Spiritual Battles, Spiritual Weapons

The Israelites were greatly impoverished because the Midianites came into their land, stole their sustenance, and destroyed the increase of their land. They did not kill the Israelites, but they took their crops and animals, and oppressed them (Judges 6:6)

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The reason they were being attack was because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord (Judges 6:1). So the Lord removed His arm of protection from them for seven years. They would be so miserable that they would turn back to the Lord, which they did and he heard them— He always does. The Lord never leaves us we instead leave Him. The enemy is still using the same tactics today. He try’s to oppress and impoverished God’s people so that they would feel helpless and hopeless. The enemy wants God’s people to believe the lie that God doesn’t care about them or their situation.

When they cried unto the Lord, He heard them. The Lord sent them a deliverer, Gideon, to deliver Israel from the Midianites. Gideon rallies over 32,000 men to defeat the enemy. However the Lord tells Gideon, that the people are too many for the Lord to give the Midianites into their hands. Israel just might believe it was because of them and not the Lord that got them the victory (Judges 7:2).

The Lord tells Gideon that those who are too fearful and afraid, should leave and twenty two thousand do just that, leaving poor Gideon with only ten thousand men. The Lord then tells Gideon that there is still too many and to go down unto the water, and the Lord will try them there (Judges 7:4).

When it is all said and done poor Gideon’s army is reduced to a remnant of 300 men. These three hundred men were to fight a vast army that covered the valley like grasshoppers. These men had to be the bravest men on the planet. They definitely were trusting in the Lord to deliver them against all odds.

“And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.” (Judges 7:12)

Gideon divided the men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. (Judges 7:16)

If you notice they did not have any natural weapon to defeat the enemy.

They did as they were instructed, fearful maybe, but obedient. The three companies blew the trumpets, and break the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow with and they cried, “The Sword of the Lord, and of Gideon (Judges 7:20).“

Let’s take a closer look at what they had. They had a trumpet that was used to proclaim a clarion sound throughout the enemies’ camp, a proclamation of the Word of the Lord, “The Sword of The Lord and Gideon.” God’s word is a two-edge sword. They had empty earthen pitchers. 2Corinthians 4:7 says, “ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”  This scripture in the New Testament is revealed in the Old Testament through Gideon’s three hundred men.

Once the earthen vessel (us) is broken, the light (Christ) can emanate out of us. The light that shined from those broken earthen vessel blinded and confused the Israelites enemies. The Israelites had weapons, but it was spiritual weapons that confused the enemy, causing their enemies to destroy and kill their own.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds (2 Corinthians 10:4”)

The Midianites and Amalakites were obviously physical enemies, but they were influence or used by the same spirit that comes against Israel and Christians today. Another words we are in a spiritual battle and our weapons must be spiritual if we are to defeat the works of the devil in our lives.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12).”