Psalm 68:12

Psalm 68:12

Where are the men?

The victorious procession from Sinai to Canaan continues. Nation after nation is swept aside as the Lord marches forth and conquers the land. It was not just the indigenous tribes who lived in Canaan that faced His wrath, the Lord cleared a path for His people even over territory that they had no intention of retaining. We tend to think of the travelling Israelites as a grumbling, disorganised rabble whereas, in fact, they were mostly highly organised and bristling with intent. Their very presence filled the surrounding nations with dread, especially when every contest ended in victory for the travellers. Of course, it was the presence and miraculous aid of the Lord God that brought this about, and thus the local kings and armies had good reason to flee in haste. These were not just military victories, the pagan nations were plundered and the spoils taken back to camp for the women to evaluate, and then divide amongst their tribes and families. 

Today’s travelling warriors are the church of Jesus Christ and we are not bent on military conquest but there are spiritual battles to be won. The Lord’s intention is that we should be armed to the teeth for the conflict and Ephesians 6:10-18 sets out the armour and weapons that are available for the soldiers. If we were properly equipped, fully prepared and ready for battle, the enemy would be quaking, unfortunately the army is disorganised, ready to do deals with the opposition and, more often than not, led by women because the men are too distracted, frightened or unwilling to fight! What a shambles, and the Satan is continuing to take the ground. “God help us! We need you Lord to march with Your people in the same way you did with Israel in ancient times. You are our only hope of success.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more