BATTLES

Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in BATTLE – Psalm 24:8

VICTORY comes with BATTLES! We can learn a lot about battles and Victories by meditating on Israel’s accounts of Canaan’s Conquest. There is a core principle in divine warfare: God fought for Israel as part of His battle against powers of darkness, evil, and sin; and His mission for the salvation of mankind. On the contrary, He fought against Israel whenever they allied with forces of chaos and destruction, and abandoned the side of His new creation. That’s why it’s vital that we bring ourselves into conformity with God’s will instead of trying to bring Him into conformity with ours. When Joshua failed to consult God’s will, two things happened: he lost the battle with Ai (Jos.7) and was deceived by Gibeon (Jos.9). But as he consulted God, and chose to be on His side, he received divine resources that surpassed his own natural resources.

Joshua, chapter 10 opens with five of the Canaanite kings joining forces to attack the Gibeonites because they had made a covenant with Israel. In chapter 9, the Gibeonites had tricked the Israelites into making a peace treaty with them. This was a direct violation of the Lord’s command to Israel in Deut. 7:1-6 and 20:10-18. Israel thus became bound to the Gibeonites by an oath, and it was time for them to make good on their promise of protecting the Gibeonites. The Canaanite kings didn’t know that they were playing right into the hand of Joshua. Instead of having to fight them one by one in five battles, they all came together in one place, and Joshua was able to defeat them at one time. God therefore has a way of turning even our errors and challenges into opportunities for Victory in life.

Here also, we learn some lessons for the day of battle – what happens when we are on God’s side. First, we will face opposition. God has enemies. Just being on His side means that we will share His enemies! Second, we will come to know Him as the Covenant-keeping God; the God of Integrity. He stood by the promises made in His name to Gibeon. If He’ll do that for a deceptive people, how much more will He keep His promise to those who have accepted His gift of mercy and grace? Third, we will have supernatural resources. The sun and the moon were made to stand still to enable God prevail as He worked His will out through Joshua and through His people Israel. In the normal course of events, we live within the natural laws that He has set in place. However, He still reserves the right as God, to release supernatural resources, and when He deems fit, in His sovereignty, to deploy these to accomplish the ends He wants, both through us and for us.

For Israel this was just another battle in their conquest of the Promised Land. For us, it is a vivid picture of our lives as Christians. Battles of diverse kinds – especially spiritual – are a daily reality in our lives. Yet, we never have to face the battles alone: “…For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5b); and “…lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Amen” (Mt. 28:20b). We have the promise of help from Him who is “an ever present help in a time of need” (Psa. 46:1). He says: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isa. 43:2).

These truths are precious when we are called upon to face the battles of life. They reveal the Ally we have in every battle we may face in life, and that are weapons are not carnal, but supernatural. We are reassured of divine help as we face and fight life’s battles. The battles are inevitable, but our victory is guaranteed when we determine to rely upon God – who is mighty in battle – to bring us through.