God will fight OUR battles if we let Him

March 7 Bible Reading: Joshua Chapters 10-12

God will fight OUR battles if we let Him

When Joshua had assumed the charge of leading the Israelites to conquer Canaan, there was a definite assurance from God: “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Josh 1:5). God had promised the land of Canaan to the Israelites with the underlying assurance that He would give them the strength to conquer it and also if needed, He would fight the battles for them.

So, when the five kings of Canaan joined forces to defeat the Israelites (Josh 10:1-5), it was evident that Joshua and the Israelites would need God’s help to win the battle. In keeping with His promise, God assures Joshua: "Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you" (Josh 10:8). God did indeed fight the battle for Joshua: "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 Horon, 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" (Josh 10:10-11).

We can see a greater monumental miracle in Josh 10:12-14 that is also referred in Job 9:7 and Habakkuk 3:11.  Joshua, moved by the Lord’s will, commanded the sun to delay (Heb., ‘be still, silent, leave off’).  The earth actually stopped revolving or, more likely, the sun moved in the same way to keep perfect pace with the battlefield. There are five things we can note from this miracle:

1. Something miraculous took place that day that enabled them to have a wonderful victory.
2. This miracle came about because of Joshua’s prayer.
3. This miracle had something to do with the sun and moon, with which only God could affect.
4. This victory had to do with an extended time to fight the enemy before they scattered back to their cities.
5. Truly God was fighting for Israel.

The main point is that God not only gave them a great victory, but the victory came about in such a manner that made a great impression on the Israelites and the enemies about them. “And there was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel” (Josh 10:14)

Remember, God will fight our battles too if we let Him! It is interesting to note that when Christ conquered our enemies upon the cross, the miracle that happened in connection with the sun was the reverse of what happened at Joshua’s time. It was then darkened, as if going down at noon. Christ did not need the light of the sun to complete His victory, so He made darkness His pavilion. Let us understand that without Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5b). He [Christ] who is in us is greater than he [Satan] who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Let us surrender completely to Him so that He can fight our battles for us!