One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. Joshua 23:10
God was with His people in the battles He approved of, and they were victorious because the Lord fought for them.
Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” 1Samuel 15:3
In the above story, the Lord commanded Saul to kill and destroy everything that belonged to the Amalekites. He did not want any trace of this enemy left behind to prevent them from becoming stronger over time and fighting the Israelites in the future. The fighting in the Old Testament was often sanctioned by God, and it was relentless and furious in dealing with the enemies.
But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Exodus 21:23-25
Retaliation is another area that was permitted in the Old Testament. The Israelites were allowed to fight not only as a nation but also as individuals, retaliating for wrongs done to them.
All of the above scriptures portray a natural battle against enemies. As long as Israel walked with God, He defended them, and they were victorious in their battles. At other times, when they weren’t following Him, God would not respond, and they would lose a battle.
After Jesus entered the world, everything including our fighting changed. He was not a man who fought physically. He did not hurt or injure anyone physically or verbally. At times, He rebuked people, but it was never to humiliate them or try to overpower them. Some could use his statements made to Peter as a license to be harsh, but when you look at the totality of Jesus’ life, He was gentle, humble, and very sacrificial.
If you are a fighter by nature, you could easily use the Old Testament examples to support your fighting inclinations. However, we have a paradigm shift in the New Testament when it comes to fighting. This is difficult and costly for a natural fighter, but you cannot fight like you used to.
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.