Shortly before the Lord took him home, Joshua said to the children of Israel whom he led into the Promised Land after the death of Moses, in his 'farewell address,' in Josh. 23:8-14,
"... but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day."
"One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you ..." "And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All (God's promises) have come to pass for you, not one word of them has failed."
So, after Joshua's death, God appointed judges to lead Israel in the way they should walk, and in the way God commanded them to live. And the bible tells us God was with the judges. It says in Judges 2:18,
"And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them (the Israelites) out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their (Israel's) groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them."
So, it became time for the Israelites to continue purging all the Ca'naanite lands of its inhabitants which Joshua started, and as God commanded. But, what was Israel's battle plan now that Joshua was gone? It says in Josh 1:1-2,
"Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, 'Who shall be first to go up for us against the Ca'naanites to fight against them?' And the Lord said, 'Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.' "
God confirmed to Judah victory would be theirs, even before the battle began.
So, the Israelites were now governed by God Himself and the judges He appointed, with God leading the people by His Spirit.
And, as it says in Zech 4:6, God works: "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts."
Why did God raise up judges rather than another leader like Moses or Joshua, or even a king?
In search of an answer, I came across the website, Lonang Institute, which offers this explanation:
"The answer lies in examining the purpose of God in sending Moses and then Joshua. God sent Moses as a deliverer to deliver the people out of Egypt. (Acts 7:35) He also sent Moses to teach the people the laws of God (Exo 24:12).
...when Moses was near death, God commissioned Joshua saying, “Be strong and courageous, for you will take the Israelites to the land I have promised them, and I will be with you.” (Deut 31:23) ... Moses was to deliver Israel from Egypt and teach them God’s laws. Joshua was to take the nation into their land..."
And so it went that after God commanded the tribe of Judah to begin resuming the land conquest:
--Judah took his brother, Simeon, and the Lord delivered the Ca'naanites and Per'izzites into their hand.
--Then Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.
--Next, the children of Judah fought and won against the Ca'naanites who dwelt in the mountains in southern Israel, and in the lowland.
--Then, Judah went against the Ca'naanites who dwelt in Hebron, defeating them.
--Following the Hebron victory, Judah went against the inhabitants of Debir, Kirjath Sepher, Zephath, Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron -- and won every battle as God told them He would give them victory.
But then, we read in Judges 1:19, "So the Lord was with Judah. And they drove out the mountaineers (the mountain dwellers), but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron."
After winning all these battles; after God proved to them through their victories He would be with them, and lead them, why couldn't God's people drive out the inhabitants of this particular Ca'naanite lowland?
Why couldn't they drive out the Ca'naanites living in this particular lowland?
God's word tells us it was because these people had 'chariots of iron.' It was 'a new technology' the Israelites had never before come against in battle.
And interestingly, after Judah came upon these 'chariots of iron,' unable to drive out the Ca'naanites who possessed these chariots, this also happened:
Verse 21: "...the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day." (There are many Arabs living in Jerusalem today)
Verse 27: "... Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth She'an and its villages, or Ta'anach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants Ib'leam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages ..."
Verse 29: "Nor did Ephraim drive out the Ca'naanites ..."
Verse 30: "Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants ..."
Verse 31: "Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants ..."
Verse 33: "Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants ..."
Q: So, why, from the time Judah saw these 'chariots of iron,' did things change? Change from being victorious in the Lord who proved He was with them, to being unable to drive out the remaining inhabitants of Ca'naan?
Was God unable to hand Israel this victory because the Ca'naanite 'chariots of iron' were God's kryptonite?
Time after time, the Israelites saw with their own eyes, God handed them victory after victory in battle. So, what was it about these 'chariots of iron' that prevented God's people from gaining victory?
And did the Israelites even try? The bible doesn't tell us except that they couldn't drive the Ca'naanites out from the lowland because they 'saw' the Ca'naanite chariots of iron in front of them.
'Do we see chariots of iron before us, preventing us from gaining our victory?'
Questions:
1. Was Israel's failure due to fear, having never experienced these iron chariots? After all the victories God gave Judah, how was it that fear crept into their hearts?
2. Was their lack of success due to doubt God might leave them in battle, though He promised to be with them, and proved it through their victories?
3. Could it have been due to a lack of faith and trust in God's ability to help them fight against this strange new iron technology?
Did the tribes communicate with each other, asking: "Does God know how to fight against these iron chariots?"
