These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.
Judges 3:1-4
Our first instinct when difficulty enters our lives is to run the other way. We don’t like the discomfort, the hard work and even at times, the unfairness. Yet Ephesians 6 tells us we are in a battle and in 2 Timothy 2, we are exhorted as a soldier of Jesus Christ. Our time on this earth is guaranteed to be filled with ups and downs; yet it’s how we battle that will determine our outcome.
Have you ever been around someone who gets thrown by the little things? Their life has been so easy that when a little disruption happens, they think it’s the end of the world and have no idea how to press through difficult circumstances.
The Israelites were like this in Judges 3. Their fathers and mothers knew how to battle. They experienced the miracles of God in their lives and learned to trust Him for their deliverance as they, in faith, marched forward into precarious situations. They knew what it was like to live in slavery and then be freed. Yes, there was great compromise, times of weakness and unfaithfulness and yet, they had learned how to battle.
In comes the next generation. They had lived off the coats of their parents and now it was their turn to advance into the promise land – yet they hadn’t learn how to battle. The Lord purposefully left great challenges in front of them in which they would need to learn to trust and obey Him if they were to defeat their enemies. This would be the deciding factor as to the future of the Israelite nation.
The battles would increase at varying degrees to build confidence in that generation as they learned how to trust in God and obey His word. They couldn’t bypass any of the battles. Each one would prepare them for the next one and then the next one.
Likewise, this is the story of us. In our lives we often want the easy way out. We wonder at the struggles we have to face and even get frustrated with the process. Yet, we can’t bypass even one single battle. Each one will give us more experience, greater capacity, stronger faith and a resilient trust in our God who does the delivering.
Through each battle, God teaches and guides us to overcome our enemy. If we trust His process, we will arrive on the other side stronger and more prepared for the next greater battle before us. If we sidestep the smaller ones, we won’t be ready for more consequential ones ahead of us.
When the next battle comes, instead of wanting to run away, we can boldly advance. They keys for the Israelites are the same for us today. We can:
- Understand that God is with us
- Know that God will teach and guide us
- Believe in faith that God will deliver us as we obediently move forward in battle
- Increase our trust and obedience
- Not back down but advance with boldness
Get ready – this next battle may be your greatest one yet! And the one with the greatest victory!!!
May we continue to live…
Rooted in Him,
