Joshua 11:4-6 "And they went out, they
and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the
sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. (5) And
when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the
waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. (6) And the LORD said
unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will
I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and
burn their chariots with fire."
One of the kings in the north called to all the other nations in the north to combine together when he had heard of what had happened in the south. He felt that if they banded together, there would be sufficient force to squelch this invading nation called Israel. They came together and camped on top of a hill where Israel had to look up. As Israel looked up, they saw this host of enemy that was innumerable. It would be enough to intimidate anyone, right? As the enemy gathered, the Lord did not even wait for Joshua to cry out. He immediately said, "Be not afraid because of them. I will deliver them up all slain before Israel."
Let me stop just now to remind each of us that the book of Joshua and the land of Canaan is teaching us about kingdom living. The land of Canaan does not represent the eternal heaven, for as we have seen in about every chapter so far, battles have been fought. I say there will be no battles in heaven. NONE! But as we seek to live in the kingdom of God (kingdom of heaven), there are many battles to be fought as Satan would try to rob us of the blessings of walking with our Lord in His kingdom on the earth.
One of the big mistakes is to think life will be easy after we have won one battle. As we see in today's text, Satan does not give up easily. We must constantly be on guard against the wiles of Satan. He will seek to intimidate us. He will come at us on every side, using every tactic that he has in his book. We must always remember, even when it seems the enemy has the upper hand and is perched over us, ready to strike, our God is greater than anything that could be thrown against us.
What is the kingdom of heaven? Is it a geographical location? Is there a king in this kingdom? Paul tells us in the 14th chapter of Romans that the kingdom of heaven does not consist of those material things we possess; rather, the kingdom of heaven is righteousness (doing the right thing as God leads), peace (experiencing the presence of the Lord), and joy. Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is within us. It is that overwhelming sense of knowing we are walking in fellowship with our Lord. The king of the kingdom is indeed the very KING of kings and LORD of lords, Jesus Christ. He tells us, "Be not afraid because of them." We are to trust Him as He leads us in our daily walk.
One of the kings in the north called to all the other nations in the north to combine together when he had heard of what had happened in the south. He felt that if they banded together, there would be sufficient force to squelch this invading nation called Israel. They came together and camped on top of a hill where Israel had to look up. As Israel looked up, they saw this host of enemy that was innumerable. It would be enough to intimidate anyone, right? As the enemy gathered, the Lord did not even wait for Joshua to cry out. He immediately said, "Be not afraid because of them. I will deliver them up all slain before Israel."
Let me stop just now to remind each of us that the book of Joshua and the land of Canaan is teaching us about kingdom living. The land of Canaan does not represent the eternal heaven, for as we have seen in about every chapter so far, battles have been fought. I say there will be no battles in heaven. NONE! But as we seek to live in the kingdom of God (kingdom of heaven), there are many battles to be fought as Satan would try to rob us of the blessings of walking with our Lord in His kingdom on the earth.
One of the big mistakes is to think life will be easy after we have won one battle. As we see in today's text, Satan does not give up easily. We must constantly be on guard against the wiles of Satan. He will seek to intimidate us. He will come at us on every side, using every tactic that he has in his book. We must always remember, even when it seems the enemy has the upper hand and is perched over us, ready to strike, our God is greater than anything that could be thrown against us.
What is the kingdom of heaven? Is it a geographical location? Is there a king in this kingdom? Paul tells us in the 14th chapter of Romans that the kingdom of heaven does not consist of those material things we possess; rather, the kingdom of heaven is righteousness (doing the right thing as God leads), peace (experiencing the presence of the Lord), and joy. Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is within us. It is that overwhelming sense of knowing we are walking in fellowship with our Lord. The king of the kingdom is indeed the very KING of kings and LORD of lords, Jesus Christ. He tells us, "Be not afraid because of them." We are to trust Him as He leads us in our daily walk.