Works of Faith--by Linden Malki

One of the most familiar Bible passages is about the relationship between faith and works.  I think there is a little more to this than we realize. It isn't that we need to show that we have faith by doing random good works, but faith and works specifically power each other. David realized that he could take down Goliath not just because he "had faith" but because that faith was powered by what he could do--he had experience in dealing with big scary animals, and God used both David's faith and his physical abilities to take down Goliath.  Specific faith enables us to use specific abilities that we have developed. I recall a time that I was wrestling with a question of dealing with a problem in my life myself or not dealing with it and "letting God do it". The answer I got to my pesky prayers  was a very specific message: "I gave you a brain, use it!" I realized that I had the information and knowledge it would take to handle the situation.  God was telling me to use what I already had to deal with the situation, not just sit back and wait for Him to do something.  He gives us the responsibility to do things for each other, and to use what He has already enabled us to learn, not just sit back and expect Him to do what we want done.  St Patrick was a captured slave in Ireland when he had a vision of a ship in a harbor 200 miles away.  He knew he was supposed to be on this ship, but there was a tough crosscountry journey through rough countryside to get there.  He also knew that God had prepared him to live off the land  long enough to make the journey. When he found the ship, he was told that they didn't want  passengers.  But then they realized that his experience as a shepherd in wild country meant that he knew how to handle Irish wolfhounds, which were part of their cargo. God had prepared a win-win situation--Patrick had the expertise needed to deal with the dogs, so he was prepared to take advantage of the means of escape from slavery that Patrick wanted and needed.  God often sets us up to learn a skill that He needs us to use down the line! The faith that we need to do the job is backed up by how He has enabled us to be on the right spot at the right time with the right preparation. James was not talking about random "good works" that make us feel good about ourselves, but works that He has prepared for us and prepared us for.

 As Moses was shepherding the Israelites toward the promised land, He was told not to take the  "short way" up along the coast because it was fortified by and against the people known as the  Philistines. They had invaded from the sea, possibly from Crete or that general area. Their first target was Egypt, who had pushed them north up the coastline. When the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, they stayed inland because of the Philistine fortified cities of Gaza,  Ashdod,  Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron, with whom Abraham had fought in his day.   A good part of the books of Judges and 1 Samuel involve stories of this continuing challenge.  The question comes up of why God allowed this to happen; the answer often involves lessons the Israelite tribes need to learn. One series of incidents involves Samson, a big, tough Israelite who won several battles with Philistines, but is captured with the connivance of a Philistine girlfriend, and winds up a slave--and God uses Samson's strength to destroy a Philistine temple full of people. (Judges 13-16).  Then we see the Philistines winning a battle that the Israelites were not properly prepared for, and capturing the Ark of the Covenant. In this case God does take care of His property: the Ark causes so much trouble in Philistine hands that they send it back. (I Samuel 4-6).  And we know about David, whose physical skills were used by God to take out Goliath. A showdown came when Saul went into battle when he had disobeyed direct instructions from God, brought by Samuel; and was killed. After David consolidated his position as King, he asked God if he should go after the Philistines, and was not only confirmed but given specific instructions as to how to defeat them. Once again, we see the combination of David's faith and his obedience to the instructions from God.  There were more battles between Judea's kings and the northern Kings of Israel with the Philistines, but when the Assyrians invaded in the 700BC's, all the northern Kingdom of Israel, part of the southern Kingdom of  Judah and the neighboring tribes including the Philistines, were scattered across the Assyrian empire and lost their national identity and the ability make war among themselves.  (When Judea was conquered and Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, the area was renamed "Palestine" by Rome, knowing that the Jews would hate it.  This was the common name used later by the Turks and British, and then appropriated by those who were not Israelis nor Jordanians after the establishment of Israel and the partition of  this territory between Israel and Jordan in 1948.)