The battle is the Lord's

As a young man, Sam Houston had been wounded in the leg at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.  Under the command of General Andrew Jackson, Houston and his regimen were trying to drive out the Red Stick branch of the Crow Indians, and thus open up large parts of Alabama for settlement.  During the battle, an arrow lodged in Sam Houston's upper thigh.  Though painful, he tried to pull it out so that he could continue fighting.  Unsuccessful, he solicited the assistance of a young lieutenant to pull out the arrow.  Houston pointed his sword at the lieutenant and threatened to kill him if he did not extract the arrow from his thigh.  This wound, as well as gunshot wounds to the arm and shoulder, would plague Houston for the rest of his life.

Much later, Houston was commander of the Texan forces in the Texas war of independence from Mexico.  A provisional government was established, and David Burnet was named President.  Burnet was no fan of Houston, and often berated him for not attacking when Houston thought it better to retreat.  Finally, on April 21, 1835, Houston led a charge against Mexican General Santa Ana, and the Texan force won the battle, although Houston was again wounded in battle--he was shot in the ankle.  Santa Ana fled, and was later captured.  Although the Texas troops wanted to take Santa Ana's life (shouting phrases like, "Remember the Alamo", where Santa Ana had mercilessly slaughtered all of Davy Crockett's squad), Houston spared Santa Ana's life and negotiated a treaty to end the war.

Many of the same thoughts must have crossed Jeremiah's mind during Israel's battle with Assyria.

Woe to me because of my injury!  My wound is incurable!  Yet I said to myself, "This is my sickness and I must endure it." (Jeremiah 10.19)

Jeremiah's wound was not a battle scar.  He was bemoaning the fact that the nation of Israel had turned its back on God, and had worshiped idols.  The earlier part of chapter 10 poked fun at the idol worshipers, and then Jeremiah wrote eloquent poetry describing God as the Creator of the world.  This is the contrast between the deities that Israel chose between: a useless chunk of wood and metal, or the powerful God that created the heavens and the earth.

My tent is destroyed; all its ropes are snapped.  My sons are gone from me and are no more; no one is left now to pitch my tent or to set up my shelter. (Jeremiah 10.20)

Jeremiah foretold of the defeat of Israel by her enemies, when all the cities and villages would be leveled, and few people would be left to rebuild.  But the language he uses recalls the Tabernacle of the Lord, the pre-cursor to the Temple.  When God's people are over-run by God's enemies, God's House also falls.  God is looking for people to rebuild His House, but no one responds.

The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered. (Jeremiah 10.21)

Like David Burnet berating Sam Houston for retreating, the leaders of Israel were being fools.  Because they did not turn to God and ask for His direction, they were not successful.  Quite the opposite--the people whom they were trying to lead were dispersed, driven out of the towns and villages.  This is the penalty for not following the Lord.

Listen! The report is coming--a great commotion from the land of the north!  It will make the towns of Judah desolate, a haunt of jackals. (Jeremiah 10.22)

Again, Jeremiah prophesies against the towns of Judah, predicting military marauders from Babylonia, the region to the north.  All because the people abandoned their God, and turned to idols.  You see, actions have consequences.  If you put your hand in the fire, you will get burned.  If you disobey God, He will punish you.  Thankfully, He is a merciful God.  Micah 7.9 says, "Because I have sinned against Him, I will bear the Lord's wrath, until He pleads my case and establishes my right.  He will bring me out into the light; I will see His righteousness."

A fictional account of Sam Houston's diary might go something like this, parallel to the cry of Jeremiah:

Hard to get out of bed this morning--old war wounds. My wound is incurable.  Yet I must get up and do my duty for my men. This is my sickness, and I must endure it.  Assessing the situation; must find the right time to attack--if we attack too soon, enemy's superior forces will prevail. My tent is destroyed...no one is now left to pitch my tent.  Received another message from the President.  The idiot wants me to take the battle to the enemy while they have the upper hand.  The shepherds are senseless, and do not inquire of the Lord.  I will retreat southward to San Jacinto, and attack them there. The report is coming--a great commotion from the land of the north.

We know how the Battle of San Jacinto turned out.  General Houston prevailed, and President Burnet was proved wrong.  Houston went on to become the first President of the Republic of Texas, then one of the first US Senators from Texas after Texas became a state, and then the Governor of Texas leading up to the Civil War (where he tried valiantly to prevent Texas from seceding from the Union and allying with the Confederacy--but that's another story).  Whatever battle you are involved in right now could be preparing you for great things.  Even as Israel repeated its disobedience to the point that Jeremiah wept for her, God was preparing things there so that in the fullness of time, Jesus could be born there to redeem us all.

You never know how your life is going to turn out until it is done.  Will you go your own way, and ignore the wisdom of the prophets?  Will you turn away from heroes of the faith?  Will you turn your back on God?  Or will you humble yourself and pray, and seek God's face, and turn from your wicked ways so that the God of heaven will hear your voice and heal your land?  This was what Jeremiah did.

I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not from man to direct his steps.  Correct me, Lord, but only with justice--not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.  Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name.  For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland. (Jeremiah 10.32-25)

Notice two things about Jeremiah's prayer.  First, he humbly came before God and faced up to Israel's sin.  He knew there would be consequences, but he only asked that the nation would be spared; he wanted Israel to man up and take what was coming to them, but asked God not to destroy them in His righteous anger.  Second, he asked for judgment on Israel's enemies.  Other nations should be held to the same standard to which Israel  was held.  Not because Israel was perfect--notice that he calls the nation "Jacob."  Remember that Jacob means "deceiver"--it was the name of Isaac's son before God promised a blessing on his descendants.  Whenever Israel had sinned, the Bible uses the previous namesake, not the namesake that God had Himself given to them.  God had changed his name from Jacob (deceiver) to Israel (God contended, or God wrestler).

See, God wants to do whatever it takes to make His people His own.  If it means fighting with Jacob, or sacrificing His only begotten Son.  Knowing this, why would we not be like Jeremiah, and humble ourselves before almighty God and beg his mercy?