4. Was it because of disobedience to God? Judges 2:13-14 says, "They forsook the Lord and served Ba'al and the Ashtoreths. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel."
It's mentioned in Judges 2:1-3 that before Joshua and his generation died off, the Angel of the Lord came to the children of Israel, reminding them God swore to their fathers He would never break His covenant with them.
But, their responsibility as stated in Judges 2:2-3 was this:
"And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?"
Q: Have any of us made an ungodly covenant or agreement with the world which is in direct opposition to our covenant with God? Such as supporting the things God's word tells us He hates, but the world readily accepts with open arms?
So, the consequence for their disobedience is stated by God in Judges 2:20-21,
"Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice; I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died."
And worse than this, it says in Judges 2:15, "Wherever they (the Israelites) went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity ..."
But, was disobedience the 'only reason' for their failure to complete the task of driving out the Ca'naanites? Or, could it have been a combination of all four 'sins' committed against God? Disobedience, fear, doubt, and lack of faith/trust.
I found one explanation on the website, BibleRef.com,
"The book of Judges has followed Judah's campaign to defeat all the Canaanite peoples in their allotted territory ... It is a good news, bad news scenario. The good news is that because the Lord was with Judah, they were able to conquer the region known as the hill country in southern Israel. (As long) as Judah maintained faith in God, they could accomplish all He asked them to do. The bad news though, is that they could not entirely drive out the inhabitants of the plains—because those Canaanites had iron chariots. The use of iron in chariots was a relatively new technology ... and Israel did not have a battle plan to overcome it..."
"The text makes no further comment about this difficulty. Readers are often confused, given that God's influence is supposed to be at work in these battles. The God that miraculously made Jericho's walls fall (Joshua 6:20–21) could also intervene to overcome iron chariots. The text does not say Judah was defeated, only that they didn't "drive out" those inhabitants ... So why didn't God intervene here? Bible scholars are left to speculate, since the text offers no clues..." (But) a common theme in Israel's failures in Canaan is complacency and lack of faith."
More questions:
1) And so whatever the reason(s) for Judah's failure to take the land, why were the other tribes affected and unable to drive out their Ca'naanite enemies?
2) Did Judah spread 'fear and doubt' into the hearts of their brethren by telling them about the iron chariots? Was Judah's fear contagious?
3) Could this have been the same 'spirit of fear' the ten spies brought back to the camp when they told the people out of fear they wouldn't be able to drive out the inhabitants of the land God commanded them to take because of the 'giants' we read about in the Book of Numbers?
4) Was their failure to drive out the inhabitants the same reason Jesus and Peter commanded people to leave the room before they raised the dead to life? That they knew: fear, doubt, and unbelief restrain God's hand?
Jas 1:6-8 tells us: "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
5) Did the Israelites, like Peter, sink because they took their eyes off the Lord and instead, gazed in fear at those imposing, impregnable, 'chariots of iron?'
And could these be reasons why some of our prayers aren't answered?
Q: Do we fear the chariots of iron in our lives? Chariots we've never before come up against: A diagnosis of cancer? A sudden job loss or loss of a spouse? Being thrown into prison because of our political beliefs, or faith, like the J 6'ers?
Q: Will these chariots of iron grip our hearts with fear? Will they cause us to believe God has left us and no longer protects us? To cause us to doubt God, even though He gave us many victories in the past? And, that He promises never to leave or forsake us?
Q: Like the Israelites, do we so quickly forget how God has delivered us from Pharoah (Satan), time after time, by His power?
In Dan 9:4-5,15 Daniel prayed this: "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments ...we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments ... we have sinned, we have done wickedly."
There are many instances in scripture where people ran from the enemy in fear, even after God brought them victory.
As an example, after Elijah called down fire from heaven that destroyed the altars of Ba'al, he ran into a cave in fear after hearing Jezebel wanted to put him to death.
But, on the other hand:
Daniel refused to bow to a newly enacted law prohibiting prayer to anyone but king Darius. (Dan 6:10-18)
Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego refused to bow to king Nebudchednezzar's statue.
And David refused to run in fear from Goliath, but rather, do battle against him regardless of their size differences.
All these men were men of great faith. And all must have believed God was with them. Just as many of us believe God is with us. But, it's human nature, when facing death, to allow fear to enter our heart, at least initially.
So, why is it Elijah ran in fear, but Daniel, Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego stood strong, refusing to allow fear to control their actions?
