Word of Encouragement (01/30/2024)
He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness made me great. 37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip; 38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and did not turn back until they were consumed. 39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet. 40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me. 41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, those who hated me, and I destroyed them. 42 They looked, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them. 43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth; I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets. (2 Sam. 22:35-43)
In vv. 40-41, David praises God for destroying his enemies. Notice how God frustrates the actions of his enemies. The enemies rise against David; God sinks them—brings them low or thrusts them down—under David. In attacking, the enemies obviously come forward against David, wanting to see him turn his back and run from them; God makes them turn their backs to David and run for their lives. As you can see, God causes their schemes to backfire and produce the very opposite effect of what they hoped to accomplish, thereby showing the futility of their attempts. God is not only all-powerful, but He is also all-wise. He can outwit the most carefully contrived strategies of the greatest tactician. It is madly frustrating to oppose the God of wisdom and might.
We have countless examples of this, don’t we?
· The people of the world had one language, and they came to Shinar and said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:4). What happened to their plan? “[T]here the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth” (Gen. 11:9).
· Pharaoh tried to kill all the male children of the Hebrews (Ex. 1:16) but “the people [of Israel] multiplied and grew very strong” (Ex. 1:20).
· Saul tried to kill David on numerous occasions, but God not only preserved David’s life but also gave Saul into David’s hand so that, if David wanted to, he could have ended Saul’s life.
· Nebuchadnezzar (as an incarnation of the Satanic spirit) said, “I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isa. 14:13-14). But God’s response? “But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit” (Isa. 14:15).
· How about Satan’s attempt to destroy humanity by tempting Eve? God established the covenant of grace not only to destroy him but also to provide a Savior to redeem the fallen humanity (Gen. 3:15) and, through redemption, raise His elect people to a higher status of being God’s beloved children!
If God is our Defender, how secure we are! No matter what the enemies intend to do, God will not fail to frustrate their plans and judge them. They will be so debilitated that all we need to do is just finish them off: “…those who hated me, and I destroyed them.” The Battle of Jericho is a dramatic example of this, isn’t it? God brought down the walls of Jericho; all that the Israelites had to do was destroy the inhabitants of that once invincible city. And that is a picture of the spiritual battle we fight. Christ has defeated sin and bound Satan (Rev. 20:3). The victory is already ours. Instead of feeling defeated, we should destroy the already defeated enemies of ours. May we live as more than conquerors in Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:37)!