Tanak Foundations-Concepts in Second Kings-Part 10

We are going to continue to move on with our brief overview of Spiritual Warfare based on our verses in 2 Kings 13.14-21 by picking up with the concept of Psychological Warfare. The essence of Psychological Warfare is to confuse the meaning of words and infiltrate the mind with conflicting concepts.

Before a battle, the enemy will begin to work on you. We need to speak loudly when we carry a small stick. By God’s direction, Gideon went into battle with only 300 but made a lot of noise and won the battle. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel did a similar thing. They gave hundreds of radios out to people who began to chatter with each other. The enemy picked up on this and thought there were more men than there really was because they thought each radio represented platoon size strength. As a result, they miscalculated the strength of the Israeli forces against them.

We must realize when we are under psychological attack during a physical attack. We must make our enemy work all the time, and time is on our side. When in a spiritual battle, don’t carry “Arks” into battle to assure victory. This will include good luck charms, crosses, statues, the Star of David, magic formulas and talismans, etc. Israel carried the Ark of the Covenant into a battle at Aphek and lost (1 Sam 4).

Show your strength even more that it is, and make it obvious, to accentuate the positive. Stay psychologically strong in Yehovah. Hezekiah listened to Isaiah the prophet and not to the Assyrians or his own people. A confederate soldier in the battle of Chickamauga in the Civil War said, “You Yanks got into our innards.” That is the goal of psychological warfare.

Be prepared to go “out on a limb” and get hurt. The Maccabees rose up against Greek assimilation but many were killed and wounded. Another goal of psychological warfare to keep the enemy at odds within. This would be groups fighting each other to weaken them. The Romans were experts in psychological warfare and did this to the Jews inside Jerusalem. Another goal is to know when your enemy is disintegrating within, and keep them in confusion. Spiritual battles do not have to be based in logic. Your enemies will be illogical (Arabs against the Jews; Maccabees against the Greeks; the Palestinians against the Iranians, etc).

Successful battles are won because the Lord told them to fight, and he told them what to do. It was his battle plan. There are many chapters on spiritual warfare in the Scriptures, but a very good example is Isaiah 36 and 37. The Assyrians tried to get Hezekiah and the people behind the walls of Jerusalem to doubt that they could hold out against the Assyrians. Up to that point, Hezekiah had lost all the battles and Jerusalem was the only city left. The enemy will try to get you and those around you discouraged. However, we do not need to “hate” our enemies, we don’t need hate to defeat them.

Here is another issue. We should not talk to the enemy. In Isa 36.21 says that when the Assyrians gave their plea for Hezekiah to surrender, “But they were silent and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, ‘Do not answer him.'” Isa 36.12 says that the Assyrians thought they would be so thirsty in a siege that the people would “Drink their own urine.” But they did not know that Hezekiah had built a water tunnel bringing in fresh water to the city. They kept silent about it. They came before the Lord in humility to find out what to do (Isa 37.1). Remember, Yehovah directs the battle, not the believer (Isa 37.4). No “name it and claim it” techniques are needed because the Lord does it all (Lam 3.37-38; Amos 3.6). So, that brings us to the “Captain of the Lord’s Host (armies).”

Until God leads, be silently waiting, serving the Lord, seeking his guidance and preparing. We must “rest in Yehovah” which means to be quiet before him. Don’t be overwhelmed by the present events. We should wait to see how future developments unfold which will make God’s plan more evident. If called by God to fight, put the burden on him. He must direct us when to use the direct attack method (they can see you coming) or an indirect method. The time, the direction and the method must come from the Lord. When you have done all that you can, stand firm and “don’t break ranks” (panic and run).

Don’t attack unless you have a Word from the Lord to do so. He is the “Commander-in-Chief” and the “Captain of the Armies.” David was told by the Lord to wait until he heard a rushing of wind in the trees before he attacked. Why? Because the sound of the wind in the trees covered the sound of David’s troops moving. We should take our problems to God and lay them before him. Don’t tell God what to do because he will not “jump through our hoops” like a circus lion because we tell him to do something. And another thing, don’t speak to Ha Satan while praying to God. Don’t talk to the enemy (Isa 36.21).

The only way for a lasting victory is intervention from God. Our strength alone won’t do it. If God is in control, ask these questions: Why are we being attacked? Why are the attacks so hard? Why do we feel defeated? Here are the answers. We are being attacked because the Lord wants to challenge us, to teach us warfare (Judges 3.1-2). We are being attacked so hard because it will help us get stronger and more patient. And we feel defeated because no matter the losses along the way, we must remember that the Lord is the winner.

In battle, God must direct when, where and how to fight. When we are given a directive from God, complete what he tells you to do. Don’t get to a stopping place and just quit like the Iraqis did in Desert Storm. The enemy will be diligent in his objectives. An Amalekite killed Saul after Saul failed to wipe out the Amalekites. In 1 Kings 20.42 Ben-Hadad was “devoted to destruction” but King Ahab let him live. So a Syrian killed King Ahab in 1 Kings 22.34. Rank does not necessarily indicate talent.

The Lord will not hit us at a level we are not prepared for unless we have not proceeded to a level we should be at. If we are a “child” who is at a first grade level spiritually but we should be in fourth grade, God will allow us to be hit with a fourth grade level of attack because we have failed to learn the things we needed to learn. So, this brings up the subject of wise, spiritual preparations for spiritual warfare.

Before we begin, lets look at some basic definitions. The word “tavnit” means a “shadow, a picture and a blueprint.” In other words, what something is supposed to look like (Ezek 43.10 for example). The word “Chachmah” means “the wisdom of God.” The word “Da’at” is the “knowledge of God based on  experience.” So, Isa 33.6 says, “And he (Yehovah) shall be the stability (Hebrew “emunat” or “faith”) of your times, a wealth of salvation (“Hebrew “yeshuat”), wisdom (“chachmah”) and knowledge (“da’at”).” Ecc 9.14-16 says that we can deliver our city (Jer 1.18) by wisdom, and Job 28.18 says that wisdom is above pearls. That is how to prepare to fight spiritually. The goal of a believer is to “know the Lord” (Jer 9.23) not to fight battles.

We are in a war that never stops and part of the battle is to decide to do it beforehand. We can’t wait for a battle to come to us and then decide that we should begin to prepare. It’s too late by then. So we must “consider our ways” (Hag 1.7) and “repair the walls.” Are we a “brick wall” or a “door” (Song 8.9). Jude 3 says that we are to “contend earnestly (fight) for the faith (the body of doctrinal truth found in the Torah and the Scriptures) which was once for all delivered to the saints (Tzadikim).” Notice that by the first century (when Jude was written) the faith has already been delivered because this is past tense. That rules out Replacement Theology Christianity of any kind as “the faith.” There is only one body of doctrinal truth delivered to the believer and that is the Torah, given by the hand of God to Moses at Mount Sinai.

So, with that in mind, we will pick up here in Part 11 with what we call “Wise Preparations for Spiritual Warfare.”

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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