Amassing an Army
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered yet another expansion of the Russian military, this time ordering that an additional 180,000 troops be added by December 1. Once accomplished, the Russian military will be the second largest in the world, moving past the United States and lagging behind only China. This despite the fact the ongoing war has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Russian soldier deaths (the estimates of Russian casualties are disputed, but the Ukrainian government estimates nearly a half million Russian casualties). With no end to the war in sight, it is likely this will not be the final expansion ordered by Putin.
Analysis and eternal perspective: Proverbs 30:15-16 paints a sobering picture of an insatiable desire: “There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’: the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’”
What a desperate feeling it must be to live under the authority of a leader so intent on sending so many to die for a self-serving cause. It is a strain difficult to quantify, and one we as Jesus followers should be committed to taking to the throne room of God in prayer. Our brothers and sisters in Christ—image bearers of the most high God—are suffering and dying in both Russia and Ukraine, and there appears to be no end in sight to the insatiable power lust of President Putin.
Even so, the Earth trembles under the simple gaze of the almighty God (Ps. 104:32). There is no army that can compare, and no leader of an army who can stand in His presence. Let us together call on that power to be with so many who are suffering so greatly.
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.