It has been said that history is written by the victors. Nations tell stories of wars and the great men who won them. But the Bible’s books of history are different. Joshua to Esther do tell of many great battles and heroes, but the record is more interested in theological truths than national glories.
Unlike with any nation before or after, Yahweh entered into a covenant with the biblical nation of Israel, and her conquests and kings reflect this relationship. Her history records as many defeats as victories, as the first two battles of Joshua show. We all remember the miraculous battle of Jericho, but this is immediately followed by the disastrous defeat at Ai for the sin of Achan (Joshua 6 and 7).
These two battles establish a pattern that persists throughout the Bible’s books of history. Judges tells the story over and over. When Israel is faithful to God, she wins wars. But when she is unfaithful to Him, she loses not only the battle but freedom itself.
However, woven within all these stories is a fundamental truth that Israel must not forget. Found first at the Red Sea, this truth will dominate her national history and identity:
Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . . The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. . . . The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name” (Exodus 14:13, 14; 15:3, KJV).
Though always implicit, Joshua cites this extraordinary claim explicitly in the third great battle in the conquest of Canaan. After taking Jericho and Ai, he gains a huge victory in the battle against the five kings (10:42). At the end of his life, Joshua frames the whole conquest of Canaan in this context:
“You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has fought for you” (Joshua 23:3).
Israel does not boast in armies or arms. As Gideon illustrates, God prefers to save by a few, rather than many (Judges 7:2). Israel should live by the prophet’s maxim: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6, KJV). As young David told Goliath: It’s not by spears or swords but by the name of the Lord (1 Samuel 17:45).
This truth bookends Israel’s books of history. Second Chronicles 20 records her victory over Ammon and Moab. Israel is told, echoing Exodus:
“Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. . . . You will not need to fight in this battle. . . . stand still and see the salvation of the Lord . . . for the Lord is with you” (2 Chronicles 20:15, 17).
King Jehoshaphat leads the people out to battle, and they simply sing praises to the Lord. He does the rest. “And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms . . . when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel” (v. 29).
Israel’s history tells who the true conquering King is: the Lord of Hosts. Her story is not a strategy, nor a justification, for nations and wars today, but it is good news for the church to know and trust that the Lord fights for us.
— Jason Overman
*Taken from the Bible Advocate, March-April 2024, copyright 2024. Used by permission.
Last Man Standing is the name of an older and fairly violent action movie starring Bruce Willis as an amoral gunfighter in the days of Prohibition. More recently, it was the name of an American television sitcom starring Tim Allen. But the expression “last man standing” or “last person standing” usually refers to the sole survivor of a battle or other destructive event when everybody else has fallen.
The Bible has many stories of such last men standing – individuals who survived dire events and alone accomplished great things in God’s service. Noah, of course, is the first person who comes to mind as the “last man standing” in the story of the great flood (Genesis 6), but as we continue through the Old Testament we read of Joshua and Caleb as being the last men left of the spies who entered the promised land – and even of that whole generation (Numbers 26:65). And we read of the believer Rahab with her house and family – all that literally remained standing after the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6:17).
Later, we read the prophet Elijah was the only man left standing for the true God against the prophets of Baal who had taken control of ancient Israel’s religion. With God’s help Elijah scored a great victory in the climactic showdown with those false prophets (1 Kings 18), but then Elijah was forced to flee to save himself by hiding in a remote cave.
At this point, Elijah was very conscious of being the last man standing. The prophet complained to God: “The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (I Kings 19:10). God’s answer to Elijah probably surprised the prophet: “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel – all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal” (1 Kings 19:18).
Elijah was obviously depressed as he looked at his circumstance, but God spoke to the prophet to assure him that although he might feel like, and appear to be, the last man standing he really was not. There were many not worshiping Baal, and some would continue Elijah’s work (1 Kings 19:16). The same was true of Noah – whose son Shem became the ancestor of Abraham (Genesis 11:10–31), and of Joshua and Caleb who were followed by other strong warriors (Judges 2:16; etc.), and of every Old Testament servant of God who seemed to be the last person standing when circumstances were difficult or dire.
The same was true in the New Testament. At the crucifixion of Jesus, the young apostle John was the only disciple standing at the cross when all the other disciples had fled or were standing far away, at a safe distance (Mark 14:50; John 19:26). John must certainly have felt like the last man standing, but he was not really alone, and soon the other disciples returned and eventually found the courage to do the work they had been given to do.
The truth is, every follower of God feels like the last person standing at times. Perhaps we are the only person in our family, our class, or our workplace, who has come to the truth. Many who are converted to Christianity in cultures where other religions are predominant and antagonistic to the Christian faith feel like the last person or the only person they personally know who is a follower of Christ.
But in all these cases, we are not really the last or the only Christians remaining, of course – and God urges two things of us. First, as with Elijah, God encourages his followers to be aware of his people around the world and to interact with them as much as we can (Hebrews 10:24-25). Beyond this, when we feel like the last ones standing, God simply encourages us to continue to stand. The apostle Paul had much to say about this. “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” he wrote to the Christians at Philippi, “Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm”(Philippians 1:27). To those in Corinth he wrote “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith” (1 Corinthians 16:13), and to those in Ephesus: “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).
