Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Kings 20-21.
When Ben-hadad and thirty-two other kings besieged Samaria, they were defeated by a force which they greatly outnumbered. They had a theory as to why they were beaten so badly.
“Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, ‘Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place, and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.’ And he listened to their voice and did so” (1 Kings 20:23-25).
These servants of Ben-hadad were partially correct. The Israelites were victorious because of divine intervention (though not from “gods,” but from the one, true, living God). But their theory that His power was limited to the mountains proved disastrous for them. Despite fighting in the plain with a massive army that vastly outnumbered the Israelites, Ben-hadad and his allies were soundly defeated again.
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Digression is the latest book by Aaron Erhardt in which he tackles the threat of apostasy within the Lord’s church that comes as a result of Christians failing to see the church as being distinct from the churches of man. Once the Lord’s church is seen as being no different than a human denomination, then these denominations become something to be emulated rather than opposed.
