Let My People Go

Admittedly, I have fallen amongst the ranks of those who have had questions about the rightness of this war with Iraq.Let me clarify that I most certainly support President Bush, our troops and government in this endeavor. But I have, and I am sure others have as well, had some heart felt questions. Should we be doing this? Should we be putting our nose in where we are not wanted? Is it right for one nation to rise up against the other because it does not agree with how it is being run. We are "free" here, so why be bothered with another nation's affairs? Should we sacrifice our men and women in the line of combat, and should we sacrifice the innocent lives of the Iraqi people as collateral damage?

We cring at the thought of what this soldier has been through. This could be our loved one and we question, can any of this be justified?...

Being a military mom-counting my son in law as a son who serves our country, our family has sacrificed. And within my questions, the only direction I can go is to the Word.

Romans 13 :1:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

2: Whosoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

3: For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou will have praise of the same:

4: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth

5: Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

6: For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

7: Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom ; fear to whom fear; honor .

The first thing we see is that all power is put in place by God. And we ask, "Even the evil powers?" Yes, all power and all things, even the evil power. Now when we ask, "Is this fair-these evil powers?" -we have to follow this question with another. "Do we want God to be fair?" If He were to be fair, we'd all perish. Evil came into the world as the result of the fall, but God still commands all things. Do we understand this completely? No, but is it our responsibility to understand all things completely? Where is the line defining "understanding" and "faith?" Sound like a cop-out?

Prov:3:5: Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

2ndly, we see that we are to obey these powers. Even the most evil of government? Yes, we are to obey even the evil powers when they are in authority over us because even evil authority establishes order. We see this now in Basra.

Awhile back we all praised a missionary who entered a non-Christian nation under the guise of being an aid worker and showed the Jesus film. I thought it was wonderful, right along with many others. But later I saw an interview with her mom, a Christian, and she reminded us that we are called to obey the "rules" of the nation in which we dwell. That would include visiting. This missionary lied about her "mission" there and disobeyed their laws and keep in mind, she was not part of a governing authority. I am still questioning it.

Anyway,with Saddam gone, there is chaos in the streets, and we hope that the Iraqi people will get their act together and establish order once again within their new freedom. Even a man with a heart as black as Saddam's brought order. Has it always been just? No, and no one would debate that. But like all "rules" made by whatever governing authority, if you obey them, you'll find safety. Saddam's rules were that all men, women, children worship him and if they did, and stayed out of his way, they were not free, but relatively safe. Was it right? Of course not!

3rdly, we see that any government is meant to be "a terror" or threat, not to good, but to evil and evil doers. As children of God, we are not to personalize revenge and pursue punishment on those who have trespassed against us.

Mt:6:14: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

But this passage in Romans tell us that the responsibility for judgment, punishing, revenge is in the hands of our government-again ordained by God. We go to local law enforcement for trespasses against us. Is it a perfect system? No, but once again this is the result of the fall.

Should one government rise up forcefully against another? Who is to say what is right or wrong? Um? The Power who establishes right and wrong is___________! You fill in the blank.

Ex:10:3: And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.

The Israelites were in bondage much like the Iraqi people have been. Can we compare President Bush to Moses? Oh please! {Note the sarcasm} But wait, isn't all power ordained by God whether it be Moses, Bush, Blair, etc?

Was it a perfect Exodus? God's people murmurred then, and some Iraqi's murmur now. It's human nature. In Basra some are saying it was better to be in bondage. Sound familiar?

Grave injustice was delivered to the Israelites by a single man who counted himself equal with God. Families were torn apart, children separated from parents, even killed on Pharoh's behalf. There is no question that holding a person or people in bondage by terror, by one man is wrong. There is no gray area in that.

We might be tempted to argue that there was slavery {people held in bondage} in the bible and slaves were instructed to obey their masters. This is true, but to complete that thought we must also remember that "masters" were to treat their slaves well, protecting them, and not tormenting them. A slave in a righteous kings house lived well. So we find the defining line between good and evil as it pertains to masters, kings, and those in bondage. We are bondage to the King and He surrounds us like a hen with her chicks so that we are safe in His strong temple. Yes ,we are to obey even an evil master, but justice can be delivered to that master by whatever means God chooses, even when it comes from another nation.

I was watching television last night and saw how even Iraqi tv has been dedicated to the praise of Saddam Hussein. Their famous singers all crooned admiration for a man who has no trouble torturing children. To do otherwise would mean pain in various forms...suffering, suffering, suffering.

And can we really sit unmoved within our doubts at the sight of the Iraqi people rejoicing in the fall of a cruel dictator?

Are all of the motives of our country and governing authorities right and just in this war? No, again the result of the all famous fall. Some soldiers fight with the sight of the Twin Towers in their thoughts. Others fight with the sight of little children being tortured in front of an agonzing mother. Still others are there simply obeying orders. But they are still acting as part of the hand of God, ordained by Him to do his bidding, avenging evil.

For Christians in nations that have dictators such as Saddam, or within an anti-Christian nation, the responsibility of obeying governing authority is a far greater task.

So when our questions come to mind, we must remind ourselves that God is in control of even the governing authorities, ALL governing authorities. But a governing "body" can not find the kingdom of Heaven as we personally can, though it may be, in general, focused on God. This is where we make our error in trying to personalize government responsibility. We can't do that. We can not compare it to individual believers. Powers, kingship, and the U.S. government is a tool by which God does His bidding even if the people involved do not realize it.

And more importantly, we must remind ourselves of how fortunate we are that God places us in a land where we can worship Him openingly even amidst imperfect times......