159. Destroy the Evil Enemies
Deuteronomy 31:3, 4 The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said. And the Lord shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.
This is not a pretty sight, and the Book of Joshua is not a pretty sight. Destroying enemies is not a pretty sight. Spiritual Warfare is not a pretty sight. But Sin, Death, and the Devil are not pretty; they must be destroyed. God promises to do it. We can read the actual history of Moses, Joshua and the Children of Israel going into the Promised Land and see how God, though them, destroys the enemy nations.
This is the spiritual promise for us. The Lord Jesus goes before us into the hearts of people, where the Land (Kingdom) is, destroys the Enemies of the heart, takes it back and gives it to the believers in Christ. We must see and believe the spiritual promises involved in the physical history: God will destroy! The battleground, and the prize of the battle, is the Kingdom of the Heart, the place of God’s Rule, which the Enemy has usurped by subtlety and lies. Now Joshua (Jesus) is taking back the Reign of God in the hearts of His people by destroying the Enemy with Love and Truth. “Grace and Truth has come through Jesus Christ, and we beheld His glory.”
“These things were written for our learning.” The OT history of God’s people is inspired by the Spirit and written down for ourlearning and edification. We are to take comfort and courage in the spiritual promises contained therein. Sin is serious. Death is terrible. Satan is worthy only of destruction. Jesus has overcome every enemy of the soul to give us the Kingdom and possess the Land. We, in Christ, have overcome. Salvation and Victory belongs to God, and He gives it to us. Spiritual Warfare is serious business, and we take it seriously. There is no tolerance for Sin, no joking around about Death and Hell, and no playing with the Devil. They do not joke or play around nor tolerate anything good. The battle is bruising and bloody and eternal souls are at stake. But we rest in the violent resurrection, which has destroyed the enemies of the kingdom ruling in the soul of the believer. We destroy by complete repentance and simple faith. The weapons are in the mouth and the heart. Destruction is a beautiful promise. Embrace it. Our God is a consuming fire; He will surely judge all the evil that tries to destroy us, so that He can save the sinner. God knows how to hate the sin and love the sinner. Wield the weapon and let the fire burn.