Little Is Much

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go. For even if you have defeated the entire of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire’” (Jeremiah 37:9-10).

We are impressed when we read the biblical stories of how God’s people were able to win unlikely victories over more numerous and better equipped enemies. By the power of God, they were able to overcome great odds. I’m thinking of men like Gideon who, with God’s help and a small army of 300 men, routed the combined forces of the Midianite and Amalekite armies (Judges 7). Who can forget the young shepherd boy who, with God’s help and some skill in handling a sling, became a giant slayer (1 Samuel 17)? In fact, during the reign of King Hezekiah, God defeated the entire Assyrian army without a single soldier of Judah going to battle (2 Kings 19)! The size and strength of the enemy doesn’t matter when God is with you.

But we also need to remember that the opposite is true. The size and strength of the enemy doesn’t matter when God is opposed to you. In the time of Jeremiah, God brought the Chaldean army against His own people to discipline them for their rebellion. Jerusalem was under siege and the people of Judah were doing what they could to survive the onslaught. For a brief time, the Chaldeans lifted the siege to engage the Egyptian army that was coming to Judah’s aid. Those in Judah were encouraged by this turn of events. Maybe they would escape! But God warns them not to get their hopes up. He tells them the Chaldeans would accomplish their God-given task even if their army was reduced to just a handful of wounded soldiers.

Little is much when God is in it...regardless of whether you are for Him or against Him.

God loves you!
Mike