At the beginning of chapter twenty of second Chronicles enemies are preparing to invade the kingdom of Judah. King Jehoshaphat is afraid. He calls all the tribes to the temple at Jerusalem and says we have to fast and pray. God promised us this land and we need to show our faithfulness in that promise.
While they were gathered, one of the musicians is inspired, and preaches in a prophetic voice. He says the enemy is gathering at one end of the valley, and Yahweh will help Jehoshaphat’s army defeat these gathering tribes.
The story is symbolic of the Hebrew tribes’ relationship with Yahweh. The people are faithful and unfaithful to the laws of Moses. Sometimes they believe, sometimes they doubt Yahweh. Throughout the hundreds of years of their existence they have claimed one God who was vengeful and merciful. On this day, their God helped them defeat their enemies; but that was not always true.
Thousands of years ago, people throughout the world were inclined to totally annihilate their enemies. If they were dead, they could take no vengeance. We tend to think of this aspect of humanity as primitive; nevertheless, it ensured survival of the tribes, and that is exactly what happened in this story of King Jehoshaphat’s victory.
We also see in this story the Hebrews attachment to the land in which they dwell. Some archeologists and theologians tell us that the Hebrew tribes gathered from the hills around Israel and Judah. Their claim for the land was fueled by their desire for a more settled existence.
At the time of Jesus birth, the Hebrew tribes had more than a thousand years of stories. They had claimed the land Yahweh gave them, been led by prophets, priests, and kings. The twelve tribes had divided the land into two kingdoms and existed that way for hundreds of years. Then they were conquered by the Babylonians, taken as slaves for seventy years, and eventually allowed to return to their land.
The Hebrew tribes, like most of humanity, wanted peace, but found that the claim to land required defending their right to the land.
At the time of Jesus birth, they were once again a conquered people, living under Roman rule. Their roots were planted in a culture of war while their hearts were beating for an independent existence. The Hebrew Scriptures are full of the pleas and songs for a Messiah.
Numbers 24 verse 17:
17 I see him, but not here and now.
I perceive him, but far in the distant future.
A star will rise from Jacob;
a scepter will emerge from Israel.
It will crush the foreheads of Moab’s people,
cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.
War and vengeance
Isaiah 42 verse one
1 “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.
He is my chosen one, who pleases me.
I have put my Spirit upon him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
Peace and love
War and peace, so easily seen by ancient civilizations as bound together as inextricably as the head and the body.
When Jesus was born, there had been years of subterfuge and rebellion in Palestine. It is no wonder that when he preached about the “kingdom of man” or the “kingdom of God” some of his followers saw the seeds of revolution. They could see no other alternatives in their culture.
But Jesus did. He taught a religion that turned the other cheek. He taught a way of life that said apologize to your neighbor when you are wrong. He taught, love your enemies. He taught that the kingdom was for everyone, not only the people of the law, but also the Samaritans, and one’s enemies.
Jesus was born into a culture of vengeance and he preached forgiveness. He taught the real meaning of shalom—peace within, peace without. He was a radical revolutionary.
What would he see if he were born today?
He would see the roots which feed the culture of the Middle East. He would see the influence of twenty-six hundred years ago. He would see a much larger world, and he would still see war.
Where, we ask ourselves, do we see peace?
Albert Einstein said, “The real problem is in the hearts and minds of [hu]man[kind]. Someone else wrote, God's shalom meant much more than simply the absence of war or a positive state in my soul; it meant wholeness and completeness throughout all creation.
There are those here today who are pacifists; and those who believe war is justifiable. There are those who believe “readiness” is a deterrent to war and those who believe being prepared only fuels the propensity toward war. We all have the capacity to determine our beliefs as we reasonably see the issues.
However, I do believe that peace is possible. I believe it is possible between Israel and Palestine. It will be a reality when every person believes our existence is dependent upon each other.
Carl Sandburg wrote a poem about a man who shared his donkey’s feed with another man and his donkey. When thanked for sharing the food, he replied, “When we have [it], we have it together,” and when we don’t have any, we do without together.
Peace may seem illusive to us, an unattainable goal, especially when economics are more important than human beings. It may seem impossible if land and water are more important than “our enemies’” lives.
The most profound and sacred effort we can make is to believe peace is possible. To live as though peace is our ultimate responsibility and our primary purpose in life.
To live as though peace is our ultimate responsibility and our primary purpose in life.
Jesus did.
He was born into a world of vengeance and he taught forgiveness. At the end he asked God to forgive those who crucified him. What better example of living for peace than the one born in Bethlehem on that starry night?
Peace is possible, if we but only believe, and live our beliefs.
READING I
Adapted to be inclusive from II Chronicles Chapter 20
And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Teko'a; and as they went out, Jehosh'aphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh, and you will be established; believe the prophets, and you will succeed." And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to Yahweh … they went before the army, and said, "Give thanks to Yahweh, for steadfast love endures for ever." And when they began to sing and praise, Yahweh set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Se'ir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Se'ir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Se'ir, they all helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. When Jehosh'aphat and his people came to take the spoil from them, they found cattle in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Bera'cah, for there they blessed Yahweh; … Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehosh'aphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh had made them rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem, with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house Yahweh. And the fear of Yahweh came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehosh'aphat was peaceful, for Yahweh gave him rest round about. Thus Jehosh'aphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azu'bah the daughter of Shilhi. He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it; he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh. The high places, however, were not taken away; the people had not yet set their hearts upon Yahweh …
READING II
From Walter Brueggemann in Deep Memory, Exuberant Hope: Contested Truth in a Post-Christian World
The testimony of Israel remembers “a past that is saturated with life-giving miracles, not a past filled with self-sufficient achievement,” and looks forward to “a future that is marked by circumstance-defying promises… a future of complete shalom that is free of violence, brutality, competitiveness, and scarcity, a new governance that displaces that of empire.” But today matters, too, because “[t]his testimony offers a present tense filled with neighbors to whom we are bound in fidelity, in obligation, and in mutual caring,” in justice for all, including “those that the empire finds objectionable and unproductive.” So it does matter how we organize our shared life, even in the face of the empires of materialism and militarism that surround us: “It matters if life-giving miracles are scuttled for the sake of can-do achievements.....if circumstance-defying promises are silenced for the sake of winning at all costs….if bonded neighbors are excommunicated in a passion for private shalom.”