“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

“Not one of their enemies stood up to them. Yahweh handed all their enemies over to them. Every single good promise that Yahweh had given the nation of Israel came true.” (Joshua 21:44-45)

Israel had to be willing to trust God enough that they would stand in battle against their enemies. But when they did stand in faith, as promised, God handed their enemies one by one over to them.

Among their earliest successful victories was first against King Sihon of Heshbon and later King Og of Bashan. Their troops came out against the Israelites when they wanted to cross through the land of Heshbon and then Og. While the Israelites did not pick the fights, God had hardened their enemies hearts so that be stubborn and overconfident in order to give the Israelites the early victories in battle. (Deut. 2:24-3:7)

God was preparing the Israelites to be ready for war when they crossed the Jordan. Moses had told them over and over, “Yahweh your Elohim will give you this land – a place to rest.” (Joshua 1:13)

The Lord demonstrated that the victory was the Lord's and not their own. Their first battle as they crossed the land was to take Jericho. It was taken as they marched around the city with the ark ahead of them. They marched around once each day but on the seventh they blew their horns and shouted while the walls collapsed before them. (Joshua 6:2-5)

In the second battle in the land, they found that they could not stand against their enemies when there was sin. Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai and they came back defeated. Then once they dealt with their sin, the Lord sent them back out to battle and handed the king and the city over to Israel. (Joshua 7:1-8:29)

Deuteronomy 9:5 says, “"It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

God did not want them to assume they were gaining the victory with their own strength and grow proud. Over and over, God was making it clear that it was His workings behind their victories. And that He was with them as they stepped out in faith against their enemies.

When the Amorite kings united to come against them, God spoke to Joshua, “Don't be afraid of them. I have handed them over to you. None of them can stand up to you.” (Joshua 10:8) In this battle, God even made the sun and the moon to stand still upon Joshua's command as the Amorites were handed over to Israel.

Joshua 10:12-14 says, “The day Yahweh handed the Amorites over to the people of Israel, Joshua spoke to Yahweh while Israel was watching,

'Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, stand still over the valley of Aijalon!'

 The sun stood still, and the moon stopped until a nation got revenge on its enemies.... Never before or after this day was there anything like it. Yahweh did what a man told him to do, because Yahweh fought for Israel.'"

While he commanded the sun and moon to stand still as the Israelites were watching, it seems, as the leader of Israel, Joshua really wanted the Israelites to get that God was fighting for them and giving them the victory. And it seems he wanted them to understand they could trust God for the victory as they stood out against their enemies.

In Joshua 10:22-25 as the kings who had united against Israel were defeated, Joshua called for all the men of Israel. He then had the officers come and put their feet on the neck of the kings. When they did, Joshua told them all, “Don't be afraid or terrified! Be strong and courageous, because this is what Yahweh will do to the enemies you're fighting against.”

The very thing that Moses had spoken to Joshua about being strong and courageous and the promise that God would give them the land, he was now putting into practice and enforcing in those that followed him.

Moses had expected that the people of God would go to war with their enemies and that they would obtain the victory – not by their own might but His. Deuteronomy 21:10 says, “When you go to war with your enemies and Yahweh your Elohim hands them over to you, you may take them captive.”

Through their victories, the Israelites learned that God would meet them and give them the ultimate victory over their enemies. Over and over, the Lord promises to fight for His people and bring them the victory.

When the Israelites were leaving Egypt the Lord had fought for them. In Exodus 14:14 Moses told the people, “Don't be afraid! Stand still, and see what Yahweh will do to save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. Yahweh is fighting for you! So be still!”

Throughout taking the Promised Land, God fought for Israel. And whenever they came up against their enemies while looking to God, He fought for them.

Psalm 118:5-15 proclaims,

“During times of trouble I called on Yah.

Yah answered me and set me free from all of them.

Yahweh is on my side. I am not afraid.

What can mortals do to me?

Yahweh is on my side as my helper.

I will see the defeat of those who hate me.

It is better to depend on Yahweh than to trust mortals.

It is better to depend on Yahweh than to trust influential people.

All the nations surrounded me, but armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.

