“Is God for us or for them?”

God is not a Republican. He is certainly not a Democrat. He is also not American. He is not Canadian, Russian, Ukrainian, British, French, Egyptian, Iraqi or Iranian. Shockingly, He is also not Israeli. Jesus was Jewish (and from the tribe of Judah) by blood, but that is different than present political nationality.

Our tendency in any conflict--be it a war or political fight--is to claim that God is on our side. There seems to be biblical precedent for making such a claim. In Haggai 1:13 the prophet makes the incredible claim that God is on their side.

Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the Lord.”

But wait a minute!

Is that exactly what God is saying? “I am with you” didn’t mean the same thing in Haggai’s day as we mean by the phrase in our common vernacular. There is a difference between saying that God is on our side and saying that God is “with you.” In this context, “with you” means that they were now enjoying God’s approval and blessing. But that blessing was the result of repentance.

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