Jotham waged war against the king of the Ammonites and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat and ten thousand cors of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years. – 2 Chronicles 27:5

Today's Scripture Reading (April 18, 2026): 2 Chronicles 27

One of the questions of the day is "What exactly is going to happen with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?" It is an interesting question. Can NATO survive if the United States decides to pull out? I have my own beliefs, but I admit I don't know the answer.

NATO was born out of a need to stand up to the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II. The United States' immediate hope after the war was to withdraw its soldiers from Europe. The thought was that, within six months of Germany's defeat, American presence might no longer be needed. It was men like General Holland Smith, who had the great nickname "Howlin' Mad," who realized that the threat the Soviet Union posed to Europe meant the United States had to have a presence. That presence has kept peace in Europe for the past 80 years, a phenomenal achievement. And a lot of credit goes to the American continued presence. But now, the United States has begun to wonder whether it needs to leave, which in turn raises questions about the future of NATO. Does the world still need NATO?

My answer is an emphatic yes. Even a NATO without the United States is still needed. And it is needed on both sides of the Atlantic. It may be surprising to learn that the United States, which shares a northern border with Russia despite the American government's belief that an ocean separates the two, does not want an alliance. At the same time, Russia seems intent on regaining the prestige and territory it possessed during the Soviet era. Maybe we have begun to believe the lie that our flat maps tell us, that says that Russia is a great distance away, but it isn't. And the United States, with its cry that it needs to possess Greenland, would seem to understand the world as it really is, not as it is shown to us on a flat map hanging on a wall. At the very least, Canada will need to be part of a northern alliance. And the northern country will need to strengthen its defenses along its northern borders. An alliance is still needed, not just for the defense of Europe but for all northern-hemisphere countries.

Ammon was a nation that existed due east of the southern portion of the Kingdom of Israel, essentially where the Kingdom of Jordan is today. To the south of Ammon, and due east of Judah, was the nation of Moab. During the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah (870-849), Ammon and Moab, along with some other minor tribes, formed an alliance against him (Jehoshaphat) and his expansionist tendencies. But the Ammon-Moab alliance couldn't last. The nations began to backstab and wage war against each other until, a hundred years later, King Jotham of Judah marched into Ammon, defeated them, and demanded a heavy tribute. As long as the nations stuck together, they were okay, but once they allowed conflict to separate them, they were easily defeated by anyone who wanted to march against them.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 28