Job 5:20
In Famine, He redeems you from death,
In War, from the power of the sword.
This begins the list of seven woes that God saves us from. As noted last time, I needed the context of these following verses to pull together the previous verse. One of the topics grabbing my thoughts these days is how the stock market is moving based on interest rates and inflation. Everyone knew interest rates were going to rise and inflation was coming, so I am confused as to why the markets are just now reacting to it. Maybe I am an idiot. Maybe they are.
“Hunger” and “dearth” were alternatives for famine, but not really, as hunger is underwhelming, and no one knows what dearth is supposed to be in this context. “Rescue” and “ransom” were options for redeem, but rescue was from the same guy who used dearth and ransom was used once, as compared to six times for redeems, which also has a more spiritual impact.
“Battle” was a clear option for war, but battle is too short an event to carry what I felt was intended with war. Alternatives for “power of the sword” were simply “sword” and “the stroke of the sword”. Along with the longer term feel to war over battle, being saved from the power of the sword seems so more majestic that the stroke of the sword. In this I feel God is saving us not only from a single time of being killed, but through the entire war and the aftermath of living under our enemy.
When I think of war, I often think of the evils of Hitler and Stalin. Projecting into the future, these are replaced by Putin of Russia and Xi of China. But sometimes our wars are against ideologies like communism or Marxism. As Christians, our war is against Satan and the godless culture around us. As individuals, our war is against complacency and self-indulgence. I am not to throw my money in the stock market and ignore the reality of my stewardship of God’s resources. Neither am I to spend all I have to enjoy the day. If famine comes and crushes our country, I am to have faith that God will save me from death, even if the journey is near starvation. If our country is taken over by godless, evil people, then God will give me the strength to continue to live each day for Him. And even if I starve to death or am driven by my enemies to death, only my body dies, and my soul continues to reach Heaven through the righteousness of Christ. Victory is ours, living or dying.