2 Chronicles 28:9

2 Chronicles 28:9 says, But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the Lord God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.  Oded, a prophet of God, went to the host of the people of Israel, or Samaria, and told them that God had allowed them to defeat Judah because of Judah's sin against Him.  God didn't want them to feel too powerful but wanted them to know that they were only successful because of His allowing them to be and not because of any false gods that they worshipped.  One day, those who feel successful because of putting their faith in anything other than God will realize they were wrong to do so.  Verse sixteen adds, And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God?  Oded then said that they intended to keep the people of Jerusalem as bondmen and women, but then also asked them if they had not also sinned against God.  Before we begin to look down on or misuse the people of the world or even fellow Christians who may have fallen into sin again, we need to look to our own life and ask if we have not sinned, and the answer will always be, yes, we have.  Verse eleven continues, Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.  Oded warned them to return the captives to Judah.  Though Christians today who have died for their faith may not be set free in this lifetime, God has already set them free forever, so all they need to do is to remain faithful to Him.  Verse twelve states, Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,  Four men of Ephraim, Azariah, Berechiah, Jehizkiah, and Amasa stood up against the returning army.  If we stand with God, we may often be outnumbered, but we must still stand with Him.  Even if those in power are going against God and seem to be prospering by doing so, we cannot join them but must continue to follow God's commandments.  Verse thirteen adds, And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the Lord already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.  These four men proclaimed God's truth, and that was that the army could not bring the people of Judah captive without further adding to God's wrath against them.  This started with a prophet, Oded, proclaiming God's warning to Israel and then was followed by four men believing him.  The gospel is spread today by one person believing God and then a few more believing, and others believing them, and it has the potential to change the world.  If people do not believe, then they will one day face the wrath of God as unforgiven sinners.  Verse fourteen continues, So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.  The army left the captives and the spoils before the congregation, or the rest of the people.  Though they were armed and could have kept the captives by force, they surrendered them and the spoils to the people to determine what to do with them.  Though we are not told that they suddenly believed in God and surrendered to His authority, they at least didn't add to their sin by attempting to keep everything.  Of course, if people simply stop sinning more, it does not bring them forgiveness from God, but only putting one's faith in Jesus Christ can do so.  Verse fifteen concludes, And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.  These four men clothed the captives, fed them, and even transported the weak and feeble to Jericho and their brothers.  Four men changed the statues of the captives by listening to the one man of God who warned them against keeping them captive.  We can never be the one Man Who sets the captives free from the power of sin, since that is Jesus Christ alone, but we can be one of the ones who declare God's truth and stand on it no matter how large the opposition may be.  Then, He will return those who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord to spiritual freedom.  All we can do is stand with God and witness to the lost people of the world.