Wednesday, December 29, 2004
The War Of and On Islamic Terror
A JimBabka.com EXCLUSIVE: This article was written two days after the terrorist attack on a U.S. Army mess tent near Mosul by Herbert W. Titus, J.D. It’s available nowhere else but here!
The U.S. military was re-examining security measures at bases across Iraq on Thursday, a day after saying an attack that killed 22 people at a camp near Mosul was likely carried out by a homicide bomber who may have had inside information. (Associated Press: 12/23/04)
With every attack of the Islamic terrorists upon our troops in Iraq, we have unleashed a ferocious counterattack, only to face yet another vicious assault. With every threatened attack upon our homeland, we have endured yet another self-inflicted restriction of our precious liberties in the name of the need for heightened security.
In short, the enemy is winning the war of terror, and we are losing the war against it. Why? Certainly it is not because we lack the superior firepower sufficient to overwhelm the enemy. Nor have we faltered in our will to use that weaponry to accomplish our goals.
No, we are losing the war on Islamic terror, because we have failed both to understand the spiritual strength of the enemy and our own spiritual weakness. Unless we come to grips with this spiritual reality, we will lose this terrible war.
We Americans have long laid claim to a spiritual superiority over other nations of the world. Indeed, since World War I we have congratulated ourselves for our unselfish sacrifices of the lives of our young men and women, and our wealth and resources to help less fortunate nations who have not enjoyed the benefits of American democracy.
At the end of the 20th century, we became proud of our exalted position as the world’s only superpower, and in the process, we forgot the God in whom we trusted in the 18th century in our war for independence.
This is not the first time in history that a nation has been blinded by the blessings of a merciful God. Prior to being swept away by the Babylonian hordes, the nation of Judah fell prey to a national hubris that brought about its own destruction. But not without warning.
Years prior to the rise of Judah’s conqueror, Nebuchadnezzar, God sent a plague of locusts that devoured the wealth of Judah and Jerusalem which the prophet Joel used to warn her leaders of the complete devastation that would come from an enemy nation, the likes of which the world had never seen before. See Joel 1:1-7; 2:2. This enemy, the prophet foretold, would be great and strong, fearless, unified, unstoppable, and ubiquitous. Joel 2:2, 4, 7-9.
To prepare for battle against such an enemy force, Joel’s prophecy did not call for a build-up in Judah’s military defenses, nor for a reorganization of the nation’s intelligence, nor for a beefing-up of homeland security. Rather, Joel called the people and their leaders to repentance, fasting, and a solemn assembly to cry out to God for mercy. Joel 1:14; 2:13, 15-17.
Why? Because the enemy army that was coming was an instrument of God’s judgment upon the nation of Judah, just as the locusts had been. Joel 1:15; 2:11-12. Thus, Judah’s only hope for victory was the grace and mercy of Almighty God, the sovereign Lord over all nations. Indeed, Joel forecast — that if the people of Judah repented of their national sins — this sovereign God would drive this great and strong, fearless, unified, unstoppable, and ubiquitous enemy into utter defeat and destruction. Joel 2:20. And, at the same time, this sovereign God — out of His abundant mercy and lovingkindness — would restore Judah to prosperity, both material and spiritual. Joel 2:21-29.
If America is to win the war against Islamic terrorism, her leaders and her people would do well to heed Joel’s prophecy. The Islamic enemy will not be cowered, nor defeated by force of arms. Rather, the Islamic enemy will turn tail only by America’s repentant return to the God who founded her, and to obedience of His laws protecting life, liberty and property.
A JimBabka.com EXCLUSIVE: This article was written two days after the terrorist attack on a U.S. Army mess tent near Mosul by Herbert W. Titus, J.D. It’s available nowhere else but here!
The U.S. military was re-examining security measures at bases across Iraq on Thursday, a day after saying an attack that killed 22 people at a camp near Mosul was likely carried out by a homicide bomber who may have had inside information. (Associated Press: 12/23/04)
- They [the enemy] shall not thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. Joel 2:8 (KJV)
- They [the enemy] do not jostle each other in the way, each goes his own path; they plunge through the defenses, they are not stopped. Joel 2:8 (Modern Language)
- They [the enemy] do not jostle one another, each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. Joel 2:8 (RSV)
With every attack of the Islamic terrorists upon our troops in Iraq, we have unleashed a ferocious counterattack, only to face yet another vicious assault. With every threatened attack upon our homeland, we have endured yet another self-inflicted restriction of our precious liberties in the name of the need for heightened security.
In short, the enemy is winning the war of terror, and we are losing the war against it. Why? Certainly it is not because we lack the superior firepower sufficient to overwhelm the enemy. Nor have we faltered in our will to use that weaponry to accomplish our goals.
No, we are losing the war on Islamic terror, because we have failed both to understand the spiritual strength of the enemy and our own spiritual weakness. Unless we come to grips with this spiritual reality, we will lose this terrible war.
We Americans have long laid claim to a spiritual superiority over other nations of the world. Indeed, since World War I we have congratulated ourselves for our unselfish sacrifices of the lives of our young men and women, and our wealth and resources to help less fortunate nations who have not enjoyed the benefits of American democracy.
At the end of the 20th century, we became proud of our exalted position as the world’s only superpower, and in the process, we forgot the God in whom we trusted in the 18th century in our war for independence.
This is not the first time in history that a nation has been blinded by the blessings of a merciful God. Prior to being swept away by the Babylonian hordes, the nation of Judah fell prey to a national hubris that brought about its own destruction. But not without warning.
Years prior to the rise of Judah’s conqueror, Nebuchadnezzar, God sent a plague of locusts that devoured the wealth of Judah and Jerusalem which the prophet Joel used to warn her leaders of the complete devastation that would come from an enemy nation, the likes of which the world had never seen before. See Joel 1:1-7; 2:2. This enemy, the prophet foretold, would be great and strong, fearless, unified, unstoppable, and ubiquitous. Joel 2:2, 4, 7-9.
To prepare for battle against such an enemy force, Joel’s prophecy did not call for a build-up in Judah’s military defenses, nor for a reorganization of the nation’s intelligence, nor for a beefing-up of homeland security. Rather, Joel called the people and their leaders to repentance, fasting, and a solemn assembly to cry out to God for mercy. Joel 1:14; 2:13, 15-17.
Why? Because the enemy army that was coming was an instrument of God’s judgment upon the nation of Judah, just as the locusts had been. Joel 1:15; 2:11-12. Thus, Judah’s only hope for victory was the grace and mercy of Almighty God, the sovereign Lord over all nations. Indeed, Joel forecast — that if the people of Judah repented of their national sins — this sovereign God would drive this great and strong, fearless, unified, unstoppable, and ubiquitous enemy into utter defeat and destruction. Joel 2:20. And, at the same time, this sovereign God — out of His abundant mercy and lovingkindness — would restore Judah to prosperity, both material and spiritual. Joel 2:21-29.
If America is to win the war against Islamic terrorism, her leaders and her people would do well to heed Joel’s prophecy. The Islamic enemy will not be cowered, nor defeated by force of arms. Rather, the Islamic enemy will turn tail only by America’s repentant return to the God who founded her, and to obedience of His laws protecting life, liberty and property.
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