A Unique Approach To Our Conflict

A Unique Approach to Our Conflict

After being wounded and captured during Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, the Union captors sent Captain Benjamin Farinholt to the Federal prisoner-of-war camp on Johnson’s Island in Ohio. There he and his fellow prisoner John Latane devised a daring escape plan. Latane somehow fashioned an imitation Federal uniform, which Farinholt put on underneath his Confederate uniform. When the men were sent out on a work detail to break the ice, Farinholt slipped off his Confederate clothes and walked away right under the eyes of his guards. He went back through the lines to Virginia and, possibly in recognition of the trials he had already endured, was assigned command of the tiny garrison guarding the Staunton River Bridge. In this place, he likely assumed he would not see action again.

But in June 1864, General Grant dispatched 5,000 cavalrymen with instructions to destroy the bridge. When Farinholt received word that the raiders were coming, he recognized how desperate his situation was. The Captain needed to hold the bridge, for if the Federals destroyed it, they would sever the lifeline to Petersburg and Richmond. He only had 296 men in his garrison—far too few to hold off the Federals. So Farinholt sent an urgent appeal throughout the surrounding Halifax and Charlotte County countryside, calling on any man who could shoulder a weapon to join him at the bridge. In all, 642 citizens and soldiers answered Farinholt’s call—guards from the Danville prisons, invalids, convalescing wounded, and soldiers home on leave, along with about 500 local citizens--boys too young and men too old for regular service, bringing along whatever firearms they had. For this reason, the Battle of Staunton River Bridge is sometimes called “The Battle of Old Men and Young Boys.” The locals long afterward remembered it as “the day everybody went to the bridge to fight.”

The defenders dug in hastily and awaited the Federals' arrival. On the afternoon of June 25, the Federal forces, 5,000 cavalrymen with 16 pieces of artillery, arrived and began shelling the bridge and the Confederate defenses. In the ensuing battle, the Federals charged the Confederate position four times and each time driven back. Finally, with Confederate cavalry rapidly advancing on their rear, the Federals had to give up the attack. The townspeople saved the bridge, and the local men and boys were welcomed home as heroes.

In times of conflict, God’s people typically had to fight their enemies with the help of God. Sometimes we Christians try to solve our problems independently, especially when they don’t seem too complicated and in our power. At other times, we want to wait and watch God defeat our enemies rather than actively participate in our spiritual war. In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat realized that he and his nation were in more trouble than they could handle and immediately prayed to God. As a result, the army of Judah waited on the Lord and watched as He removed their foes.

Let’s walk through most of this chapter beginning with 2 Chronicles 20:1-4 (NKJV) and see God’s exceptional action:

It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

Reaching up to God as our first impulse rather than our last resort in our difficulties is crucial. When Jehoshaphat learned that the nation’s enemies were allying against them, he responded with fear, seeking the LORD, proclaiming a fast, and gathering the people.

Jehoshaphat had made significant reforms in Judah. He destroyed the Asherahs and set his heart to seek the LORD. As a result, he fortified cities in Judah and reestablished an excellent judicial system. He warned the judges to let the fear of the LORD be upon them so they would act appropriately. Then, a "great multitude" of Judah's enemies began their march toward the Land.

Jehoshaphat wisely learned from the mistakes of his father, Asa. In 2 Chronicles 16, King Asa allied with the king of Syria when Israel’s king, Baasha, went up against Judah. Hanani, the seer, explained that he had not relied on the LORD as in the war against the Ethiopians and Libyans. As a result, he lost the Syrian army. Listen to Hanani’s words to Asa in 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV):

9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”