'Fear Not Neither Be Dismayed For the Lord Your God Is With You'
"Jehovah-nissee", The Lord Is My Banner
*Isaiah 59:19, "So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him."
It has been said that one picture can paint a thousand words but, oh, the picture we can paint with a thousand words. Brilliant descriptions and vibrant words can paint vivid pictures in our mind's eye. One word can contain a volume of memories that will flicker through our mind in a matter of seconds.
On the wings of a whisper past feelings and emotions long forgotten can virtually sweep over our soul. Whispers can bring feelings of passion or pain and emotions of joy or sorrow. Whispers can be breezes of peace transporting us to a quiet place of serenity or sharp arrows of fear backing us into a corner.
A whisper can be both audible or simply a thought that has entered your mind. Whispers that can give you a sense of security or a strong feeling of fear. Fear is not of God. The word of God tells us that God has not given us the spirit of fear again but of power, love, and a sound mind, *II Timothy 1:7. You can have the power to overcome fear through the power of God.
Before Israel ever reached the land of promise word had been spread throughout the whole territory that a strange God had come up against them and with him a mighty army. They had already heard what had been done in the land of Ammon and what God had done to the Amorites. Sharp words that brought fear to the nations who dwelled in the land.
After the death of Moses God chose Joshua, the minister of Moses, to lead the children of Israel into the land of promise. Having placed the Spirit of wisdom upon him, God now instructed Joshua to obey His commandments and He would be with him as He was with Moses. God further instructed Joshua that where so ever he would walk the land had been given into his hand to take according to the promises He had made to his fathers. "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest," *Joshua 1:9.
*Joshua 5:9-12, "And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year."
For forty years the children of Israel had wandered in the wilderness. Now they were faced with the seemingly impregnable wall of Jericho. As Joshua looked out over the country near Jericho he saw a man standing on the hill with his sword drawn. Joshua approached him and asked him if he were for them or their enemies. The man exclaimed, "No, but as the captain of the Lord of Hosts am I here. Remove your shoes from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
God instructed Joshua to take the people and march around the city of Jericho for six days and on the seventh day march around the city seven times. For six days they tirelessly marched around the city following the ark of the covenant with the praisers going before them. Now it was the morning of the seventh day. Seven times they marched around the city. With a blast of the trumpet and a great shout the wall of Jericho fell down flat and the whole host of Israel walked over the wall and destroyed the people of the city.
From Jericho they went on to possess all the land that God had promised Abraham. But they did not do as God commanded them. They did not totally cleanse the land of its inhabitants and allowed them to remain. God had warned the sons of Israel that the people of those nations would become a snare to them and their children.
The people that God had called out of Egypt broke the covenant they had made with Him. They chose to worship and serve the gods of the nations He had rejected. The people of those nations stopped fearing Israel's God and, adding to their shame, the name Jew became a slur and byword to everyone who came against them.
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Fourteen hundred years later the land of Israel stood on the brink of another battle. The man called Jesus, who some believed was their Messiah, laid sealed in a tomb. He had been tried as a blasphemer and traitor during the Jew's Passover. For His crimes He had been nailed to a cross between two thieves, where He died. Fearing that His followers would try to steal His body the Jew's High Priest, Caiaphas, had His tomb sealed and Roman guards placed outside of it.
All the while another battle was raging deep within the bowels of the earth. Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God, stormed the gates of hell taking the keys of hell and death setting the captives free.
On the third day after His death, very early in the morning, there was a great earthquake as the bars of hell were broken. Jesus stepped forth from that tomb having defeated the serpent of old, called Satan and the devil. He ascended into heaven where He lead captivity captive and presented them before their Father in heaven.
On that day He appeared in the garden as the captain of the Lord of Hosts. He has ascended into heaven and all things have been put under His feet. Because He has ascended into heaven the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter has come to abide with us.
Joshua realized that the weapons of his warfare were weak compared to what the right arm of an Almighty God was able to do. His first line of defense was not a large sword but a shout and a praise and the Hand of God moving mightily on his behalf. He stood in the power of his might and the word of his testimony. He spoke to the people of Israel, "Choose you this day who you will serve. As for me and my house we shall serve the Lord."
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but they are mighty in the Spirit to the pulling down of strongholds. We who were once weak are now able to stand against all the fiery darts or words of the wicked. At the name of Jesus every demon in hell has to flee. Two will fall at our right hand and a thousand shall be put to flight at just one word, the name of Jesus.
We have an Almighty God Who desires to be your first line of defense. His word tells us that He will never leave us nor forsake us even until the ends of the earth. He is there and ever faithful and His banner over us is love.
Choose you this day who you will serve. Enter His covenant of promise. In His everlasting arms you will find shelter from all the wars that may be raging against you. He is truly our shield and our exceedingly great reward.
P Israel had followed a course that had been planned by God. He had chosen them out of the nations of the world to receive His covenant promises. He had led them to the land that He had promised to Abraham and his seed forever. He had provided for their every need and defeated all their enemies. But Israel was not content with His leadership. They wanted a king to rule over them. A king like the other nations.
*March 4, 2006