DESCENDANTS OF GAD

Reading from 1 Chronicles Ch. 5 vs 11-22

Are you self-reliant? Do you trust in your own capabilities or skills? Whatever your answer might be there’s a part of us that is, but not in an actively aware sense at least for most people. It’s just regular functioning, you learn things or you study or have some talents and you know or have the understanding that they will get you things or where you want to be, whether it’s some work or opportunity. We might even pray that God uses these things about us to help our situations but we often don’t realise that we put our trust more in these things than in God. There’s just a sense of this will most likely lead to that but what happens when it doesn’t? Situations do occur when this wrong reliance is exposed and you see it in this passage and learn how any of us should really be going about things.

The beginning of the passage has the genealogies of the tribe of Gad and where they lived and such. But for this short reminder we’ll focus on the verses 18 to 22. They speak about the Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh and how they had valiant men who carried the shield and sword and also drew the bow. The men are said to be experts in war and they were about 44,760 ready for war, you can imagine them, men of valour. Skilled and able to fight if need be and it’s a good thing just like any of us having what we have. But the confidence of these our abilities sometimes rests in how efficient we are or if we’ll be able to get the outcomes we desire in the face of the various fields or places where we use them.

These valiant men being as great as they were waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab, they were capable but they were helped to prevail. Helped? Yes, despite all their skills and abilities these men did something that we often forget to do if we ever do at all. They cried out to God in the battle and he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him. I look at the mention of ‘urgent plea’ like maybe they went in with their confidence and realised that it would take more than just those skills to actually win. It’s interesting how we often start things without God and often only call for help when things get difficult, it’s understandable and in a sense good that we are at least able to recognise that he is the one who can help us in our difficult situations, but it shouldn’t be this way. We should be reliant on his power and trust that he will help us whether through our abilities or through some other means known to him.

During the battle they didn’t just cry out because it’s easy to just ask and cry before God when we are in hard places, but look at how it says God answered the urgent plea because they trusted in him. It’s not enough to just cry before God, do you actually trust that he can help you? Right in that moment because think about them asking during the battle, there was no time or opportunity to wait for the answer, it literally says urgent plea. They were basically begging but even whilst doing so they trusted in God to give them that help. We need that level of trust and reliance on God when we pray and ask him, I get it, we might have started or maybe don’t even like to ask because he gives us all we need and we should use those things but it is he who brings things to pass. It’s easy to think it’s just what you have; those skills or whatever but do you ever think about the odds? That how many people actually have the same or even better abilities and skills than you have and yet it works for you and they struggle? There’s mercy, grace and favour and we should not overlook these things and lean on ourselves because it’s so easy for things to not work out how we think they should.

And so these valiant men prevailed over all of them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands and on top of winning the battle they also carried off lots of livestock and animals and they even got the land. It says, “Many fell because the war was of God”, isn’t that cool, God though called mid battle took over and made them triumph in such a way that when the whole thing was looked at, it wasn’t about their abilities and skills it was because God fought for them. We don’t need to lean on our own strength and understanding, God is available and willing to help us if only we can trust and rely on him. I understand that it’s easy to just go into things or to just think what you’re working with is enough to do it, but God really is the one who makes all things possible and will help your situation if you’ll trust him. The choice is yours but understand that you can think all you have is enough and good but situations will show themselves where you will realise that it can’t work on/through your own efforts, there’s much we don’t understand or consider about the workings of the world. So why fight when you have God to fight for you? Ask and trust and remember Jesus loves you always!