ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 MONITE ME 11, 2026

2 KALONIKALI 13-16; ‘EKISOTO 15:1-18

Your Lord is the ultimate warrior. He always battles on behalf of those whom he has chosen to be his own.

Ko Sihova ‘a e to’a laulotahaa. ‘Oku ne tau ma’u pe ma’a kinautolu kuo ne fili ma’ana.

Picture two young boys about to fight. Although they project a kind of pugilistic bravado, they are both more afraid than they would ever admit. So their taunts move quickly from their strength to the size and ability of their fathers. "My dad is bigger than your dad." "Oh yeah? My dad is stronger than your dad." "My dad is really strong. He played football in college." "My dad is even stronger than that. He's a marine." The father-taunts that fly back and forth are both silly and very sweet. Neither dad is going to fight with a neighbor because of some petty quarrel between two nine-year-olds. So the father-threats are meaningless. But the safety that both boys feel in the strength of their fathers and the belief they have that their fathers would battle on their behalf is quite endearing.

This mundane but deeply human scene reminds me of deep spiritual truths. I cannot defeat many of the broken and evil things in this world. So much temptation comes at me that I cannot resist on my own. Even when I successfully turn from evil outside of me, I have little power on my own to liberate myself from the sin inside me. But confessing my weakness and inability does not depress me, because I have a heavenly Father who battles on my behalf. I can look evil in the face and say, "My Father in heaven is bigger and more powerful than your father, the devil." How encouraging it is to know that this is not a meaningless and silly taunt, but one rooted in the truth of God's covenant faithfulness.

In 2 Chronicles 13:13-16 evil King Jeroboam has amassed a huge army because he intends to defeat King Abijah and destroy Judah. The much smaller army of Judah is surrounded on all sides by Jeroboam's troops. But what Jeroboam doesn't understand is that he is not fighting just Judah, but Judah's Father, the Lord Almighty. God will not let Judah be destroyed because Judah has a place in his redemptive plan. With trumpet blasts and shouts, Jeroboam is defeated and five hundred thousand of his men die. And what is recorded of that victory? "God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand" (2 Chron. 13:15-16).

God never abandons his covenant promises, which means he will battle on behalf of his people until the final victory is won. There is no spiritual battle that we fight on our own, because our Savior is the ultimate warrior. He will continue to put enemies under his feet until the last enemy is finally destroyed. Then he will welcome us into his final kingdom, where war will be no more.