The Sword of the LORD

In 1941, during World War II, the Nazis invaded Belarussia and began a systematic extermination of the Jewish inhabitants.   They filled vast mass graves with the bodies of those whom they brutally murdered.   Using local collaborators, the Germans were able to discover and slaughter whole families.     Four brothers by the name of Bielski, whose parents were slain during this persecution, were driven into the immense forests of that area to try and survive.  Before long, they found themselves caring for a large number of others who had also fled to the forest for safety.  There is a motion picture called Defiance which depicts the story of their plight.   In one scene from the movie, the older brother, who had become the leader and a sort of Moses to the band of Jews, was trying to rescue the group after the Germans had discovered their location.  As they struggled to make their way through the forest, they came to a large marsh that see...

“And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.  And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it.  And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them.  And David put them off him .  And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine [Goliath] .” (1 Samuel 17:38-40).   A dear lady that we fellowship with told us recently about how her sisters would criticize and ridicule her after she became a Christian.  One sister in particular would try to buy her clothes and take her to get her hair done at a beauty parlor when she visited her because she didn’t like the way she looked.  Our friend said, “She just wanted to fix me.”  She said that she w...