“Israel, however, put him to the sword and took over his land… captured all of the cities and occupied them…” (Numbers 21:24-25 NIV)
Here, in the land of the Amorites, the Israelites are learning to fight their enemies and take possession of the land. This is a critical skill set for the children of God to acquire. Insecurity in combat had been a contributing factor in their complaint and consequent turn-around at Canaan’s border. The spies’ report conceded on one thing: the current inhabitants of the Promised Land were large and strong. Unfortunately, the Israelites responded with fear, not faith. They weren’t yet a nation that knew how to fight, so they re-entered the wilderness, this time finding a land fraught with opportunity to test and build their battle muscles.
For the past month or so, we’ve been relating the Israelites journey through the wilderness to our own journey from sin to sanctification. We, too, learn to battle our enemy in the wilderness. We become aware of damaging thought patterns, habits and strongholds. We have lots of opportunity to wage war, to repossess the territory for Kingdom purpose. We wrestle with our flesh. Like the Israelites, we inherently crave comfort, ease, and acceptance among our neighbors. Yet, God calls us to something higher and purer: He calls us to sanctification. Living set apart means battling our flesh nature and evicting it – then reoccupying the space with Spirit.
The Israelites would continue to battle their enemies, gaining ground one encampment at a time. It would require a lifetime for them to acquire the skillset required to possess and retain the Promised Land. I think the same might be true for us. Before we get weary of battle plans, reconsider the lure of of eternity: forever fellowship with the living God. Every day we rail against our enemy is a small sacrifice in light of the Land we are gaining.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretense that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought ant make it obedient to Christ.”
(2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV)
Lord, please strengthen us for warfare. Keep us from cowering in the presence of our enemy. No, instead give us holy courage to fight his lies and gain ground. Grow us in this wilderness. May we become fully confident in You. Prepare us as we head toward Your Promised Land. Amen.