The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh obeyed Moses. These men crossed the river in front of the other people. These men were prepared for war. They were going to help the rest of the Israelites take the land God had promised to give them. About 40,000 soldiers, prepared for war, passed before the Lord. They were marching toward the plains of Jericho.
Joshua 4:12-13
In this story we are told that the children of Israel were about to cross the river Jordan to go into Jericho, to take the first city that God had promised them.
Even though the men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh had already secured their land on the other side of the river, they did not just sit and wait for their brothers to capture their promised land alone. Instead these men were prepared for war.
As Christians, we also have a promised land ahead of us that we have to reach. Our promised land is not made by human hands, for its architect and builder is God Himself (Hebrews 11:10); it is the New Jerusalem which is coming from heaven down to earth:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared. Now there was no sea. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, “Now God’s home is with people. He will live with them. They will be his people. God Himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.”
Revelation 21:1-4
This New Jerusalem, just like the promised land of old, is not easy to attain, we also must be prepared for war in order to reach it. Just like the children of Israel had to destroy the inhabitants of the land before they could possess their land, we too have spiritual giants that we must destroy in order to possess our promised land.
However unlike the Children of Israel who fought a physical fight using natural weapons with their enemies, the Bible tells us that our fight is not against human beings but spiritual forces:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places
Ephesians 6:12
What Does It Mean To Be Prepared?
To be prepared is to be ready “standing by,” ready to meet the opportunity (challenge) at hand; ready because the necessary preparations are done (or are sure to happen as needed).
What Is The War About?
War is a conflict between opposing forces.
You will see from the scripture we are about to read that the war is between God and Satan, and the war started in heaven however it has moved down to earth and we human beings are caught in it, whether we like it or not:
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
Revelation 12:7-12
So, the forces involved in this war are:
- Two Kingdoms – the Kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as its King and the kingdom of darkness with the great dragon, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan as its king.
- Two opposing Angels – Michael, the Archangel and his angels and Satan and his angels.
- The battlefield – the war started in heaven however the battlefield is now the earth and people in the earth.
- Battle strategy – Satan is out to deceive as many human beings as he can so that he can drag them down to hell. He continually accuses the children of God day and night. Satan’s strategy is to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus has come that we may have life in its fullness:
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly
John 10:10
God in His love has provided salvation, strength, Kingdom of God and the power of His Christ to all humanity who choose to believe in Jesus Christ His Son:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
How Do We Overcome Satan?
We overcome him by:
- The Blood of The Lamb – we apply the blood of Jesus Christ when we accept that we are sinners and ask Him to forgive us and wash us clean with His blood. When we accept Him He becomes our sacrificial lamb (Hebrews 10:10).
- The Word of our testimony – we testify when we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Romans 10:9).
- We do not love our lives to the death – this means that we will be willing to lay down our lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are also encouraged to die daily to our flesh or natural desires (1 Corinthians 15:31).
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 16:25
Next week we’ll be looking at how you can prepare for war.
Prayer:
Dear Lord please help me to be prepared for war as the men from the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. Please help me to always be ready to fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life, in Jesus name.
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