Three different times Jon and I have traveled to Israel, seeing and learning more about the people, places, and customs of the Bible lands. It was interesting to see some of the places we knew well from Bible accounts of events that occurred there. The names of some other places we visited were new to me. Later when I read in the Bible of one of those places, I was able to remember what we had seen. I could understand the story and picture it better because I had visited that place. Several Deaf people have gone with us and said that seeing Israel made the Bible become more alive to them. (Our next Israel trip is scheduled in 2024. Come with us and see the land of the Bible.) Contact the Barr;s for more information by clicking here.
The name of one area I had never noticed before was Maresha. There we saw an oil press, a burial cave, large caves that look like bells, and even a cave where they raised doves. But later, when reading in 2 Chronicles 14, I read of something that happened there. Asa, king of Judah, “did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (v 2). He tore down the altars to idols, commanded the people to seek and obey the Lord God, and built walled cities. Israel prospered and had ten years of peace. But then an Ethiopian army came against them. Asa had 580,000 mighty men in his army, but the Ethiopians had one million, plus 300 chariots! It was there at the Battle at Maresha that Asa realized his own inability. He prayed “unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest (trust) on thee, and in thy name (authority) we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee” (v 11). Asa knew that they could not win the battle in their own strength. They needed and trusted God and His power to go against the enemy. The Bible says the Lord defeated the enemy there. The victory was so complete that the Ethiopians could not recover.
What battle are you facing today? Be as King Asa at Maresha. Recognize that the power to win the battle is not in your strength. Trust Him, for the battle is the Lord’s.
