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I'm sure that some of the tribes of Israel starting scratching their heads when the military victories of the Joshua era began to be but a distant memory. For the most part nothing could stop the Israelite military machine, powered by God's Spirit. But after Joshua's death things changed, and pretty quickly.
After some initial successes tribe after tribe found they could not root out the Canaanites from their territory. Were they just poor fighters? Were the Canaanites just too tough? Actually it didn't have anything to do with the Canaanites, but with Israel. Right off there was the first big problem - after Judah in chapter 1, none of the tribes inquire of the Lord. Then in Judges Chapter 2 the Angel of the Lord tells them the two things they were to do: 1) make no treaties and 2) break down the altars of their enemies. They did neither. Manasseh (27) - "did not drive them out" "put to forced labor" Ephraim (29) - "did not drive out" "Canaanites lived in Gezar among them" Zebulun (30) - "did not drive out" "subject to forced labor" Asher (31) "did not drive out" Naphtali (33) "did not drive out" "lived among them" "forced labor" Dan (34) "Amorites pressed the people" "persisted in dwelling" "forced labor" I don't want to spiritualize this too much, but there is a parallel here to our battle against the flesh and the world system owned by the enemy that wants to rule our lives and doesn't want to abandon the territory that once belonged to them. When we come to faith in Christ the Bible tells us that "old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17). And yet the "passing away" part seems to be incremental, not instantaneous. Romans 7:18-20 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ESV So God has embarked in us a process He calls "remodeling." It involves "transforming" (our minds), and "burning" the dross (crud) off through trials, among other things. In that process, though, there are times when something sticks. Like a stubborn stain on a garment, we can't seem to find the right solvent to get rid of a part of that old nature that doesn't want to be cleaned away! When we face problems in our lives that we just can't be free of, though we've prayed for forgiveness over and over - perhaps there is an enemy stronghold in our life that we have not attacked - not in terms of out and out warfare, but in terms of breaking down altars. As I say this, there is also a type of enemy stronghold that involves a literal demonic stronghold - this is beyond the scope of what we will talk about in this study but is a reality. We looked at this verse from 2 Corinthians on Sunday: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, ESV When we are not successful in overcoming bad habits or sins we often think in terms of fighting an enemy with drawn swords (or pitchforks). But if you look carefully at this verse the "strongholds" that Paul talks about are actually "arguments" and "opinion(s)" that go contrary to the "knowledge of God". So when we examine our lives we need to look for attitudes and values that run counter to knowing God or having Him king in our lives. I think a key might be for us to see if we have made the same mistake as the Israelites did - making treaties and not breaking down altars. Making a treaty means they agreed to allow the presence of the enemy as long as that enemy did what they were told. That only lasts so long. If you make someone a slave they are going to search and search until they find a way to gain their freedom again. Even if it appears they are doing good for you, they are really still your enemy. The presence of enemy altars means that a reminder of something that claims allegiance to someone other than Yahweh is allowed to remain. That meant for Israel that as they strode down the road the would see an altar to Baal standing there, and perhaps, some of the Canaanites still sacrificing and worshipping at that altar. It would be a constant reminder to them and an enticement to them. It would be a pressure, always there, always something to fight. And like an alcoholic living above a bar, it would become more and more difficult to resist the temptation to fall off the wagon. How about Us? Altars When we lack God's revulsion for anything that doesn't reflect His character. Example: the Rich Young Ruler who loved God but didn't have God's revulsion for the love of money. (Luke 18) What are altars in our lives? (Galatians 5:19-21) Sensuality (physical pleasure as a god) Idolatry (replacing God) Drug use (mind altering as a god) Jealously (not being satisfied with what God wants for you) Anger & violence (Not being satisfied with how God does things) Dissensions (see "anger" without the anger) Gossip (busying yourself with someone else's salvation) This but a partial list. Our problem is that we are surrounded by a culture that demands we feel okay about practically anything anybody dares to do. It's hard to feel revolted by abortion or sexual immorality when living in our culture. We would do well to spend time in God's Word to discover what makes God sick. Remember that "No one is good but God" Luke 18. And: "our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64). Enemies in the land When we try to tame the flesh instead of destroying it Example: The Pharisees who tried to use man's means to accomplish God's ways - making myself holy through my own means. What parts of the flesh are we trying to tame? It's along the same lines as the list of altars - what we say, what we think, what we do. When we decide "I'm going to change that" then we are setting ourselves up for failure. If instead we prayed "Lord, please change this" we are asking to operate in the strength of the Spirit, not the arm of the flesh. It also happens when we try co-op the world's methods for use in the kingdom of God. Now I'm might step on some toes here, but for instance, when we use Madison Avenue advertising gimmicks and slight of hand as our primary means of communicating the gospel we are taming the enemy, not killing it. When we bully people into submission using anger and intimidation in order to get more things done - we are using ungodly methods to achieve godly ends. At first it seems like genuine concern for another brother or sister that is experiencing problems. But when we employ gossip, character assassination and innuendo to move up in church leadership we are experiencing the flesh attempting to break out of the slavery and re-establish its freedom to act. Here's another example: "coarse jesting." When I was a freshman at UCLA our group of Christians got to ribbing each other pretty severely. People's feelings were being hurt and at one point I happened to read Ephesians 5:4 which specifically names "coarse jesting" or "crude joking" as something that does not reflect the character of Jesus. So I repented. Telling a joke is fine - Jesus Himself has a sense of humor, but it's the crudeness part that is of the flesh. The goal is to think like Jesus and then we'll speak and act like Him. What to do about it? 1. Inquire of the Lord (ask for revelation, direction and revulsion) 2. Take it one at a time (they went from one city to another) 3. Ask for help (Simeon and Judah worked together) 4. Be diligent and complete |
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