Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Teachable Moments



Joshua’s exhausted warriors stood around him. It was a long day of marching and fighting, but now the battle was won. Now the fate of the five defeated Kings await Joshua’s command. 

It had been quite the day. Five Amorite kings joined together to come against Israel. But Joshua would not be intimidated. God assured him, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."

God fought for Israel. He sent hailstones and made a longer day so their enemies would be defeated. They didn’t have a chance! 

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” “He is mighty to save!”

The once proud, powerful kings ran away and hid in a cave. Now they lay at the feet of Joshua. He turned this into a teachable moment for his young warriors. 

Joshua brought the kings out of the cave and had them lay on the ground. Then he told his commanders to put their feet on their necks. He urged his warriors to keep fighting, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight."

They killed the kings, hung them up on trees till evening, and put them back into the caves. Rocks were piled up around the entrance of the cave. 

Now as I read this, I’m thinking, why would Joshua made a public spectacle of the defeated kings? 

Lets consider the past of the young warriors. Their parents stood at the boundaries of the Promised Land and refused to enter. They said, “We can’t take the land. The inhabitants are giants. We are like grasshoppers in their eyes and our own.”

And so they spent the rest of their lives wandering in the wilderness for forty years. And then buried there. No doubt the young warriors heard over and over again, “But we couldn’t take the land. The giants who lived there were fierce and undefeatable!” 

Now they stood with their feet on the necks of the so called fierce, undefeatable giants. They saw them up close and personal. Joshua wanted them to see and know without a doubt that when God fought with them, they were invincible! 

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” “He is mighty to save.”

God is declaring to us today not to create giants out of your problems and the unknowns ahead. Because truthfully they’re not overpowering. They are like these defeated kings underfoot. The enemy is under our feet. We are the ones who are overcomers.

“We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Yes, there will be battles ahead, tough, lean seasons, and strongholds to conquer. Whatever is ahead, God has promised to provide His grace and power. The Lord is mighty to save and He will fight for us. He will do whatever it takes for us to win the battle, to go through as conquerors. Let’s be like Abraham who did not “waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God”. 

He said, “I will give you every place where you set your foot.”  The inhabitants were already doomed before the Israelites stepped into it. 
God had given them the land. They only needed to take God at his word and take it. 

Beloved can I tell you that your enemy the devil is already doomed? 

 “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15

This excites me to no end! Just like Joshua made a public spectacle of the five doomed Kings, Jesus did the same to our enemy when He died on the cross, and then rose from the grave. 

He crushed our enemy under His feet. He snatched the keys of death, hell, and the grave. He sits at the right hand of God, “with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”

Because He so thoroughly defeated and doomed the enemy, we are overcomers. He defeated the enemy for us! 

I hope this encourages you like it did me. I want to leave you with this passage from Ephesians:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm

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