Make no mistake: God still fights on behalf of his people. In a realm that you usually can’t see, there is a battle, and God is at war to bring about complete and utter victory for his kingdom. And while that victory may not be seen like you and I would want, let’s be perfectly clear about this: the outcome is predetermined and the victory has already been won! If you don’t believe that, then as they say, fast-forward to the end of the book and you will see it: we win!
The Journey// Focus: Joshua 10:9-13
Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise. The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah. As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth-horon, the Lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword. On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel: “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.
Obviously, it doesn’t always work this way, but when it does, boy howdy! The situation was different back then, and it called for God to step in on Israel’s behalf in a way that left no doubt in the minds of friend and foe alike that Yahweh was on the side of his people. Similar to the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, clearly God was fighting for Israel. And it wasn’t a fair fight. It never is when God gets involved.
Israel was taking possession of their Promised Land in fulfillment of the centuries old covenantal promise that God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That meant the Canaanites, a particularly brutal, sinful, godless amalgam of city-states, had to be dispossessed from that land. So city-by-city, Joshua was on a winning streak where they didn’t barely eke out victories; these were blowouts. And in this case, not only was the Israelite army crushing the Amorites, God steps in and through a hailstorm of epic proportions, laid waste to the enemy. We are told that more died by the hail than by the sword.
Then, if that weren’t enough, Joshua put his foot on the gas to completely destroy whoever was left. The day was coming to a close, the sun would soon set before the job got done, so he even called out to the sun and moon for them to freeze in place. Imagine that: a man making demands of the solar system just so he could finish his work before nightfall. And it happened! Seriously, the only time before or since, the sun literally stood still and the moon didn’t budge until Israel had pitched a complete game, a shut out—and a no hitter at that.
Don’t you wish that was your testimony with every problem you face? I do! But most times, that is not what is called for. Typically, God has other methods for accomplishing his will. We are not literally going into a physical land to dispossess nations, so what Joshua did would be completely inappropriate for God’s people today. We are to take possession of spiritual lands by capturing people through the gospel and bringing them under the loving reign of Jesus Christ. It is a bit different today than in Joshua’s day.
However, make no mistake that God still fights on behalf of his people. In a realm that you usually can’t see, there is a battle, and God is at war to bring about complete and utter victory for his kingdom. And while that victory may not be seen like you and I would want, let’s be perfectly clear about this: the outcome is predetermined and the victory has already been won! If you don’t believe that, then as they say, fast-forward to the end of the book and you will see it: we win!
Take heart today, my friend. In whatever battle you face, you have a God who fights for his people. Surely the Lord fights for you in the unseen realm—sometimes in a way that even leaks into the visible realm—just like he fought for Joshua:
Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day! (Joshua 10:14)
In an earlier battle, once again Joshua led Israel to a stunning victory over the evil and defiant Amalekites. When the battle was over, we are told that Moses built an altar there and named it “Yahweh-Nissi (which means ‘the Lord is my banner’). He said, ‘They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with them.’” (Exodus 17:15-16)
Yahweh Nissi—the Lord is just as much your banner as he was theirs!
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