Today’s Scripture
Reading (November 17, 2015): Deuteronomy 31
King George
II of Britain led the British Army into the Battle of Dettingen in 1743 (part
of the War of Austrian Succession between the Austrians, backed by Britain and
the Dutch, and the French and Prussians.) It was the last time that a British
Monarch would actually lead his troops into battle. The days had passed when
the King was a knight and was expected to lead the charge of the troops. After
George II, Kings began to lead from the boardroom, they simply were no longer
the fighting men of old. (And who among us really wants to see Queen Elizabeth
in the battle in Syria.) Part of the problem would be that, in the day of
gunpowder, the sovereign in the midst of the battle became a prime target of
the enemy– and a danger to anyone who stood near. The honest truth is that
George II probably wished that he was in boardroom. In 1743, the British army
was a neglected institution. It had not participated in a major European war in
over 20 years. George II had fought to bring greater professionalism into the
ranks. He worked for the idea of promotion by merit rather than by the sale of commissions.
But none of his ideas had met with much success. So as the Allied armies of the
British, Austrian, Dutch, Hanoverian and Hessians took the field against the French,
George II found himself leading the army – eventually to victory.
How much
George II’s presence meant to the battle is probably unknowable. The King’s
presence in the battle was admired by many in Britain after the story of the
battle began to circulate, even though the people were critical of the war
itself. But the presence of a great leader in the heat of the battle often boosts
the confidence of those who are in the middle of the fight.
There is no
doubt that Israel was heading for a fight. The repeated phrase at the close of
Deuteronomy and at the beginning of Joshua are “be strong and courageous.” It
was the flag that Israel would fight under. The words were first spoken by
Moses to Joshua. And later Joshua would repeat the same words to Israel. But
there is not an empty sentiment here. Moses’, and later Joshua’s, words were
not meant to mean that there are probably good things that are going to happen
to you tomorrow. It is not a simple “you can do it speech.” The words are be strong
and courageous because God is riding into the heat of the battle with you. He,
your king, will be there with you in the fight. He will go before you. There will
not be any battle into which you are led that the King has not already surveyed.
And this was something that Israel was going to need to know if they were going
to survive the days that lay ahead.
It is something
that I need to know every day. God has gone before me. He has prepared the way.
And nothing else really matters – because I fight beside my king. He will make
away even in the midst of the worst that I can imagine. So when the fight comes
to me, even I can be “strong and courageous.”
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading:
Deuteronomy 32
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