Being the last person standing is not just a trait of biblical heroes – it is a goal that, with God’s help, we can all achieve. Jesus himself encouraged us in this when he said “the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13). We do not have to be the last person standing – we just need to keep standing.
* For more on the topic of encouragement, download our free e-book Some Days We Soar here.
The Centurions: Lessons from Ten New Testament Men of Valor
By R. Herbert
Tactical Belief Books, 2024
ISBN 979-8-89372-529-2
The New Testament records the interaction of ten Roman military men with Christ and the early Christians. These ten men are shown as men of honor and valor who all played some role in establishing and furthering the Christian faith. The Centurions looks at positive lessons we can learn from each of them because each soldier shows us something regarding character traits that are as important now as they were then – as vital and valuable to the Christian warrior today as they were to the centurions of ancient Rome. You can download a copy of our new e-book directly – without registration or email address – here.
One of the greatest examples of humility that we find in the Gospels – and in the entire Bible, other than in the life of Jesus – is seen in the story of the centurion who implored Jesus to heal his servant. Both Matthew and Luke record this story (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10), and the additional details each one gives paint a picture of a leader of men who was remarkably humble – and more.
Humility
The centurion’s humility is certainly one of the most memorable aspects of the story. As the ranking officer in his unit, he was an important soldier who gave orders to many men. Yet this same centurion willingly humbled himself in his request to Christ, declaring “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof … I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you” (Luke 7:6–7). This attitude is all the more remarkable as we know that most Romans looked down on the Jewish people, considering them to be a relatively uncivilized nation.
The story also shows the humility of Jesus in his willingness to go to the sick rather than having them be brought to him, but the centurion’s humility is what is highlighted. For a Roman officer to humble himself to the degree he did before one of the people he was charged to rule over was almost startling.
Strength
But humility is clearly not the only trait this centurion displayed. As commander of at least 80 men (see our post “Ten Centurions,” here) he said that “I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Matthew 8:9). Centurions were often battle-hardened individuals who were not chosen for weakness of any kind – rather their strength was often deeply respected by the men they led. This is an important fact because it shows that the biblical quality of humility so clearly demonstrated by this man is not in any way an expression of weakness. The centurion’s humility was all the more noticeable because of his strength.
Compassion
There is also another quality of this soldier that we should not overlook, and that is his compassion. Clearly, he was concerned for his servant’s welfare, but the sick man was apparently not an indispensable or key person in his household. Luke tells us, in fact, that the sick man for whom the centurion asked Christ’s help was not an important servant, but simply a lowly slave (doulos). This centurion was obviously concerned for even the least members of his household staff.
Faith
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the story of the humble centurion, however, is the man’s faith. On hearing the centurion’s request that Jesus simply command that his servant be made well, Jesus responded “Let it be done just as you believed it would” (Matthew 8:13) and Luke adds the further detail that “Jesus … was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel’” (Luke 7:9). As a result of the soldier’s great faith, his servant was healed at that exact moment (Matthew 8:13).
The level of detail given in both Matthew and Luke’s accounts of this healing shows how important the story is from a New Testament perspective. While the Gospels could simply have recorded that Jesus healed the servant of a Gentile centurion, they stress that the soldier was a man of strength and compassion and of outstanding humility and faith. These are fitting goals for every soldier of Christ.
* This post is the fourth in a series on the centurions of the New Testament. For the other posts simply search “centurion” using the website search page.
The US Arizona burns in Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
This is the story of a hero, a villain, and a saint – who were all the same person. His name was Mitsuo Fuchida and although most Americans may not recognize his name, he was a true hero in his native country of Japan – because Fuchida was the Japanese pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 that led to the deaths of some 2,400 Americans.
Of course, his leading role in the attack on Pearl Harbor also made Fuchida a villain of historic proportions in American eyes, so the same individual became both a super-hero and a super-villain in his lifetime – but his story does not end there. Due to a chain of remarkable events, Fuchida would excel in one more way before the end of his life.
T. Martin Bennett, the author of the recently published book Wounded Tiger, the story of Fuchida’s life, tells how two Americans who suffered greatly from Japanese atrocities during World War II changed the Japanese airman forever.
The first American was Jacob DeShazer, a US airman who participated in the famed Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942 and was captured by the Japanese. DeShazer was converted to Christianity after reading a Bible while enduring over three years of mistreatment and torture as a Japanese prisoner of war. As a result, the captive airman forgave and began treating the guards who tormented him with love. Remarkably, they responded by treating him with kindness. After the war, while living in Japan, DeShazer met and became friends with Mitsuo Fuchida who was deeply influenced by the American.
