When we think of David and his five stones as he faced the towering giant, Goliath, we envision the real strength behind the boy’s successful opposition of a power that had until that time overwhelmed the entire Israelite army. It wasn’t found in David’s superior eyesight, the muscles of his arm, or even his willingness to face a formidable foe. The real strength that backed up his words came from the angels that aimed his stone, gave it extra striking force, and stirred terror in the opposing army. It was the might of David’s God, stirred by David’s faith, which routed the enemy.
God is our defender, for he is the one who scatters our enemies, giving us protection in the midst of the storm. Yet, there are times the worst has already happened. The enemy has arisen, and the damage has already taken place. Our job is gone. The marriage is ended. Sickness has taken our loved one. We have no resolution for what has brought us low, and we can barely trudge forward.
God is still our defender, even then.
We know the story of John the Baptist. Herod’s step-daughter, Salome, danced before Herod, and he promised her anything she asked. At her mother’s instigation, she requested the head of John the Baptist, ending the life and ministry of the greatest prophet who ever lived.
John’s disciples were devastated. Mark 6:29 tells us:
“And when [John’s] disciples heard of it, they came and took his his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.”
It seemed like it was the end. They had been abandoned by God. And yet, God wasn’t finished. The scenario with Herod, his brother’s wife, Herodias (whom Herod had married), and his step-daughter plunged into an aftermath that can only be described as grippingly horrific. Not long after John’s death, both Herod and Herodias were banished to Lyons (by decree of the Roman Senate!) where they met a miserable end. Salome faced an even more horrific finale. She died not long after, her head cut nearly off by razor-sharp fragments of fractured ice.
Romans 12:19 tells us:
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay saith the Lord.”
Herod’s horrific end didn’t bring John back to life, but it illustrates an essential facet of God’s eternal nature: God gives as good as he gets, and we can trust him to defend us even when the very worst that can possibly happen cuts us down without warning.
Today we know of John’s sacrifice because of the horrific manner of his death. He became greater than he was in life because of how he died. God took what was evil and turned it to the betterment of his work here on this earth, and today the ministry of Christ and the Church is better for it.
God is truly our defender and our shield, no matter how terrifying the forces of this world.
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Code: FGO.E.21.16a.vp.kjv