To Encourage You

Numbers 10:35 “And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, ‘Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.’”

Have you ever thought much about what the ark of the covenant that rested within the holy of holies of the tabernacle represented?  It was a box made of wood and overlaid with gold that contained three things: the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, a golden bowl filled with manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded (Hebrews 9:1-5).  Over this box was a covering called “the mercy seat” which was sprinkled with blood. It was constructed of gold and was one piece with two cherubim formed above it that looked down on the mercy seat.

Well, as with everything else within the tabernacle, the ark pointed to Christ.  It is only in Christ that the Law was ever kept. It is only in Him that all of our needs are met, as represented by the manna. And it is only in Christ that new life, the resurrected life, as represented by Aaron’s rod that budded, is possible. And all of this is only possible for us because of the mercy seat, i.e., God’s mercy poured out on us through the shed blood of the Lamb of God on the cross.  It’s the gospel message, an awesome thing “into which angels long to look” (1 Peter 1:12).

This precious and holy ark, representing our precious and holy Savior, was carried by the Levites through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. It went before the nation of Israel, the people of God, wherever they went.  It was the focal point.  In following the ark, Israel found guidance, protection, and victory over their enemies.  What a picture of the walk of every believer in this world that is not our home.  Like Israel, where every step was into a land that was not their own, but which was filled with enemies, so we do the same. 

So who are our enemies?  They are the very same enemies as the enemies of Christ Himself.  But beyond the flesh and blood enemies of Jesus, people like the Pharisees, Judas, and the Roman government, the underlying motivator and controller of all these enemies was the one who Jesus called the father of the enemies of God, i.e., the devil (John 8:44).  Jesus’ message to us is that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. “ (Ephesians 6:12).  In other words, it is not really people that are at the heart of warfare against Jesus and His followers, but the enemy of their souls, the devil. In fact, the Bible tells us that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).  Whether they know it or not, everyone who is not a follower of Christ has been “captured by (the devil) to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26).  That’s why Jesus would pray from the cross, “Father, forgive them (the people) for they know not what they do.”  That’s why Paul called Timothy to be a “good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3), for as an ambassador of Christ, Jesus had sent him, just as He has sent each of us, into this world that has been blinded by the deception of the devil to expose his lies by shining the light of the glory of the gospel.  But it’s a warfare. Just as Israel was opposed by flesh and blood enemies in their wilderness wanderings, so we are opposed every step of the way by spiritual enemies.

So how do we fight this war?  How do we “resist the devil (so) he will flee from us” (James 4:7)?  We do it with the spiritual weapons God has provided us, all of them rooted and grounded in our relationship with our Savior, the very ark of God. This spiritual armor is described in Ephesians 6 as “the belt of truth, . . . the breastplate of righteousness, . . . shoes (of the) readiness given by the gospel of peace, . . . the shield of faith, . . .  the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” And, like Moses, each step of our walk in this world we are to be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:18).  It is in these ways that we walk the fine line of “loving our enemies” in flesh and blood but seeking the help of almighty God to destroy the work of the devil in their lives.  

This walk is beautifully described, again in Paul’s instruction to his protégé, Timothy, in these words: “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:22-26). 

So, are you engaged in this battle?  As Moses called on God to “Arise, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you,” are you loving people, yet warring against the real enemy of their souls with the weapons God has provided. Are you “submitting yourselves to God” and are you “resisting the devil” by following the righteous and mighty “Commander of the Lord’s army” (Joshua 5:15) into the battle so that the very hosts of hell ”will flee from you” (James 4:7)?  If not, you should be, for that’s to what God has called you and me.  It’s a very high calling to which the Lord has called all those who would follow him, for “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).