Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

• Exodus 14:23-25

“To the south, Dorchester Heights was a low hill with commanding views of Boston and its harbor. In a risky gambit, Washington decided to seize this ground. On the evening of March 4, 1776, his troops began moving into place, using haystacks to shield their movement. Eight hundred men led the way, followed by wagons packed with spades, crowbars, hatchets, hammers, and nails. Behind there were three hundred oxcarts of materials and twelve hundred men, followed by cannons and heavy siege guns brought from Fort Ticonderoga.
“The weather conditions were perfect for the Americans. On the Heights, they found mild temperatures and the moon ‘shining in its full luster,’ but at the lower elevations a deep smoky haze fell across the bay, hiding them from the British. The wind blew from the southwest, carrying the sound of their work away from the city. And the frozen ground became an asset once ruts were made for the wagons, giving them solid ground instead of muddy paths.
“When the sun rose the next morning, March 5, the British were stunned to see Dorchester Heights occupied and fortified by the Americans as if by magic. General Howe reportedly swore and said, ‘The rebels have done more in one night than my whole army would have done in months.’ Another British officer felt the defenses had been ‘raised with an expedition equal to that of the Genii belonging to Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp.’ …
“The British evacuation day was March 17, 1776-St. Patrick’s Day. From his vantage point on Dorchester, Washington watched the eleven thousand British troops depart and ordered an extra gill of whiskey for his soldiers with Irish roots. Washington, however, wasn’t in a mood for celebrating but for worshipping. He and his officers rode over to Cambridge to attend a thanksgiving service where Rev. Abiel Leonard, chaplain of the Continental Army, preached from Exodus 14:25: ‘Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.’”

• Robert J. Morgan, 100 Bible Verses That Made America

In my recent trip to visit the grandchildren, the oldest of them went with me to Nashville, to sell used books and games.  One of the books that I purchased in return was 100 Bible Verses That Made America by Robert J. Morgan.  As we approach the 250^th anniversary of the birth of the USA, I thought I would do a condensed mini-series on some of these verses, four posts per week for a few weeks – maybe not all 100 verses.

The weather was perfect for George Washington to amass his army on the high ground of Dorchester Heights.

With the artillery of that day, it was very difficult, and often impossible, to fire cannon from their ships onto higher ground, especially at the height of Dorchester Heights.  But firing downhill was done easily enough.

But the British were highly trained.  They planned a frontal assault to take Dorchester Heights and end the war before it had hardly started, but…

The weather that had been perfect for Washington to get his troops into an advantageous position suddenly shifted.  It became cloudy.  The winds started blowing with a strong force, possibly hurricane force winds buffeted the British ships.  They had no choice but to retreat.

And I think it is quite obvious why Washington celebrated by attending a worship service.  God had done the fighting.  God made the weather advantageous to take the hill at night.  God turned the weather into a storm that drove the British away.

And so it is with us when we are within God’s will and trusting in God totally.  God does the heavy lifting.

Washington risked everything by taking this position on high ground.  It could have been a very bloody battle that could have changed history forever, but God saw to it that the battle was won by the Continental Army.

When we are doing our work for God’s glory, God’s strength will see us through.  And we need to recognize that we could have never reached the conclusion after we took risks if it were not for God.

We pray beforehand to seek God’s will and His favor.  We pray afterwards in gratitude, regardless of the outcome.  What did Moses do?  All Israel sung as Moses and Miriam led them.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.