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Tuesday, 3 August 2021
Battles then and now

Throughout biblical history we see the passing of the responsibility of leadership from one person to another. We see Moses; anointed to lead Israel out of Egypt, passing responsibility of leading the nation to Joshua who was to bring them into the promised land. Moses' anointing was also passed on to Joshua. However, Joshua did not succeed in passing on the leadership of the nation and anointing to another. It is at this point that we enter into the timeframe known as the period of the Judges.

At that time the land was occupied by many foreign nations. Interestingly enough, at the same time Israel entered the land another foreign people entered. They were the sea people; part of which became known as the Philistines. These sea people were the greatest problem to the Israelites, more so than the existing nations. During this same period the Lord lifted up tribal judges to lead the nation. Eventually the people asked for a King and this is when Samuel anointed Saul as King and the period of the Kings was ushered in.

The Philistines continued to be one of the Israelites greatest enemies, one of the best know being Goliath whose death at the hand of David becomes a significant connection point to Saul. Why would God allow what was to be Israel's biggest enemies to enter into the promised land at the same time? I believe it was so that our eyes would remain on Him. Faith is always met with tests and trials; not so that we will fall, but so that we will go forward.

David was anointed as King of Israel, yet he remained faithful to Saul and to his son Jonathan. Not only did David refrain from attempting to take the Kingdom by force; he ran from Saul to avoid the conflict. At the same time he and Johnathan, who would have been the natural heir and King after Saul, were loyal and inseparable.

In 2 Samuel 1:17-27 we read of David's reaction to their death. David suffered a great blow at the loss of his King as well as his beloved friend Jonathan. He remained faithful to their position and the respect which should be paid to those in that position.

Although David fell many times, He rose up asking God for forgiveness and went forward from there. He is a good example of a man who waited for the fulfillment of God's call on His life when He could have just as easily chosen to rush ahead.

We have the freedom to choose between God and this world. The choices I make are mine; the faith to stand on them comes from God. When we choose to follow Him, He takes us higher, beyond our capabilities. How do we react; with our soul or by waiting on God? Sometimes God doesn't answer right away, we need to wait. We are His tools in the bigger picture of events.

We may find ourselves in the midst of many battles; the question is will we choose to fight in the flesh according to our ego or soulish needs, or will we follow Yeshua's words as He stood before Pilate in John 18:36-37, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."

As we face the many questions and battles before us; we must ask ourselves, what is the motivation of our heart? I believe God is looking for a humble and repentant heart, one which bears witness to the truth. I believe that God waits for us to wait on Him; for His direction in how to stand and fight the battle in Spirit and in Truth.

This is taken from the Harvest of Asher Facebook page.

Posted By Guy Cohen, 10:20am Comment Comments: 0