When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,2 and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, 3 to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4 And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. 6 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” 7 So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8 And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. 9 And Joshua did to them just as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
Maybe as you read the text you wondered why it is that we are getting so much detail about the enemy that is allied against God’s people. We are told who they are, where they are from and we cannot help but wonder why we need to know all of this. Wouldn’t it be more simple if the Holy Spirit would just have said, a bunch of kings and a big old army?
Well, what is Luther’s point in his now famous hymn that we sing when he writes: “For still our ancient foe, does seek to work us woe, his craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.”?
The point in all of this detail is to impress upon us, as it was impressed upon Israel, that the situation is beyond human expectation for victory. We begin to sense how overwhelming the enemy is, how great their numbers, as many as the sand of the seashore and the obstacle of this army is frightening from a human perspective. God’s message for us this morning is very simple.
The Lord wants his people at all times to forsake confidence in ourselves or in anything or anyone else. He impresses upon us time and time again, that we are a dependent people and need to look above this world to the help that comes from Zion. That is why Luther continues in his hymn: Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing…
In 2 Chronicles 20 we find Israel being attacked by a conglomeration of kings and king Jehoshaphat is fearful and recounts to God, what GOD had done for His people as if to remind the Lord what He has done for them…Then Jehoshaphat sets before the Lord the situation and he does not make the problem small, he acknowledges that there is a great multitude before them and that the people of God are powerless in the face of this great multitude. The king is not candy-coating this. He goes further and tells the Lord that in light of this, he, the king, doesn’t know what to do. Have you ever felt like that? The circumstances are overwhelming, there are no seemingly good choices, and frankly, you just don’t know what to do…ever been there?
Then the king says, “However, despite all of this…Our eyes are on You. Our hope is above the circumstances…Our hope is in the Lord. And they all stand there, from the oldest to the youngest. It is quite a picture…We often think of our children standing with us, as we should…but here is a situation of danger and fear, of overwhelming circumstances, and yes, our children need be with us then too…they need to see us trusting the Lord, they need to be called to trust the Lord and they need to see the adults around them, family, church family, trusting the Lord as well…so that it makes sense to them.
Jesus tells his disciples that they must abide in Him and that if they do not, they will be cast out. He cannot make it any more plain than he does when he tells them, “Without me, you can do nothing…” In Psalm 25 which we sometimes use for our confession of sin, David pleads not the smallness of his sin, but its greatness! He knows the power of sin, he knows where it wants to go and he knows that he, without the Lord, is powerless to stop it!
Today, we think to negotiate our sin, to make it seem small, no big deal really, nothing to be alarmed at, there are worse things we could be doing after all. And that is exactly what sin WANTS you to think. We plead the greatness of our sin, the greatness of our enemy, because we will not, cannot defeat it on our own. The Lord is not mocking our smallness and our inability, there is a reason for His making sure we know what reality looks like, and it is motivated by love. But to make sure we don’t miss where our hope lies, the Lord always wants us to be impressed with the massive resources that are available…to the enemies of the church.
The Lord is not hiding from us what we are up against, in fact, just the opposite; The numbers, the money, the power, the position none of that belongs to us. We don’t own the academy, the market, or the white house…we don’t own the senate or the industries. We don’t own the arts, we don’t own the entertainment industry…We don’t have a place at the table, nor do we seek one, the view from here is daunting, for we, the church of Christ, we don’t have anything. Like Israel, the enemy has the numbers, has the technology, has the financial resources and the positions of power! And this was and is purposed by our God, so that when we see the victory, which is guaranteed, the victory of the kingdom and the glorious expanse of the gospel, we will not doubt that the Lord is Mighty, mighty in battle.
God had told them about this, all the way back in Dt. 20: “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army larger than yours you must not be afraid of them for the LORD your God is with you and is the One who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” In other words, remember redemption…and trust Me!
What do you think the Lord means when he says, “He who did not spare His own Son but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with him also freely give us all things”?
Redemption, but that not’s all…we are co-heirs with Jesus…of all things! If He gave up His own Son…then what is there that He won’t give us! But in the meantime, God does not tell us to stick our heads in the sand and to live in some kind of fantasy world, some Polly Annish way of viewing what is real. The multitude IS great, but our God is greater still. Sin abounds but grace does more abound. And I am going to say something that might sound obvious and simple, but it is a fact, a truth, that if we will but grasp hold of, will change our lives and it is this:
Circumstances are never to determine our actions and responses to our God.
The Lord knows that our circumstances at times are almost unbearable, that we are pushed to the brink…He knows that our ancient foe has no equal on this earth. Our Father would have us acknowledge to Him, that, that which is arrayed against us, is a vast multitude. However, that does not direct our actions…that does not determine how we respond. Faith determines our response…faith determines our actions…faith pushes us to trust the promise and the direction of our Sovereign God.
Oftentimes Christians act as though if their situation is bad enough, if circumstances are unfavorable, then, somehow, it is ok, or at least MORE ok, to sin…somehow, trials are an excuse to lower the bar, and to act, and most often SPEAK in faithless ways. And if you think that YOU don’t do this, I would beg you to look more closely. How often does someone come to you and they are in fact in a straight…circumstances are difficult maybe due to the individual’s own sin, or possibly the sin of others. And you listen to them and there is no doubt that they are bitter…angry…and maybe even spewing forth venom, maybe at another Christian or possibly, indirectly or directly, accusing God of not being kind, of not caring, of being unfair. And you think to yourself, not that they need a gentle rebuke for their accusations against our Kind Father in heaven but rather you think, “Oh bless her heart…things are so hard for her right now.”
Indeed, things may in fact be hard, very hard, circumstances might be very difficult, but does that then excuse faithless speech and faithless living. In fact, God has sent these circumstances; God brought them to you or to the Christian brother or sister in difficulty and He sent them to work the very opposite.
Remember, the God of heaven and earth, dressed himself in a cloak, a cloak of humanity, of flesh and blood and dwelt among His people, and He did not send men out to die for Him, rather, He went outside the city and died for men. And he listens to what we say…he listens to our words amidst the circumstances. The question is, what does He hear from us? What does He hear from you? Does he hear from YOUR mouth, the speech of YOUR heart, acknowledging the greatness of your enemies, your circumstances and even your fears…He wants to hear you say those things…but then to hear the praises of God as you express your trust…your faith…that you know your God is for you, and that you will believe Him for His work in you even to the end of His own glory?
Joshua was pointed by the Lord to Egypt…He was pointed to redemption…to the powerful right hand of God that moves on behalf of His people. A reminder, that their deliverance, and their defense was not of their own making, but that the God who redeems His people, is the same God who fights for His people. Redemption directs faithful action.
Prayer: Father, I am often overwhelmed by my circumstances, I am easily brought to fear, anxiety and despair. I pray that you would give me a sight of the Christ for me that gives me strength, hope and trust. You have proven Yourself faithful over and over again, please forgive my unbelief. I would this day walk in jumble confidence that You are for me and that I can endure what Your will sends and thereby honor and glorify my God who has loved me with such a great love, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: A Mighty Fortress