War Stories
Biblical Battles
However, when compared to the art of war in the Bible, these pale in contrast to that which is exhibited by the Lord. God’s warfare and strategies are truly out of this world because they are often dependent on irrelevant and irrational actions that are precursors for victory or defeat!
Take, for example, the time Israel fought the Amalekites in the desert after the Red Sea Crossing, as reported in Exodus chapter 17. Fresh out of Egypt, rescued from bondage through ten miraculous acts of God that brought the then world power to its knees, led by an able warrior, Joshua, Israel had the ability and mental capacity to overcome this attack. Yet their victory and defeat did not rest on such strengths but were hinged on their leader, Moses, holding his hands raised in the air or not while watching the battle from a hilltop. It seems such an irrational way of winning a battle, but that was how God worked it out for them!
Why did God make such moves as the battle turning for good or bad depending on whether Moses kept his hands raised or not? The reason is not hard to figure out: Four hundred years of bondage under a violent and harsh nation would have taught them the efficacy and advantage of brute force as well as strength.
Divine Strategy
Israel was chosen to be God’s people, His royal priesthood and the people of His pasture. They had to learn to do everything not by might nor power but by Him. As a nation they had to understand that their dependency on Him would be the reason for their success or failure. They were to cleave to Him and obey Him fully and totally. To learn this lesson before they entered the promised land and started living among others who did not follow Yahweh, was mandatory for them.
God was teaching them this lesson and inculcating this into their beings so that when they were among other people groups, they would function as His people. Israel had to learn the secret of their existence – their relationship with Yahweh and their allegiance and obedience to Him!
Consider another time when they had crossed over the river Jordan to the land God promised to them through their ancestor Abraham. The first city they had to conquer was Jericho, one of the strongest cities of their times, a walled and defensed city, strong enough to withstand any invasion. It was a veritable fortress and conquering it would be the key for their conquest of the whole land.
Joshua, their commander, is met by the commander of the army of God, who then outlines the battle plan to conquer the city they are targeting. He tells Joshua that for 6 days the whole army of Israel should walk silently around the city once each day. On the 7th day, they must go around 7 times, 6 times in silence as before, but the 7th time, they must shout and charge straight ahead of them at the sound of the trumpet.
Scripture Scrimmages
Any commander would consider seeking out the weak points in the battlements and using them to attack the city as the logical battle plan. God asks Joshua to do something that looks foolish in the eyes of men. The people of Jericho must have first looked on with incredulity, then with astonishment and finally with ridicule at the spectacle of an army marching in silence around the city they wanted to conquer. Israel had to bear it all and quietly rest in their tents, without reacting to their taunts and mockery.
Nothing is more difficult to bear than ridicule and it is hard to stand by or keep quiet or be without reacting at such times. Israel could not allow itself to be triggered into action or do something to prove they are not sissies. They remained faithful to the strategy given to them by God through Joshua and won a great victory. They did not allow their doubts or misgivings to distract them and they did not allow their thinking to disrupt their obedience to God’s battle plan.
In the case of the Jericho strategy, it was not Israel who had to learn a lesson, but the nations around them. They had to know that Israel had a supernatural protecting force that would fight on their behalf. Israel was coming into the land as new settlers, and the nations around had to be made aware of them being the people of Yahweh so that the other nations would beware of His power and allow Israel to dwell in safety and security.
Behind Scenes
It was an object lesson for the nations around, and indeed, the Gibeonites came to make peace for this reason and because of the demonstration of God’s power on behalf of Israel!
It would often seem that God is a poor general, and indeed, this is a comment by Rameses, Pharaoh of Egypt, in the movie Ten Commandments, when he finds Israel trapped before the Red Sea.
Pharaoh thought he had the Israelites under his mercy for he didn’t understand God’s battle plan. The Lord destroyed the Egyptian army, burying them in a watery grave under the waters of the Red Sea when they thought they could easily overpower Israel with their military prowess. Egypt that day ended up, not only losing its firstborns, but also its army, one that was feared for its invincibility during that period of world history.
Moses’ song at that time declares His might: The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy(Exo 15:3-6).
Divine War Operation
The question of why God allowed this confrontation and made Israel go through this crisis when they had just escaped 400 years of tyranny and bondage is again answered in Moses’ song:
In your unfailing love, you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength, you will guide them to your holy dwelling. The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of your arm, they will be as still as a stone – until your people pass by, Lord, until the people you bought pass by. You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance – the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established (Ex 15:13-17). This is what exactly happened!
God never wastes His move but is always completely in control of the fight. He is an able General, a Master Strategist, and a Victorious Veteran of many successful missions. He knows what He is doing or how He is directing, and as His people we need to fully trust Him. The way He directs or plans the fight will be contrary to ours, often incomprehensible and seemingly foolish.
God the General
Apostle Paul well puts it in his second letter to the Corinthians and answers the question of why God’s combat operations are different and His plans appear nonsensical. It is because We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. He points out that this is so since We are not fighting against human enemies. Instead, we are fighting against the rulers and the powerful spirits that have authority over this dark world. We are fighting against the bad spirits who live in the heavens (Eph 6:12 EASY).
God’s war mode may not fit our thinking process or our working style, but it brings total vanquishing of the enemy. It is ok to not be able to comprehend His strategy, but it is very important to obey it. If you want a complete rout of the enemy, you better hear and obey His strategy, unintelligent though it may seem to you. God knows what He is about, and He plans with an afar-reaching eye about what is to come, who is to be touched, how it should affect and where it should impact.
Our Rest
Therefore, it behooves us to follow His instructions implicitly, even when we don’t fathom them. He has more experience and expertise than anyone on Earth or in heaven. We must trust that God knows what He is about, even if we don’t!
Let’s remember that it isn’t for nothing that He is called the Lord of Hosts. He is the God of angel armies, with thousands at His bidding. His wisdom is unimaginable, and His plans are beyond understanding.
In these days, when uncertainties seem to be our daily diet, let’s take care to follow His lead. In our daily fight against negativities, and negative situations of life, let’s trust Him. However, irrational or Illogical His leading seems, let’s live by Him!
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