WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JANUARY 02, 2025
TOPIC: THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU
BY T. O. BANSO
“And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:14 New King James Version).
In Joshua 10, because the Gibeonites had made peace with the children of Israel, Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem was afraid. He, therefore, sent a message to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, to come and help him to attack Gibeon.
The five Amorite kings came together and went with their armies to fight the Gibeonites. Even though the Gibeonites had deceived the Israelites to make a covenant with them, Joshua respected it. He responded to their cry for help. Joshua and the Israelite army went to rescue the Gibeonites. The war against the Gibeonites became their war because of the covenant.
The LORD told Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you” (Joshua 10:8 New King James Version). Please take note of that statement. This was a great assurance from the LORD, an assurance of victory. But it would never be actualized unless the Israelites went and confronted these Amorite kings.
In Deuteronomy 2:24-25, God said a similar thing to the Israelites. He assured them they had victory already but they must take steps to actualize victory. The LORD says, “Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle. This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you” (Deuteronomy 2:24-25 New King James Version).
Recalling what the LORD did for the Israelites in fulfilment of this promise, Moses said, “And the Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess it, that you may inherit his land.’ Then Sihon and all his people came out against us to fight at Jahaz. And the Lord our God delivered him [a]over to us; so we defeated him, his sons, and all his people” (Deuteronomy 2:31-33 New King James Version). God will fight for you.
Let’s go back to the war the Israelites fought with the five Amorite kings. God did just as He had assured Joshua that He would deliver the enemies into their hands, and they would not be able to stand before them.
Joshua 10:9-11 says, “Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. So the Lord routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horo, that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword” (New King James Version).
The Israelites killed some of the enemies. The LORD sent down large hailstones from heaven on others and killed them. There was no way of escape for them. It wasn’t only the Israelites fighting these five armies, the LORD was fighting them, too. Please note that the Bible says more people died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword. If God is against an army, who can survive there? The Lord will fight for you.
When Joshua saw the trend of the war, he wanted a total victory; he saw that he needed more time to do a mop-up. Therefore, he prayed to God to extend the day. Joshua 10:12 says, “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: ‘Sun, stand still over Gibeon; and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon’” (New King James Version).
Joshua’s prayer demonstrated his faith in God because he requested God to alter the order of nature – a delay of the night by extending the day. Joshua never doubted this was possible. He knew he was fighting the LORD’s battle, and he had assured him of victory. And the Bible says the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the people had revenge upon their enemies (verse 13).
Based on the knowledge that the sun does not revolve around the earth for us to have day and night but the earth revolves around the sun, people have been debating if this miracle truly happened. The sun always stands still; it is the earth that rotates. Joshua was not a scientist! Therefore, he didn’t use the language of a scientist. He used the layman’s language of observing the sun and the moon just as we talk about the rising and setting of the sun today.
Joshua wanted the day to be extended or prolonged and the night to be delayed. Psalm 74:16 says, “The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun” (New King James Version). God understood Joshua’s request and gave him a long day, which, to him, was the sun standing still. How God did it, I don’t know. Some have suggested it was a slowing of the earth’s normal rotation. There are other suggestions, including an eclipse.
Just as the Lord sent a large hailstone from heaven, He also extended the day in answer to Joshua’s prayer. The Bible says: with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27). The last part of Joshua 10:13 says, “The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day” (New Living Translation).
There is nothing that God cannot do. The LORD told Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14a New King James Version). Joshua 10:14 says, “And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel” (New King James Version).
There is no impossibility with God. Several years later the LORD did something that altered nature as He did in answer to Joshua’s prayer. The LORD said through the Prophet Isaiah that Hezekiah would not die as He had said but He would add 15 years to his days. In addition, He would deliver him and Jerusalem from the hand of the king of Assyria and defend the city. As a sign that He would do what He had said, the LORD said that He would bring the shadow on the sundial, which had gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. He did just that. The sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down (Isaiah 38:4-8).
Jesus says if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23). Joshua believed and God rewarded his faith. The LORD fought for the Israelites. He fought on their side, using large hailstones to assist them. He further assisted them by extending the normal day. The Bible says the LORD did what had never happened before or since that day; no day like that day when the LORD answered such a request from a human being.
During the battle, the five kings escaped and hid in a cave. Joshua commanded that the entrance of the cave should be blocked with a large rock and be guarded while the other Israelites should continue to pursue the fleeing enemies and kill them. After, they brought out the five kings from the cave and killed them (Joshua 10:16-27).
The LORD who fought for the Israelites will fight for you. You will overcome every challenge and defeat every enemy. His presence shall go with you. He has promised never to leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). He will fight your battles for you. If God is for you, who can be against you? (Romans 8:31-32). You are more than conquerors through Him who loved you (verse 37).
Have faith in God. Don’t be like the Israelites, under Moses. Moses said the LORD who went before them would fight for them, according to all He did for them in Egypt before their eyes, and in the wilderness where they saw how He carried them, as a man carried his son, in all the way they went However, he noted that they did not believe the LORD (Deuteronomy 1:30-33).
The Lord will fight for you. Joshua looked back and recalled the faithfulness of God in fighting for His people. He said, “I am old, advanced in age. You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has fought for you” (Joshua 23:2b-3 New King James Version).
Have faith in the LORD. He will fight for you. Moses told the Israelites not to be frightened or terrified when they saw their enemies with horses and chariots in battles, for the LORD went with them, to fight for them against their enemies, to save them (Deuteronomy 20:1-4). If God needs to use fire, rain, thunder, lightning, or any other thing He considers appropriate to fight for you, He will use it. He fought Pharaoh with ten plagues before finally allowing the Israelites to leave Egypt.
The Lord will fight for you. But you must Have faith in Him and obey Him. You must pray but you must also follow His instructions. Conscious of the enemy’s threat as the Jews were building the wall of Jerusalem, Nehemiah gave them this instruction: “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:19-20 New King James Version). The Lord will fight for you.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I thank You because You will fight for me. I shall not be afraid of any challenge or the enemy as You fight for me. Father, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Let all the forces against me be defeated. I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved me.
(For about 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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