Genesis 14:14-16 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
Abraham’s rescue of Lot and his household from the four Mesopotamian Kings in the middle of the night was an act of holy chutzpah! Israel’s first patriarch demonstrated great faith, courage, family loyalty, and military strategy during this successful rescue operation.
This story of Abraham reminded me of another story in modern Israeli history. It was on June 27, 1976, when a jetliner was hijacked by a Palestinian Liberation group and taken to Uganda.
In an astounding rescue, 100 elite Israeli commandos led by Yoni Netanyahu, (Benjamin Netanyahu’s older brother) traveled over 2,500 miles to Kampala, Uganda and liberated scores of passengers taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists from a hijacked airplane. “Operation Thunderbolt” took place on July 4, 1976, whereby 103 hostages were saved, while only three died. Yoni Netanyahu was the one Israeli who sacrificed his life for this mission. The seemingly impossible rescue, which also took place at night, required a week of planning and lasted just 90 minutes. It was totally unexpected and unprecedented in modern history and became a model for rescue team training in the US military.
These two examples of courage and daring ought to inspire us in certain situations where evil should be boldly and radically confronted. There are times when we, too, can and should operate with holy chutzpah, surprising the enemy with fearless courage, faith-filled action, and laser-sharp strategy. “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” [Luke 10:19]
There is a time to wage war with holy chutzpah. When our cause is righteous and the goal is rescue and deliverance from evil then we ought not to be passive. In these situations, we need the Lord’s strategy and the courage which comes with true righteousness. Perhaps it will require a strong word spoken in love; perhaps a day or a week of serious fasting and prayer. It may even involve addressing an evil spirit as the Apostle Paul did in Philippi [Acts 16:18]. There are times for radical action without fear that it can’t be done. Our Lord, on the cross, exemplified tremendous courage and heroism to rescue us from our sins and the devil’s power. In the power of His Spirit, we also can be instruments of dramatic deliverance – with Holy chutzpah!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Another great preacher whose writings I love to read is John R. Rice. He wrote, "I once imagined I was in Heaven, walking along with the Angel Gabriel. I said, "Gabe, what is that big building over there?"
In the modern world, the work ethic is, achieve and produce by working longer and harder! The focus is on getting results through human effort -- we've become product oriented and the bottom line is......the bottom line! But God's way runs contrary to this approach -- His way is much more oriented toward process and relationship rather than performance and production.
The writer of Ecclesiastes was aware of cycles in nature, how they repeat themselves. Some have noticed another interesting historical cycle which awakens our awareness at this time of year. The dates April 15th-21th contain an interesting pattern. This is a time frame which has seen the birth of much havoc in the world. Historically this is when the birth of Rome and the Roman empire took place, the birth of Napoleon and more recently the birth of Hitler and Nazi Germany occurred.
As Israel celebrates Yom Ha'atzmaut – Independence day – Israelis are often reminded of the price that was paid for freedom. But today, in that spirit, I want to recall a time when a heavy price was paid for a translation of our Bible.
A friend writes: "My father did some pretty nasty things to me. But at the end of his life, as I kneeled by his bedside, I told him how thankful I was for every good thing he had done and every way he had blessed me, and there were many. We were good friends when he passed away." One of the greatest regrets you can avoid at the end of your life is the failure to praise others when they deserved it, (and even when they didn't).
Of course, the celebration of Passover for believers normally emphasizes the revelation of our Passover Lamb -- the Lamb of God, Yeshua, who was delivered up, a Lamb without blemish, and sacrificed in our place as an offering for our sins. As Israel celebrates deliverance from slavery, we celebrate deliverance from the bondage of sin. We celebrate knowing that death no longer has power over us since we pass from this temporal world into the eternal when we die.
In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. “Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.” “I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” “Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”