The Battle Is The Lord’s
And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. 2 Chronicles 20:15
"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12
God is the promoter and demoter of men and events and He allows what He desires to prosper. Man’s success is not His success and victory are not man’s but God’s! So who desires to walk in the path of men when they could walk in the path of God and receive the greater reward? If one is wise then they desire the better part. But victory is always given in battle and never with out a fight. The enemy must be faced head on. But it is not the enemy who is coming against God’s true anointed ones. It’s they who are coming against the enemy to kill and to destroy Him and to get the victory. For God’s word is true:
The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, 'Destroy!' Then Israel shall dwell in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine; His heavens shall also drop dew. Deuteronomy 33:27-28
"For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed." 1 Samuel 2:9-10
The methods of wining battles are of God’s own choosing and not man’s. Joshua as a skillful General had a plan to take the impregnable city of Jericho. But God overruled and stepped into the situation with a plan of His own. God’s word records:
Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. "You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. "And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. "It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him." Joshua 6:1-6
If Joshua did not have an ear that was open to the voice of the Lord, he would not have heard the instructions given by His Commander in Chief? Instructions that were foolish to men such as marching around the city for seven days! But God loves to use the foolish things of the world to confound the wise so that He alone gets the glory and not others, beside the fact that whatever is not of faith is sin. It takes faith to listen to God’s voice and to do exactly what he says. This is something that King Saul showed that He did not have. Now this was a lesson that David the young anointed shepherd boy would learn and cause him to state to the Philistine giant who was the enemy of God’s people:
"This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands." Deuteronomy 17:46-47
David oldest brother Eliab's was angry with David. He openly accused him of being proud and insolent and coming to the scene of the battle where the Philistine giant was taunting God’s people. But David was not bothered by the negative words of his own brother. He knew that the bigger they are, the hard they fall and the sweeter is the victory for God was on his side. That was all that mattered! For God’s word is true:
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31
Jesus Christ is the Way-Maker and the World Changer. Life may not be fair but it is sure He is the only answer in it. God true ones are to hold to Him and walk in Him and hear His voice in the midst of the battles and storms of life. When the wind is howling around them and the storm is about to swallow them that is when He is in the boat with them and helping them to walk on water. It is important to walk there or they will be defeated by the sheer force of life. It is not always what they want or desire. It is what has been ordained and allowed for their betterment. To make them strong in Him. To make them sure of Him. To help them walk in the assurance of His provision and protection and position.
So when King Saul heard that David took up his offer that the man who kills the giant would be enriched with great riches, be given the Kings daughter and his father's house would be exempted from taxes in Israel. So he called for David and David said to Saul:
"Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth." But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. "Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!" 1 Samuel 17:32-37
The ways of men are not God’s ways. They are the ways of men who walk in their own understandings and based on their own half-baked truths. He is not at all like them nor will He ever be like them. God’s true ones are not to fear them and stay close to Him and hold on to Him. They are not to let them intimidate them or harass them or change them in their current course of action. They are foolish and shifting sands but God in Jesus Christ is their Rock and High Tower and their hiding place in the midst of the storm. He is their Wing under which they can take refuge and their Savior in the storm. He is the Fourth Man in the fires of their lives. He is their victor in the battles of life. He is always with them. They are not to look to the right or to the left, but look only to Him. He is going to do all He has promised them and He above others keeps his word. God’s word records:
So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them." So David took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands."
So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. Genesis 17:38-51
David got the victory over an unbeatable foe in a very unconventional way using faith in God, a few smooth stones and a sling shot. God has brought His people into the promised land and He wants to advance then in it. Yes, there are giants in their land. Yes, there are enemies and there are systems standing against them. So they must put their shoulders to the plow and are not to look back. The enemy wants them to look back but they are not to do it as the Children of Ephraim did. God’s word states:
That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God. The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law, And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers. Psalm 78:7-16
God’s people are fighting an enemy who is already defeated. Their way is up and onward. They are to march on as Christian soldiers as they march to war. They are not to look back but only look onward toward the battle that He has given them to fight. They are to be what He has called them. They are His good soldiers and He will provide for them in the midst of the battles and storms. They will not overflow them just as He promised them. They are to go forward as His good soldiers; the enemy will be dismayed at their tenacity and spark. They will be dismayed and confounded. They will be in disarray as they march forward. They will not be able to regroup if they march forward courageously now and never again look back. The enemy is defeated because of the power He has given them against the enemy. As they use it the enemy will be destroyed and the way for them will be opened to greater victories and greater conquests than they have ever known. They must go onward as good Christian soldiers. Onward to war! For their Commander in Chief salutes them!
This was not the first and last battle that David would fight. He fought many battles against God’s enemies both King Saul and the Philistines. But the Lord helped David pursue the enemy and recover all, even when it looked impossible. God’s word records:
Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.
Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, "Please bring the ephod here to me." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all." 1 Samuel 30:1-8
David had developed a listening ear with God. He inquired of the Lord and not of man what to do. Mind you the people wanted to stone David. Then He obeyed the Lord and pursued with his men. He found the enemy and attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped. God’s word records:
So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David recovered all. Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, "This is David's spoil." 1 Samuel 30:18-20
WALTER KAMBULOW
VICTORY MINISTRIES
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