They surrounded me. Yes, they surrounded me, but armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.

They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thornbushes.

So armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.

They pushed hard to make me fall, but Yahweh helped me.

Yah is my strength and my song. He is my savior.

The sound of joyful singing and victory is heard in the tents of the righteous people.

The right hand of Yahweh displays strength.

“My Lord, You are the strength of my salvation, whom shall I fear?” sings

Another example of God fighting for His people against their enemies was in 2 Chronicles 20:1 when the Ammonites, Moabites, and Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. Jahaziel spoke to the king and people of Judah when the Holy Spirit came upon him: “Don't be frightened or terrified by this large crowed. The battle isn't yours. It's Elohim's. Tomorrow go into battle against them.... You won't fight this battle. Instead, take your position, stand still, and see the victory of Yahweh for you, Judah and Jerusalem. Don't be frightened or terrified. Tomorrow go out to face them. Yahweh is with you.”

The Lord also fought for Israel in the rebuilding after the Babylonian exile. When the Israelites came against opposition, God fought for them. Nehemiah 4:20 says, “Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!"

One very visible sign of a covenant relationship in the Bible between two parties is that they would fight for each other in battle. If one was being attacked by their enemies the other had an obligation to to come to their side and fight along with them.

An example is the people of Gibeon. They came to Joshua and pretended to have come from a distant land wanting to make a treaty with the Israelites. The Israelites agreed and then found out they were their neighbors who lived beside them. (Joshua 9:1-26)

Later when Ammorite kings came against Gibeon to attack it, they sent a message to Joshua to come quickly and save them. So Joshua along with all the soldiers and best warriors set out from Gilgal to come fight with them and defeat their enemies. (Joshua 10:6-7)

Stepping up in faith against our enemies and trusting God to fight for them and bring the victory was a way of life for the Israelites throughout the Old Testament.

And God still fights for us today. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:56-57, “Sin gives death its sting, and God's standards give sin its power. Thank God that he gives us the victory through the Lord Yeshua Christ.”

Ray Stedman in his book “Authentic Christianity writes, “The invariable mark of authentic Christianity is that, once we have discovered its radical secret, there is never a failure. Our will, our dreams, our goals, our desires may be thwarted--but God's will and plan? Never! He can even weave our seeming failures into His overall design for ultimate triumph. In the life of an authentic Christian, every obstacle becomes an opportunity. Success is inevitable.” [1]

In failure, in difficulties and trials, the Lord fights on our behalf and we are given victory through Christ. Paul says in Romans 8:28-37, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God – those whom he has called according to his plan....

If God is for us, who can be against us? God didn't spare his own Son but handed him over to death for all of us. So he will also give us everything along with him... The one who loves us give us an overwhelming victory in all of these difficulties.” 
 

Ray Stedman goes on to note, “After saying, 'But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ,' Paul continues with this beautiful statement of the impact we have as authentic Christians: 'and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him'(2 Corinthians 2:14). [2]

Through all our difficulties and trials, God is working for our good and spreading a life-giving / death-giving fragrance to those around us. We are not neutral.  Our actions have impact. And this impact, as Paul goes on to note, is the proof of authentic Christianity.

Ray Stedman writes, “The Corinthians had written to Paul about the joy they now had and the hope and meaning which had been brought into their lives. They described to him the deliverance from shame and guilt they had experienced, the freedom from fear and hostility, from darkness and death, which was theirs. So he says to them, in effect, "This is your confirmation. You yourselves are walking letters from God, known and read by all men, written by the Spirit of God in your hearts." Here is the final mark of genuine Christianity: undeniable reality, a change which cannot be explained on any other terms than God at work. Paul did not need letters of recommendation when this kind of change was evident in the lives of his hearers.” [3]

Lord, thank you for how you turn all things for our good and Your glory. I'm so grateful to know that we're never in a battle alone and You fight for us. Give us the courage to step out in faith when you prompt us and be willing to go into battle, knowing that through all difficulties we are victorious.

1-3. Stedman, Ray. Authentic Christianity. Located at: http://www.raystedman.org/authentic-christianity. Last Accessed: January 2, 2013.