Fight or Fade
When a Christian enters into a new relationship with God, they enter into a fight for their lives. For some reason, we don't focus on this enough. We tend to want Godly living to involve as little confrontation and effort as possible. God spells out for us here in Numbers 33 that no such experience awaits the person who follows Him.
With Israel on border of the land, God reaffirms His instructions to Moses concerning what awaits the people on the other side of the Jordan. It is not peace and tranquility at first, it is war and fighting and effort first. The peace comes later.
Numbers 33:51–52 (ESV) “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.
Look at this command. These are ornate altars and high places the people are going to have to tear down. They are going to have to do this on top of the warfare they will partake in to drive out the inhabitants. New life in God comes with great striving and effort. I think of what Paul says about the Spiritual fight we awake to every day.
Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
When Paul passes through again the church plants he started, he reminds them that coming to Christ is only the beginning. There must be fighting and waring against the flesh, world and devil constantly.
Acts 14:21–23 (ESV) When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
With Israel on border of the land, God reaffirms His instructions to Moses concerning what awaits the people on the other side of the Jordan. It is not peace and tranquility at first, it is war and fighting and effort first. The peace comes later.
Numbers 33:51–52 (ESV) “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.
Look at this command. These are ornate altars and high places the people are going to have to tear down. They are going to have to do this on top of the warfare they will partake in to drive out the inhabitants. New life in God comes with great striving and effort. I think of what Paul says about the Spiritual fight we awake to every day.
Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
When Paul passes through again the church plants he started, he reminds them that coming to Christ is only the beginning. There must be fighting and waring against the flesh, world and devil constantly.
Acts 14:21–23 (ESV) When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Christianity calls us into a conflict. We enter not with a desire for ease and tranquility. We enter with a plan to take on the spiritual darkness under which this world is held captive. Many Christians come out of Egypt well enough, few fight for true freedom and joy over the long term.
Moses continues:
Numbers 33:55 (ESV) But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.
Israel has no offer of a compromised position in the land. They cannot only go 50% in and tear down a few idols or cast out a few people groups. They must go ALL IN. The only two choices are: fighting for total peace in God or being cast out of the land.
The Christian must realize, there is no neutrality of life fur us either. Once you are saved, you either fight for your peace or struggle and suffer. There is no in between. Keep fighting or start to fade.
All this being said. We have something the Israelites did not experience. They did not have the fulness of the Holy Spirt in them like we do today. You see Christ makes it possible for you to fight for an inevitable victory because your sins are washed away and God is able to empower you along the way completely. I love the assurances of scripture scattered throughout the New Testament for God's New Covenant people. Yes we fight. But we fight with the Name of the Lord and the power of His Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (ESV) Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 24–25 (ESV) Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
We are called into the fight. But we are never alone in it. Our great savior has thoroughly disarmed our enemies. Defeat them and drive them out in Jesus' Name!
Amen.
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