Along with their spiritual preparations, Israel required physical & emotional instruction in order to prepare for war with the inhabitants of Canaan. However, the motivation they were given provided wonderful application for spiritual warfare for Believers today!
1. Choose faith over fear because God is always with you (Mt. 38:20).
Deut. 20:1-4 “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
2. God fights our enemies with us AND for us (Rom. 8:31-32).
“And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”
LESSON - One thought which persists throughout this passage is the idea that fear is a choice, not what you feel but how you respond to what you feel. Our enemies (our flesh, the world, & Satan) would have us believe that the sin which so easily entraps us is unavoidable because we are powerless due to our sin nature. 1 Jn. 4:4 reminds us “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” They would also utilize fear to keep us from rescuing others bond by sin, but we must remember 1 Jn. 4:18-21 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”
Whatever battle we face today, we can rest assured that God is in the battle with us and He is on our side!
-DAD