And, when we face chariots of iron, like the danger we face in the world today, why is it some believers stand strong, while others allow fear to grip their heart?
There's a saying, "Bravery is not the absence of fear, but rather taking action in the face of it."
Even brave people feel fear, but they choose to act despite their fear. They don't allow fear to control them. Cowards, on the other hand, will allow fear to prevent them from action.
I am, in no way, suggesting Elijah was a coward. Quite the contrary. He was far from it. But, for whatever reason, in this instance, Elijah allowed 'fear of death' to get the better of him. Until God spoke to Elijah while in the cave.
Just as God speaks to us while in prayer, or when meditating on His word.
And as I mentioned in a prior message:
--The soldiers going over the top during WW1 feared death when bullets were flying over their heads.
--The marines who stormed the beaches in WW2 feared death when artillery shells were exploding all around them.
But, they chose to act and do their duty, despite their legitimate fear of death.
And during those times Satan shoots his arrows at us, causing fear to come into our heart, we have a choice to make:
We can choose to go 'toe to toe' with the enemy and fight the good fight; or run away in fear.
We can choose to stand up to those who want to destroy this country with their 'woke policies.' Or, we can wave the white flag of surrender, saying in fear: 'Let's not rock the boat.'
· Looking back, how many victories has God given us throughout our lives?
· How many trials have we faced that appeared to us as 'chariots of iron', but God helped us to overcome and win the battle?
Yet, many believers ask as the Israelites asked, in Exodus 16:
"Yes, God, You did provide water for us, but can You also provide food?" "You did that for me, but can You also do this?"
· How many times must God remind us He has our backs, and that He will never leave or forsake us. As it says in Isa 52:12, " ... for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard."
Question: But, some ask, "When has God gone before us and has been our rear guard?"
Answer: While we were in that sick bed; during that financial crisis; in the midst of a bad relationship; while battling an addiction; during the times we had no control over the circumstance; or during the times the world has persecuted us.
God promises to be with us and give us the victory, in His timing.
But, for victory to occur, we must cast out all doubt, unbelief, lack of trust. We must be obedient to His word, facing fear strong in faith, confident God is with us, because He promised to be with us ... on the mountain and in the valley.
When we do these things, the 'chariots of iron' we face will become as nothing. God goes before us and also guards our back. The bible says,
"We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." And, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Do we truly believe these scriptures of promise?
Do we truly believe God's promises are not only for him and her, but also for me?
Do we truly believe what we say we believe?
Or, do we sometimes play, "Let's Make a Deal" with God?
-- Out of fear, will we take the 'Mark,' telling God it's only because I have to feed my family. Otherwise, Lord, You know I would never take it.
-- And by telling God this, aren't we grieving His heart through unbelief?
-- By telling God this, aren't we demonstrating a lack of trust He will care for us in times of trouble?
-- And by playing "Let's make a Deal" by taking the mark in order to buy and sell, aren't we showing God we're better able to care for ourselves than He's able to care for us?
Do we sometimes play, "Let's make a Deal" with sin?
"Lord, I know adultery and fornication are sinful in your eyes. But, I promise to stop after this one time. Or, maybe twice. But, that's all, Lord. "Is it a deal?"
"Lord, let me continue to drink; and I'll stop the drugs. I promise."
-Do we really believe what we say we believe?
-Do we really place our trust and confidence in the Lord's ability to provide, protect, and heal all our diseases as He promises?
-When we think back at all the Lord has done for us; all the battles we've won through Him; all the 'chariots of iron' we've faced that God brought to nothing ...
Have these victories taught us to walk from faith to faith, with no doubting? That, God will continue in His faithfulness? Or,
Do we ask as did the Israelites: "Yes, Lord, You did do that for me. But are You also able to do this?"
Once again, Joshua 23:8-14 says:
"... but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day."
Let's believe and appropriate these words of Joshua for our own lives.
Let's believe that regardless of what 'chariot of iron' lies before us, both now and in the future, it will not be able to overcome us.
Rather, we overcome them, by the power of God and by the blood of the Lamb.
As long as we remain obedient to the Lord; as long as we place our faith and complete trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, without wavering, Jesus tells us in Lk 10:19,
"Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
David wrote in Psalm 60:12, "Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies."
And if we're facing a 'chariot of iron,' let's grab hold of what David said in Psalm 61:3-4,
"For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.
AMEN.
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