The other American who would influence Fuchida, although he never met her, was Peggy Covell who grew up in Japan in a family of Christian teachers. During the war, her parents were teachers at Christian schools in the Philippines and were killed there by Japanese soldiers in 1943. Covell responded not with hatred, but with forgiveness. Returning to the US, she volunteered at a hospital in Utah that treated Japanese prisoners of war. According to Bennett’s book, the prisoners called her an “angel,” because she was so kind to them. One of the men she treated, Kazuo Kanegasaki, was the engineer responsible for maintaining the aircraft of the Japanese war hero/villain Fuchida. When the war was over, engineer Kanegasaki met his former pilot and deeply moved Fuchida with his story of Peggy Covell’s kindness despite what she had suffered from the Japanese.
The influence of DeShazer’s and Covell’s forgiveness and kindness, along with several events in Fuchida’s life, led to the hero/villain’s conversion and deep acceptance of Christianity. While according to Bennett’s book, the warrior airman could have lived out his life in fame and prosperity in Japan, “Instead, he lived in poverty, telling the world what God had done for him – which was to save him from a life of hatred.” Fuchida also became an evangelist and traveled throughout Japan, the United States, and Europe preaching the word of Christ, forgiveness, and salvation – often in presentations titled “From Pearl Harbor To Calvary.” Fuchida also came to deeply love his old enemy, the United States, and made many American friends. Tellingly, his children became U.S. citizens.
And so, the man who had become both a super-hero and a super-villain for his exploits based in hatred, became through his conversion and service one of those who love God and their fellow beings – one of those the Bible (Romans 1:7 and throughout the epistles, in the ESV and other Bible versions) calls “saints.” Like the apostle Paul, Mitsuo Fuchida came to love those he had hated, and turned from trying to destroy them to serving them – from using his warrior zeal for evil, to using it for good.
The New Testament mentions some ten different centurions – the Roman army officers who commanded around eighty soldiers – but only mentions the names of two of them. The first is Cornelius – the centurion familiar to every Bible reader – who became the first Gentile convert to Christianity. The second centurion who is named, Julius, is hardly known by comparison, but what the New Testament tells us about him shows that he was an exceptional soldier and of no small importance in the spread of Christianity.
Like Cornelius, Julius was stationed in Caesarea, the Roman headquarters in Palestine, but he is said to have belonged to the Sebastes or Imperial Cohort or regiment (Acts 12:1), rather than the Italian Cohort. Although the title Sebastes was given to some Imperial troops, Caesarea was itself called “Sebaste” and it is likely that the soldiers under Julius’ command were simply troops belonging to Caesarea itself (see Josephus, Wars of the Jews ii.12.5).
Because Julius was stationed in Caesarea, he was selected to transfer the apostle Paul from Caesarea to Rome (Acts 27:1) and he is mentioned several times in the narrative of Paul’s sea voyage (Acts 27:6, 11, 31, 43). At first, Julius did not listen to Paul when the apostle warned him of impending hazards; but eventually he allowed Paul to tell him what the soldiers should or should not be allowed to do, and even took measures to ensure Paul’s safety when others wished to kill him.
Throughout the voyage to Rome, Julius showed considerable kindness to Paul. Acts tells us that when the ship stopped at the port of Sidon “Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care” (Acts 27:3 CSB).
It is possible that Julius knew that Paul had done nothing wrong, and that if he had not appealed to Caesar he could have been released (Acts 26:32). But Roman centurions were held personally responsible for the prisoners delivered into their charge, many had reputations for being strict, and few would allow any situations in which prisoners might escape. Julius could also not easily give Paul preferential treatment before the other prisoners and the fact that he allowed Paul to visit his friends was unusual enough for Luke to record this – and shows a notable level of kindness on the part of the soldier.
Later in this account when a great storm arose, at Paul’s urging Julius prevented the crew from escaping in the lifeboat – which would have led to the death of all those left aboard the ship. After the ship was wrecked, Julius again intervened to prevent the soldiers from killing Paul and the other prisoners (Acts 27:31-32, 42-43). In fact, Luke tells us specifically that the centurion “wanted to spare Paul’s life” (Acts 27:43).
So, we see that during a particularly dangerous and critical period in Paul’s ministry, the centurion Julius played a vital role in his protection and ultimately in the successful spread of Christianity. As a soldier and an officer, he was alert, learned from experience, acted decisively when necessary, and conducted himself with discretion and courage. As an individual with a caring side, he treated Paul – although he was only a prisoner – with consideration, respect, and care.
Although Luke gives us no hint that Julius was a believer like Cornelius, there are several lessons we can learn from Julius, nonetheless. The centurion can remind us that there are many unconverted people in the world who exhibit unselfish kindness, and we should be willing to learn from their behavior where it is good. To take a single example from what Luke records, Julius evidently focused on his prisoners enough to see that Paul could use the help of his friends – and then assisted him in getting that help. Do we look out for the needs of those even in the peripheries of our lives? Pondering the actions of this soldier can be profitable for anyone who can see the qualities that Luke highlights in his account of Julius, the centurion who balanced service, honor, and caring.
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