Mighty in Battle, Pt. 1

“Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Psalm 24:8 (NASB)

Last week we looked at the armor of God, our protection against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). We saw that if we are walking in truth, righteousness, and peace, if we’re secure in our salvation and in God’s ability to deliver, and if we’ve taken up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, we can stand firm. And the reason we can stand firm is that we are walking in obedience, and thus, God will fight the battle for us. Over the next few weeks, we will take a look at what God is able to do in battle, as seen through His awesome displays of power on behalf of the nation Israel.

When God was preparing His chosen people to enter the Promised Land, He told them that if they would “diligently obey” His commands, blessings would come upon them and overtake them (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). Among those many blessings was the promise that when their enemies rose up against them, He would cause those enemies to be defeated. “They shall come out against you one way and shall flee before you seven ways” (Deuteronomy 28:7). But if Israel did not obey God, He would cause her to be defeated before her enemies (28:25).

This happened repeatedly in the book of Judges as the people of Israel “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judges 2:11). In one instance, God gave them into the hands of their enemy, the Midianites, for seven years. The Midianites prevailed against them with such force that the people of Israel took to hiding in caves (Judges 6:2). Finally, the Israelites cried out to God, and God used Gideon, an Israelite of the tribe of Manasseh, to deliver them.

But first, God dealt with the matter of sin. He had Gideon pull down an altar of the god Baal, which belonged to Gideon’s father, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it, another emblem of false worship (Judges 6:25). He told Gideon to build an altar to the true God instead and to sacrifice a burnt offering on it.

Thereafter, the Midianites and the Amalekites came against Israel again. God’s Spirit came upon Gideon and he gathered the Israelites together for battle—32,000 total. God said, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, lest Israel become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me’” (Judges 7:2). Through a couple of tests, God whittled Gideon’s army down to a mere 300 men. In contrast, the enemy camp was “as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore” (7:12). But numbers don’t matter to God.

Gideon and his three hundred men went to the outskirts of the enemy camp, armed only with trumpets and pitchers with torches inside. They blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their hands, crying “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon.” You might wonder what the next phase of the battle plan entailed. It was simple: stand firm.

As they stood around the camp and blew their trumpets, “the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army” (Judges 7:22). I’ll say that again just to make sure you caught it. The Lord caused their enemies to set their swords against one another. The enemy then fled and Gideon and the men of Israel pursued them, eventually routing the entire army.

This is the same God who has adopted us into His family. This is the same God who has given us His armor of protection. He knows that a host of evil forces delights in coming against us and that we’re greatly outnumbered. But when we put on His armor and stand firm, we have nothing to fear. The King of glory will fight for us, and He’s mighty in battle.

Heavenly Father, You are indeed the King of glory and I praise You for Your mighty deeds. Only You know how many unseen battles You’ve fought on my behalf. Thank You for Your protection. When the enemy comes against me, I pray that I would be mindful of Your power and stand in Your strength. In Jesus’ name, Amen.