most High rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom he will” (Daniel 4:25).

God has worked His will in regard to nations in the past, and I am convinced that He still rules over them, either to build and plant, or to pluck up and break down. He has used nations in war to destroy other nations and at times has used more wicked nations to punish those who were less wicked (Read the book of Habakkuk). His ways are not our ways.

As I write these words, we are at war! Over and over the question pops into my mind, “What is God doing?”

John Gipson