ON THE VANGUARD

HAMMER TIME
“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”
Matthew 11:12

History shows that a revolution starts when someone crosses the line. For Mattatias and his sons, they were the revolution starters. When Syria invaded the Jewish communities and told them what they could and could not do, it was the Maccabees who stood up and declared ENOUGH! Starting internally by first killing a Jew who complied with Syria, the Maccabees then went after the Syrians themselves. The revolution was under way, and only those who did not renounce the Jewish ways were safe.
Following the death of Mattatias, Judah, his son, rose up and assembled an army to fight against their oppressors. His army was a band of men whose trades consisted of farmers, servants, and common people. This motley crew of men was willing to join Judah and stand up for what they knew was right. They were outnumbered and undersupplied, yet they had one thing that the Syrian army did not. They had God on their side. God plus one is greater than any army of thousands with no God. For with God all things are possible. They marched with the banner “Mi Kamocha B’alim Adonai,” which translates to “Who among the mighty is like you, O God.”
The term ‘Maccabee’ is translated as hammer. How fitting this name as the Maccabees would wait in the hills for their enemy to walk by and then pounce. The wrath they poured out on the Syrians was as the pounding of many nails being driven down by a single hammer. They fought hard in battle, and even though outnumbered 300 to 40,000, God granted victory to the Maccabees. As they stood for God, God in turn stood for them. On the 25th day of Kislev, three years after they had finally had enough, they drove out the Syrians and recaptured the Temple of God. As Daniel had prophesied, “…the people who know their God will firmly resist him” (Dan 11:32).
I ask you today, do you firmly know God? When your enemy comes in and tells you what you can and cannot do, do you sit by and obey or do you, like the Maccabees, get fed up and fight back? It was Jesus who spoke the words, “the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” Are you one if those ‘forceful men’ who strap of the armor of God and march out onto the battle field ready to drive a few nails in the ground? Are you a hammer? I want to leave you with one final re-iterated thought. God plus you is already the advantage over any army. When you have decided that enough is enough, and you are ready to take back what the devil has stolen from you, then join forces with God and see the victory. Wave the banner, and let your motto also be Mi Kamocha B’alim Adonai.