The Art & Act of Spiritual Warfare
Everything done in the Old Testament was given and taught as an archetype of the reality yet to be revealed, the spiritual fulfillment of those physical patterns. The temple, the ark of the covenant, the lamp stand, and many other things all pointed to something greater. One of the many works of the Lord in the Old Testament was warfare. In that era, it was physical warfare. The Lord wanted the children of Israel who had not fought under Joshua to learn warfare, so He allowed some of their enemies to remain so they would gain experience in battle.
Now these are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan 2 (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it) - Judges 3:1-2 NKJV
From Physical Warfare to Spiritual Warfare
In the book of Acts we see Holy Spirit working in a similar way with the disciples and the Lord’s chosen apostles. This time it is spiritual warfare. The weapons once taught to the children of Israel for physical use against their enemies are now being taught to the same covenant people for spiritual use. These spiritual weapons are the true weapons. This has always been the goal.
Why do we so easily forget that our Lord Jesus is the Lord of Heavens Armies?
He is a War General!
Story Time
This morning during a quiet moment, not my devotional time because that was already finished. I always enjoy my quiet times during the early hours of the day, so I wake up extra early so I can have these cherished time. I was reading one of my favorite books and came across a reference to a battle in 1774 that helped lead to Americas independence. A line read, “Hold your fire until they are upon us”.
As soon as I read it Holy Spirit brought to mind the moment when the Lord Jesus appeared to Joshua while Joshua was preparing for battle. Joshua asked, Are you for us or for our enemies? The answer was, Neither. I come as commander of the army of the Lord.
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” - Joshua 5:13-14 NKJV
In that reminder the Lord impressed on me that we always win when we stand with Him. We are not to fight from our own side, for our own cause or even for what we believe. We are also not to fight with our attention fixed on the enemy. Victory in every conflict comes from knowing where the Lords side is and taking our stand there.
The hard truth we often resist, because it is uncomfortable to think about, is that the Lord never fights on our side. He fights on His side. He calls us to come to Him, to fight with Him. He does not move to us. We move to Him. From His side, we are to stand and watch Him secure victory.
Our Battleground
I am concerned that many believers today still need to learn the art and act of warfare. The Lord taught it to Israel after the days of Joshua for those who had never fought and He taught it to the disciples as spiritual warfare.
Spiritual warfare takes place in prayer. We hold our position and hold our fire in prayer. (Read Ephesians 6:10-18 & 2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
We wage war while wearing the whole armor of God at all times, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 6. We stand in prayer knowing that the battle belongs to the Lord, not to us. The book of Acts shows this repeatedly, though sadly, we often read it only as stories. Every time the people of God were attacked they prayed. They also prayed before and after conflict. Then they waited for direction from their War General, Holy Spirit, before taking action.
My prayer today is that the Lord begins to teach us the art and the act of warfare. It is a scary prayer, because in both the Old and the New Testament the people of God learned warfare by facing real enemies. May He prepare us to stand with Him.
With Love,
Ejiro