“Thus the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and causing them to perish; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.” Esther 9:5 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/est.9.5.LSB
Brothers, I heard a message from Esther, and was meditating on Esther 9:5. I pray we are fit, equipped, trained, and capable if ever called upon to defend our families. I pray it’s never needed, but if it is, I pray we are prepared. I pray our wives and children know they can depend on us for safety and security and give all thanks and glory to God, trusting in Him more than our abilities.
Scripture to meditate on:
“A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up… A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:3, 8 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/ecc.3.3-8.LSB
“Thus the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and causing them to perish; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.” Esther 9:5 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/est.9.5.LSB
“So Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, and he led out his trained men, born in his house, 318 in number, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.” Genesis 14:14 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/gen.14.14.LSB
“… I had the people stand by families with their swords, spears, and bows. Then I saw their fear. And I arose and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not fear them; remember the Lord who is great and fearsome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” And it happened that from that day on, half of my young men carried on the work while half of them took hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates; and the commanders were behind the whole house of Judah. Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me… So we kept doing the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars came out.” Nehemiah 4:13-14, 16-21 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/neh.4.13-21.LSB
“He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip. I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. I have wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet. For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.” Psalms 18:34-39 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.18.34-39.NKJV
“Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, My fingers for battle; My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.” Psalm 144:1-2 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/psa.144.1-2.LSB
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/1co.16.14.LSB
“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/1ti.5.8.LSB
“Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, mighty in deeds, struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day… And David appointed him over his guard.” 1 Chronicles 11:22-25 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/1ch.11.22-25.LSB
When the men of a nation turn away from God they also tend to turn away from their responsibility to defend their families, communities, and nation!
It’s a “moral vanity” as Jack Carr has labeled it (https://a.co/bgOdVwy). “They chose new gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.” Judges 5:8 Deborah was mocking the men of Israel after God gave her the victory! “for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Judges 4:9 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/jdg.4.9.NKJV
“In the 1770s, the Rev. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg pastored two churches in Woodstock, Virginia. One was an English-speaking Episcopal church, the other a German-speaking Lutheran church. He was also a member of the Virginia legislature. In January 1776, he was attending the legislative session in Williamsburg, and war with Great Britain was looming on the horizon: Boston had been blockaded by the British navy; Charlestown burned; Lexington and Concord attacked; public stores of gunpowder seized in Virginia, and the Battle of Bunker Hill fought… He returned home from the state capitol to his churches, and on January 21, 1776, stood in his pulpit and delivered what was to become his farewell sermon… He concluded with these words: In the language of Holy Writ, there was a time for all things [Eccl 3:1-8], a time to preach and a time to pray, but those times have passed away. Then in a loud voice, he pointed to verse 8, declaring: There is a time to fight-and that time has now come! … When he finally shed his clerical robes, he stood before them in the full uniform of a military officer. He descended the pulpit, weapons in hand, and marched to the back of the church, reminding his parishioners that if they did not get involved and protect their liberties, they would have no liberties left to protect. Outside the church, Pastor Muhlenberg ordered drummers to beat for recruits. Some 300 men from his two congregations joined him that day, becoming the Eighth Virginia Regiment.” The Founders’ Bible, NASB 1995, Copyright 2012, Shiloh Road Publishers https://thefoundersbible.com/
“When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he assembled his 318 trained men, born in his household, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.” Genesis 14:14 CSB
“The right to life is a good example of what legal historians refer to as an objective right: it is objective in the sense that it exists outside ourselves and is unalienable… The right to life imposes obligations: you must do everything in your power to preserve it.”
#SlayingLeviathan https://canonpress.com/products/slaying-leviathan/
AMENDMENT II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
https://ministry.family.blog/america/second-amendment/
American Constitution
AMENDMENT II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Militia: an army composed of citizens… called up in time of emergency. (Webster’s 2010)
There are four places in the American Constitution that affirm the Militia’s prior existence, and no law can alter it. The militia is all able bodied members of a community.
Article I, Section 8, Clauses 15 & 16:
[The Congress shall have Power To…]
Clause 15: [ ] “To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;”
Clause 16: [ ] “To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;”
Article II, Section 2, Clause 1:
“The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States…”
AMENDMENT II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
From the Founders… Original Intent
“[T]he said Constitution [should] be never construed … to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.”
SAMUEL ADAMS, Signer of the Declaration, “Father of the American Revolution” …
“A free people ought … to be armed.”
GEORGE WASHINGTON, US. President, Signer of the Constitution …
“[N]o man should scruple or hesitate a moment to use arms in defense.”
GEORGE WASHINGTON, US. President, Signer of the Constitution …
“The people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are left in full possession of them…. This is a principle which secures religious liberty most firmly.”
ZECHARIAH JOHNSTON, Revolutionary Soldier, Virginia Legislator, Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
“I am thus far a Quaker [a pacifist]: I would gladly agree with all the world to lay aside the use of arms and settle matters by negotiation; but unless the whole will, the matter ends, and I take up my musket and thank Heaven He has put it in my power.
THOMAS PAINE, Patriot, Author
Quotes from “The Second Amendment” by David Barton
THE GOOD NEWS
There is a God that created the heavens and the earth. We humans are created in His image.
We are sinners, we have rebelled against Him, our Creator. Our rebellion has brought “all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice… envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness” to the world. Romans 1:29-31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.29-31.ESV
Therefore we justly deserve our due punishment of death and damnation, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.3.10-12.ESV
But good news! God is merciful and loving. Jesus is God the only begotten Son and He took our punishment upon Himself in our place. Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death and securing the hope of our salvation.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.15.3-8.ESV
““Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”” Acts 2:36-38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.2.36-38.ESV
We need only repent and believe it. Repent: turn away from our sins, proclaim Jesus is lord and savior, and we will be forgiven our sins and have life ever after! “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”” Romans 10:9-11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.9-11.ESV
There is hope. Believe in Jesus! ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.16.ESV
It doesn’t matter who you’ve been or what you’ve done, God stands with arms wide open, ready to forgive you. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.1.9.ESV
Dobra Family Ministry 