1 Maccabees 4:6-11: a reflection

6As soon as it was day, Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men. However they didn’t have the armor and swords they desired. 7They saw the camp of the Gentiles strong and fortified, with cavalry all around it; and these were expert in war. 8Judas said to the men who were with him, “Don’t be afraid of their numbers, or when they charge. 9Remember how our fathers were saved in the Red sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with an army. 10Now let’s cry to heaven, if he will have us, and will remember the covenant of our fathers, and destroy this army before our face today. 11Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel.

Judas Maccabeus faces a daunting battle: his small force of three thousand, poorly armed, confronts a strong, fortified enemy camp bristling with expert cavalry. But rather than despair at the odds, Judas rallies his men by pointing them to the past: Do not fear their numbers. Remember how our fathers were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with an army. Let us cry to heaven, that he will remember the covenant and destroy this army before us today. He fuels present courage with the memory of God's past deliverance.

Notice how Judas strengthens his outnumbered men: by remembering. He calls to mind a time when God's people, trapped and pursued with no way out, were delivered at the Red Sea, and he reasons that the God who saved them then can save now. The remembrance of past deliverance becomes the ground of present courage; because God acted before, they can cry to him and hope again.

That is a strategy worth learning for our own daunting moments. When we face odds that overwhelm us and fear rises, one of the most steadying things we can do is remember, to call to mind the times God has delivered before, in Scripture and in our own lives. The God who has acted before can act again. When you are afraid, outnumbered, facing more than you can handle, do as Judas did: remember God's past faithfulness, and let it fuel present courage. Cry to the God who saved before, and face the battle in the strength of remembering what he has done.

Lord, facing a daunting battle against overwhelming odds, Judas rallied his men by remembering the Red Sea, how you saved your people when Pharaoh pursued them, and he cried to you for present help. When I face odds that overwhelm me and fear rises, teach me to remember. Bring to my mind the times you have delivered before, in your word and in my own life, and let that memory fuel present courage. The God who acted before can act again. Help me, when I am afraid and outnumbered, to cry to you as Judas did, and to face what is before me in the strength of remembering all you have done. You have saved before; save again.