You shall cling to the Lord your God as you have done this day. For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand against you. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as He promised you. Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations....Know for certain the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good ground that the Lord your God has given you. (Joshua 23:8-13)
The above verses are the explanation of many of our failures as Christians. The land has been given. The power has been given to take it, but somewhere along the line we have turned back, come up short, and failed to go in.
I once knew a Christian who would say of their failure to overcome certain sins, " God is good, but I am weak." I would say to them, "Are you so weak then that God has met His match?"
The Lord never leaves us without a test. The Canaanites were no joke. They were a prosperous, cultured people for their day. And they also had Chariots of Iron that the Israelites feared (Joshua 17:16-18). They also had things that the Israelites must have lusted after, been enticed by, and dragged away. One commentary says this about them: What was it about the Canaanite religion and culture that proved to be such irresistible attraction? The land of Canaan was awe inspiring to the Israelites, as can be seen in the story of the spies who reported its wealth and strength (Numbers 13) To a recently freed slave people, accustomed to the hardships of life in the wilderness, the cosmopolitanism and material wealth of Late-Bronze-Age Canaan, could not have failed to impress {End Quote}.
The end result of all of this was the Israelites for all their initial success went no further. The way became too difficult for them, the foe too formidable, and the ease of just mixing in and enjoying some of the fruits of Canaan too tempting. And so this was the beginning of the end for them. By the end of Judges the whole thing has fallen apart. It is a picture of utter defeat, chaos and impotence. The snare of the above versus had sprung. The Thorns had become gaping wounds, and the whip on their sides had beaten them down. They had become a trapped beaten people, wondering where it all went, and why it did so.
This path is repeated again and again amongst His people, and it is repeated over and over until this very day. It is therefore worth repeating the steps again. (1) A directive by God is given us. (2) We see it is going to take utter obedience to God to the nth degree to carry it out. (3) We are then perplexed and amazed when the battle ensues and the difficulty begins. We are simultaneously bewildered by our foe and entranced by its enticements (4) We then begin to doubt and question God's ability to do it, our strength to carry it out, and if God is with us after all. (5) We wonder things like why He doesn't just perform miracles, snap His fingers and make the whole thing go away and make it easy for us? (6) The tests God gives us then begins to baffle us. The way becomes too narrow. The Difficulty too strong. And the Path to Long. (7) And finally it just becomes easier for us to pat ourselves on the back. Enjoy the distance we have come. Say, "Oh well we tried. We did our part after all but....." Stay put. Stay where we are. Begin mixing in, Enjoying some of the fruits and experiences of Canaan around us. And then convince ourselves, "Hey we are probably in the right place anyway." Or (8) Become so convinced that we are so weak, and our situation is so unique, that it leads to our utter despair, our belief God is for everyone except us, and our utter break down to believe Him for our life at all.
What is the answer then? What should we do when the Iron Chariots Come, and the riches of Canaan entice? What should we do when it just seems easier to give in and give up?
The answer is so simple it is infuriating to one who believes he has "tried." The answer is to take God at His word, burn all your bridges back to Canaan as a means of escape, Pick up your cross and go on. I once heavily smoked and had many other addictions when I came to the Lord. My life was an absolute mess. With some of these I tried and failed early on just like many other Christians. I prayed furiously and asked for prayer even more furiously to no avail. The secret to overcoming my failures I learned was this. When you finally mean business with the Lord, the Lord will mean business with you.
One day I saw it all and and saw what I needed to do. I knew the Lord was not going to just flash bang every problem away. He was going to make me go out onto the plains and face the iron chariots. My honor and integrity depended upon Him. With One, He would defeat a thousand, as the verse says. But it was going to take the one who was willing to go out and stand against the thousand. The cigarettes and all the other addictions, fornication, booze, gambling etc. had to be put down. No half empty pack stored away somewhere, "Just in case". No, the utter and absolute decision was going to have to be made. The ships were going to have to be burned leaving no escape from the island I had left myself on. The whole thing was going to have to be put in God's hands, leaving myself no plan B.
When I put these things on the altar for good and He saw I meant it fire did come down and take that offering. It wasn't the fire of Elijah, but it was the miraculous fire of faith working in obedience. It wasn't easy. Chariots of Iron never are. But it was miraculous. Day by day the grace was given me to get though, until one day I came out of the forest on the other side into a great field of light, the sound of trumpets, and the shout of victory. The Lord had prevailed. The Iron Chariots had been defeated. One had stood against a thousand and prevailed in His Lord. The riches of Canaan and all its power were no more.
But if this message just stopped there it would stop well short of where it needs to land. As wonderful and miraculous as these embarrassing, heinous ,dirtier sins are to be delivered from, you learn the longer you walk with the Lord, they are just the tip of the ice-berg the depths the Lord intends and needs to go.
In a large part it is we His people, Christianity as a whole, that has stopped well short of where we needed to be. We have not gone in. We have not taken the land God so desired us to have. Christ is that land, and we are His people. The riches of Him await. The chariots of Canaan and the lust of the land thereof stand in our way. He is looking for a people in this day who's hearts burn within them. Who sees what He is really after. Who are willing to burn the ships of Canaan, step out onto the plains and face the thousand. Whatever it costs, whatever it takes to go onward for the Lord to prevail.
For those who do they will see the chariots fall, the land taken, and the light of Christ in a brand new day. For those who stay put they will see further decline, disintegration, chaos, the trap sprung, the thorns sharpened, cultures blended in until you can't tell them apart, the whips pulled out, His people beaten down. It is happening now. It has been happening for quite some time. So today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts as you did in past rebellion. Step out into the light. Face the chariots. Go into battle with Christ. If you do. The victory will surely be yours.
