In so many stories of conflict in the Old Testament, the real war is fought more in the heart than on the battlefield.  In the above situation, King Ahaz of Judah was under attack from both the king of Aram and the king of Israel, and though he was able to resist them, he started losing heart.  God came to the rescue in his inimitable style – by sending his word, in this instance by Isaiah the prophet.  God told Ahaz:

“‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid.  Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood – because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.” (Isa 7:4, NIV)

In war, as in life, it seems one of the most important things God warns his people against is losing heart.  He says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Prov 4:23, NIV)

Earlier in their history, at a crucial point, the Israelites lost heart – and lost so much else besides.   They were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, God having just delivered them from Egypt with a show of his might and power.   But when the Israelites heard a discouraging report from their spies about the Promised Land and its formidable inhabitants, they cried:

“Where can we go?  Our brothers have made us lose heart.  They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky…” (Deut 1:28, NIV)

The Israelites lost heart, and their trust in God – and so lost the war before it began.    They spent the next 40 years wandering in the wilderness before they returned again to the Promised Land to gain what God had given them from the start.

When the Israelites finally settled in the Promised Land, Saul became their first king, and he faced a similar struggle against discouragement.  Goliath taunted his army so that they were “dismayed and terrified.” (1 Sam 17:11, NIV)  When David comes to the rescue of the Israelite army, he says to King Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” (1 Sam 17:32, NIV)

What David did for the Israelite army – fighting on their behalf to conquer the enemy they couldn’t – Jesus did for us.  And so we hear Jesus saying something similar to his disciples: “…In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  (Jn 16:33, NIV)

So whatever it is, don’t lose heart.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Heb 12:2-3, NIV)

– Joey

“All these people were still living by faith when the died.  They did not receive the things promised: they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth… they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Heb 11:13 & 16, NIV)

Hebrews speaks of Abraham who, while still living in tents, was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Heb 11:10)  And Moses “regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” (Heb 11:26).

When the angel of the Lord told Hagar about the future of her child, that her descendents would be too numerous to count, she would have been encouraged.  It would have helped her go back to Sarah and face her difficult circumstances.

And looking forward to where he was going helped Jesus endure the cross – giving us a model of how we should approach the trials of life (which don’t come any tougher than the cross):

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross…” (Heb 12:2, NIV)

We too, as Christians, have something to look forward to.  We have a firm and glorious hope because of the One who went ahead of us.

“… God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27, NIV)

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Rom 5:5, NIV)

In the light of our eternal destiny with God, our present struggles are only fleeting, as real and difficult as they might be.

– Joey

Instead, it would be a story of Jesus setting someone free.

Jesus challenged the accusers: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (Jn 8:7, NIV)  And with that, they slowly left, one by one – until only Jesus and the woman remained.

Jesus:  Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?
Woman:  No one, sir.

I can only imagine how the woman felt as she realised that Jesus had vanquished every last one of her accusers – how he had silenced them and sent them all away – and how a crowd that knew her shame and condemned her for it was replaced by one man who offered forgiveness.

It makes me think of the accusers and the accusations we face in life.  Often the worst accusations leveled against us aren’t the false ones but the ones that are true, and often the worst accusers aren’t other people, or even the devil, but ourselves.

Perhaps that’s why Jesus asked, ‘Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?’  God says amazing things with questions, and here he’s drawing the woman’s attention to the fact that no one stood to condemn her any longer.   If the ‘holiest’ of scribes and Pharisees did not condemn her, then why should she condemn herself?

Not only that, but the one righteous person whose judgement mattered, the one who would judge all the earth at the end of time, the one who stood alone with her, said, “Then neither do I condemn you.”

He even went so far as tell her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  If he believed that she could live a better life, and leave her sin behind, then maybe she could.  There were no more accusers, no more condemnation – nothing to hold her back.

The same man who answered the accusations against that woman, both without and within, now stands with us to do the same.  And so the apostle Paul writes:

“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  It is God who justifies.” (Rom 8:33, NIV)

– Joey