{"id":188,"date":"2013-01-12T18:51:25","date_gmt":"2013-01-12T07:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/?p=188"},"modified":"2013-02-04T12:37:10","modified_gmt":"2013-02-04T01:37:10","slug":"a-battle-plan-pt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/2013\/01\/a-battle-plan-pt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A Battle Plan (Pt. 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #666699;\"><strong>B. An Old Testament View<\/strong>:<\/span> When we look at the Old Testament we are immediately aware of the many battles in which Israel was engaged. Whether they were battles to enter the Promised Land; battles inflicted because of disobedience; or internal battles for either righteousness or disobedience, there were many battles.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For brevity\u2019s sake, I will take it that this point is understood and agreed upon. The question then is, \u201cWhat type of battles were these, fleshy or spiritual? As stated, the common belief is that these were fleshy battles that had little spiritual significance. Such a belief is disastrous and has wreaked untold havoc on the Church. This belief has come to us through those who have sought to place a great cavern between Old and New Testaments and treat them as though they were alien to each other. May it never be!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When we turn to the pages of Scripture, to our only rule for life, faith, and instruction, we see plainly that Israel\u2019s battles were indeed spiritual. Consider these texts:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots <em>and <\/em>people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. \u201cNow it shall come about that when you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people. \u201cAnd he shall say to them, \u2018Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. <span style=\"color: #993366;\">Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, <strong>for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you<\/strong><\/span>, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.<\/span> (Deuteronomy 20:1-4)<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, \u201cAre you for us or for our adversaries?\u201d And he said, \u201cNo, rather <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em>I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord<\/em><\/span>.\u201d And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, \u201cWhat has my lord to say to his servant?\u201d And the captain of the Lord\u2019s host said to Joshua, \u201cRemove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.\u201d And Joshua did so.<\/span> (Joshua 5:13-15)<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, \u201cAlas, my master! What shall we do?\u201d So he answered, \u201cDo not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.\u201d Then Elisha prayed and said, \u201cO Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.\u201d And the Lord opened the servant\u2019s eyes, and he saw; and behold, <span style=\"color: #993366;\">the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.<\/span><\/span> (2 Kings 6:15-17)<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, \u201cDo not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.\u201d And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him. Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><strong>the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines<\/strong> <\/span>and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel. And <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em>the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines<\/em><\/span>, and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.<\/span> (1 Samuel 7:7-11)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">More texts could be adduced, but these are sufficient to prove the point we are making. Although Israel marched forward with shields, swords, bows, and spears, it was ultimately Yahweh for whom they fought and, most importantly, it was Yahweh who fought for Israel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the texts paraded, it is impossible to miss the spiritual overtones. Here, I would particularly highlight the texts from Joshua and 2 Kings. In the former, Joshua is contemplating how to conquer Jericho. In a moment, he notices a figure standing with sword drawn. Joshua\u2019s first reaction is to challenge this person, presuming <span style=\"color: #ff99cc;\">a)<\/span> that it is his right as Israel\u2019s captain; and <span style=\"color: #ff99cc;\">b)<\/span> that the One before him is but a man. The answer to his challenge made Joshua realise that this was no ordinary man. Importantly, Joshua realised that he was a man under Authority. The One before him was the none other than the \u201c<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">captain of the host of the Lord<\/span>.\u201d Now, whether we associate this figure with \u201cthe Angel of the Lord\u201d or with a high ranking angel, such as a Michael, the point is the same \u2013 Joshua, the man, was aided in his war by the angelic host of heaven. The presence of this \u2018host\u2019 did not mean that Joshua could retire to his tent for a spa and a massage while the angels went forth to \u201ckick bottom\u201d. No, it just meant that the battle took on a greater importance and was viewed, as it were, with a wide angle lens that captured the activities of the heavenly.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The passage from 2 Kings is equally enlightening. The king of Aram was being thwarted by the prophecies of Elisha. So much so that he thought he had a traitor in his midst (2 Kings 6:11). When it was told to him that Elisha was the problem, he sent his men to capture the prophet. As the text shows, Elisha\u2019s servant arose and saw the army sent to capture the man of God, and was quite disturbed. Not so Elisha. When the servant\u2019s eyes were opened at Elisha\u2019s request, he saw the area filled with flaming horses and chariots. The Arameans were indeed outnumbered and powerless.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I might also draw you attention to the first text cited, that of Deuteronomy 20:1-4. I would simply direct your attention to the covenantal and salvific overtones of the text. Israel is called, in very specific terms, to remember that God is with them. These terms are significant precisely because they speak of Yahweh\u2019s salvation of His people and His covenanting with them \u2013 \u201cwho brought you out of the land of Egypt\u201d (Salvation); \u201cI will be your God and you will be My people!\u201d (Covenant). Note also the role of the priest. Israel\u2019s battles involved Israel\u2019s God who had saved them from slavery by covenant promise and turned them into a community of Yahweh worshipping Priestly\u2013Kings.<sup><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">1 <\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Therefore, on the basis of this evidence, it seems quite ridiculous to posit, in any shape or form, that the warfare of Israel was not spiritual in nature. In fact, it was spiritual \u2013 a truth borne out by the covenantal nature of this warfare. Note well that Israel fought for Yahweh and was delivered by Yahweh only when Israel went forth in obedience. There are many accounts of Israel being defeated precisely because Israel did not act in total obedience to Yahweh\u2019s command. One very clear example comes from the book of Joshua, just two chapters after that quoted above. High in spirits, because of the conquest at Jericho, Israel moves to take Ai. Joshua decides to spell some of his troops thinking the battle will go easily for the Lord is on their side. However, Israel was routed. Joshua perplexed. A lesson needed to be learnt. Thus we read:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">But <span style=\"color: #800080;\">the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully<\/span> in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, <span style=\"color: #800080;\">therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel<\/span> \u2026 And Joshua said, \u201cAlas, O Lord God, why didst Thou ever bring this people over the Jordan, <em>only <\/em>to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! \u201c<span style=\"color: #800080;\">O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned <em>their <\/em>back before their enemies?<\/span> \u201cFor the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what wilt Thou do for Thy great name?\u201d So the Lord said to Joshua, \u201cRise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? \u201c<span style=\"color: #800080;\">Israel has sinned<\/span>, and they have also <span style=\"color: #800080;\">transgressed My covenant<\/span> which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put <em>them <\/em>among their own things. \u201c<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies<\/span>; they turn <em>their <\/em>backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><em>I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> (Joshua 7:1; 7-12)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This foray into the Old Testament teaches us two important points. First, the warfare of the Old Testament was indeed spiritual. Second, we are taught that the warfare is also covenantal and is therefore dependent upon obedience on the part of God\u2019s people. These lessons need to be kept firmly in mind as we move forward in our discussion.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">Footnotes:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">1.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0If you have any questions about how this relates to you as a Christians, may I commend to you 1 Peter 2:4-10. The typology is very hard to miss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>B. An Old Testament View: When we look at the Old Testament we are immediately aware of the many battles in which Israel was engaged. Whether they were battles to enter the Promised Land; battles inflicted because of disobedience; or &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/2013\/01\/a-battle-plan-pt-2\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-warfare","category-reform","category-theology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2V1tu-32","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":260,"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions\/260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reformationministries.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}