Laying Siege to the Enemy Part 1

Review

Last month we began our series on “Preparing to leave the desert.” The only reason we would be preparing to leave the desert is if God were getting us ready to enter into the promised land, and that’s very good news. However, we also talked about what that would mean, and we discussed what that would entail for us as Believers.

We learned that while the promised land does indeed contain abundance.

Exodus 3:17 TLV

So I promise I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.’

In addition to that abundance however, it also contained giants.

Numbers 13:31–33 TLV

But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot attack these people, because they are stronger than we.” They spread among Bnei-Yisrael a bad report about the land they had explored, saying, “The land through which we passed to explore devours its residents. All the people we saw there are men of great size! We also saw there the Nephilim. (The sons of Anak are from the Nephilim.) We seemed like grasshoppers in our eyes as well as theirs!”

Leaving the Desert Means We Must be Ready to Fight

While it is true that bounty awaits in th e promised land, we must be ready to fight for the promises of God. This means we mus prepare ourselves for Spiritual warfare, and as we learned last week, there are a few things that we must do first. Such as, recognizing the season we are in, and knowing when we should fight and when we should restrain. But what seemed to catch people’s attention last time, was the specific battle strategy that God had commanded. I had originally intended to get to this a little later, but I realized that it really should go here, because the battle strategy is something we have to have a firm grasp of before we enter the promised land.

God’s Battle Strategy

Lead with Peace

Deuteronomy 20:10–11 TLV

“When you go near a city to fight against it, call out shalom to it. Now if it answers you shalom and opens up to you, then all the people found in it will serve you as forced laborers.

Just so we’re clear. When we speak of laying siege to a city for our purposes means facing any obstacle that presents itself in such a way as to deny us the promises of God. Whether that be the salvation of a loved one, the restoration of a relationship, the restoration of health, or the defeat of a system of evil. Whatever it is to which we are laying siege, we must approach it the same way - in peace.

Surely, you’ve read the story of the Gibeonites. After the children of Isra’el had defeated the city of Jericho, the Gibeonites feared so much that they came up with a ruse to deceive the Children of Isra’el into making peace with them, and sparing their city. They pretended to be from a far-away land, and they asked Joshua to sign a peace treaty with them. The bible says that Joshua did not inquire of the Lord, went ahead and signed the peace treaty and later discovered the deception. Isra’el was stuck with a peace deal that they honored. The funny thing is, according to the command of God, if the children of Isra’el would have come to the city and they had asked for peace, Isra’el would have had to honor it, so the deception was not necessary. This is where we pick up the story.

Joshua 10:1–2 TLV

Now it came to pass that Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it—just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king—and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and remained among them. So he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a large city, as one of the royal cities—in fact, larger than Ai—and all its men were mighty.

Here we see that this principle of why it is so important to lead with peace. In this case, it resulted in the strengthening of the stature of Isra’el. Church, as we go into the promised land, if we do so with an attitude of peace, we will win over some of those who were formerly against us and we will strengthen our had against the real enemy. Don’t hesitate to offer peace. In fact this should make perfect sense to you and I as believers in Jesus the Messiah. Consider these words of Jesus as recorded by Dr. Luke.

Luke 10:5–12 TLV

Whatever home you enter, first say, “Shalom be on this home.” If a son of shalom is there, your shalom will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. And remain in this same home, eating and drinking the things they offer, for the worker is deserving of his wage. Do not keep moving from house to house. “Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what they set before you. Then heal the sick in that town, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, then go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town sticking to our feet, we wipe off as a witness to you. But know this! The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.

There are two things I want to point out in this passage, the first is the one of which we have been speaking, that when we lead with peace, we will gain allies and they will help us in our battle. Second is this, when we lead in peace and we get rejected we move on to a different strategy, and that is, hand off.

Jesus is clear on this point. He says after we shake off the dust, or wife off our feet as a sign against them, that it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town. The implication of course, is that God will take care of that.

Leave it in God’s Hands

The disciples had been sent out to proclaim the kingdom of God. Jesus had empowered them to do miracles and had taught them what to say and commanded them to minister to the people, but if they did not accept the teaching that was brought in peace, they were to leave it in God’s hands. Then Jesus reminded them about the nature of God by mentioning Sodom. Let’s look at that story to see what we can glean.

Genesis 18:16–21 TLV

Then the men got up from there and looked down over Sodom. Abraham was walking with them to send them off, when Adonai said, “Should I keep secret from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will most certainly become a great and mighty nation and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have made myself known to him so that he will command his sons and his household after him to keep the way of Adonai by doing righteousness and justice, so that Adonai may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.” Then Adonai said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great indeed, and their sin is very grievous indeed. I want to go down now, and see if they deserve destruction, as its outcry has come to Me. And if not, I will know.”

We all know how that story ends. Abraham appeals to God on Lot’s behalf, demonstrating that even when great sin is present, God’s first inclination is toward making peace. Ultimately, Abraham had to leave Lot’s fate in God’s hands, and in the end it is God who made the final judgement. So it is with our loved ones. It is our responsibility to lead with peace, it is our responsibility to plead with God on their behalf, it is God’s job to deliver them from the destruction that surely awaits them if they remain in their sin.

Now, in the promised land, God is calling us to do the same as Abraham. When we come to a city of wickedness, we are to look for at least one “son of peace” as Jesus said in Luke. If there is, then the peace of God will come upon that city. Again that’s not your doing or my doing, it’s God’s doing. We take all our cues from God. If we are unable to find a son of peace, then we are to take a step back and shake the dust off our feet. What does that mean? That means we have nothing to do with them. That means we realize that it is futile to argue with them. So what does this look like?

Let’s say that our hypothetical city that we are attacking is the abortion clinic in our community (granted, this is not currently an issue in Arizona, but i digress). Let’s say a bunch of Christians are praying there with their signs and they are attempting to minister to the women as they enter the building. Scripture is clearly saying that we should come in peace. But what we often see is these protesters getting loud and obnoxious. We see them harassing and attempting to shame the women that are going in there. They justify it by saying they are saving the babies. They get into shouting matches with the staff of the abortion clinic. Would you consider that leading with peace? Neither would I. And the words of Christ tell us that this is not how we are to handle it. If we were to behave according to scripture, we would stand at the entrance, we would have our signs and we would gently offer to speak to the women going in. If they listened and we were able to lovingly offer them an alternative and save their children, then we would be ministering according to the words of Christ, if we however become confrontational and argumentative, we are not. So often we see believers arguing with the staff at these clinics. Church we need to learn to shake our feet as a sign against them and allow God to do what He wants to do. We need to leave it in His hands.

Laying Siege to the City

Once we have offered peace and it has been rejected, this is not the end. Let’s apply this now, not to an abortion clinic but to the salvation of a loved one. Perhaps you’ve tried to share the Gospel, and they’ve rejected it. Then according to scripture we are to step back - not try to argue them or coax them into the kingdom. Instead we are to step back and leave them in God’s hands, but does that mean we do nothing? Not at all!

Let’s look to the very first battle that the children of Isra’el engaged in after entering the promised land.

Gather Intelligence

Joshua 2:1 TLV

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out two spies from Shittim saying: “Go, explore the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and came to the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.

Without going into full detail of the story of Rahab, I want to point out here that the first order of business was to reconnoiter the enemy. If we are talking about a loved one, we find out where they are in relation to the Gospel. Are the open it to it? Are they in a place in their life where they’re receptive? Or are they hostile to it? Find out if there are any friends of theirs who are believers who may offer an entrance into their lives (like Rahab). This will help you to understand what you’re facing.

Follow God’s Lead

Where do we go from here? Well whatever we do, we need to wait for a word from God as to when it is right to proceed.

Joshua 3:1–3 TLV

Then Joshua rose up early in the morning, and he and all Bnei-Yisrael set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan. They lodged there before crossing over. Now it came about after three days that the officials went through the camp and they charged the people saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of Adonai your God and the Levitical kohanim carrying it, then you must set out from your place and follow it.

The children of Isra’el were to follow the ark. Let me ask you what three things were in the ark. Do you remember?

The tablets upon which the ten words were written.

A jar of Manna

The rod of Aaron that had budded.

The three things that are contained within the ark represent the things that we need to keep our eyes on when getting ready to siege the city.

The word of God in our heart

When we are going to battle it’s important to have the word of God in our heart because it is not only an offensive weapon.

Ephesians 6:17 TLV

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

and

Hebrews 4:12 TLV

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword—piercing right through to a separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

but it helps us keep a right relationship with God.

Psalm 119:11 TLV

I have treasured Your word in my heart, so I might not sin against You.

How important do you think it is to keep that relationship with God straight when going into battle? Is it any wonder then, that God would command that the ark of God would go before them into battle? Is it any wonder that God would be commanding them to keep an eye on His word?

A Remembrance of God’s Provision in our Lives.

But the word of God was not the only thing that was in the ark, the Manna represented the supernatural provision of God. It was there to remind the children of Isra’el of God’s faithfulness to them in times past. Whenever we go to battle against the enemy, it behooves us to be reminded of God’s goodness in our lives.

Psalm 77:12–16 TLV

I will remember the deeds of Adonai. Yes, I will muse about Your wonders of old. I will meditate also on all Your work and consider Your deeds.” O God, Your way is holy. What god is great like God? You are the God who works wonders. You have made Your power known among the peoples. With your arm You redeemed Your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

When we remember the mighty works of God, our current circumstances don’t compare. We must always keep His provision before us. Finally, we are to look to the budding rod of Aaron.

Obey the Authority of God

The budding rod of Aaron represents the very authority of God. Remember, the story of the budding Rod was that when Moses’ authority was challenged in the desert, God showed who was the authority by causing Aaron’s rod to bud.

One of the critical things that every soldier learns right from the very beginning in boot camp is to obey. It is a life or death proposition. A soldier’s job is to obey without asking questions. You see, on the battlefield there is no time for explanations. People that are able to see the “big picture” are in a much better position to direct the troops. It is up to the individual troops to carry out the commands given.

Matthew 28:16–20 TLV

Now the eleven disciples went to the Galilee, to the mountain Yeshua had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped; but some wavered. And Yeshua came up to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And remember! I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

When we are obedient to God’s authority God will be near to us.

Putting it All Together

Up to this point we’ve learned that God has a two part battle strategy for laying siege to the city. The first part is to lead with peace, but if the enemy refuses that peace, then we are to move to the second part of God’s strategy, and that is to step back, shake the dust off our feet and let God go to work. But that doesn’t mean our task is done. Now begins the process of taking the city and that starts with.

Gathering Intelligence

Remembering the Word of God.

Obeying the Authority of God.

The three articles in the ark of the covenant were to go before the children of Isra’el when they entered into battle, and so they must go before us when we enter into battle.

Next week we will continue to look at the first battle of the Promised Land, and see how it applies to how we fight our battles in the promised land to which God is bringing us.

Let us pray.