Clean Transcript

Concepts of a Holy War, Part 3

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• First, we'll take just a few moments and go from there. 2 Chronicles 6, and note, if you would please, in verse 34. 2 Chronicles 6, verse 34. The Bible says Solomon is praying. He says, "If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name, then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause." You will remember, hopefully, that for the last several weeks we have been dealing with the biblical doctrine of war. The very first message I brought was the fact that God is a warrior. I shared from Scripture where the Scripture says that God is a man of war, that is his name. I also dealt with the fact that those wars in the Bible are referred to as the wars of the Lord. I went through numerous passages of Scripture proving that concept. The second message I brought was the concept of holy war.

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• I showed in the Bible how God himself wages war, how God himself fights. Very obviously, whatever God is engaged in is absolutely holy. The third message I brought was still a continuation on the concept of holy war. I showed you that there were some prerequisites in the Bible as far as war being holy. First of all, I said, number one, the cause must be holy. Remember, David said in 2 Samuel 17, is there not a cause? Not only must the cause be holy, but I shared with you also, secondly, how the army must be holy, because God told the army that they were to keep themselves from every wicked thing. And then thirdly, I shared with you from Scripture how the camp must be holy. So God not only demands holiness in the cause, in the army, but in the camp as well. And then, of course, I showed you that holy war is usually led by a covenant mediator, that is, a holy leader, someone who represents God and serves God. Let me begin today by telling you that I'm going to have a continuation still of the concept of holy war, and Lord willing, next week I will also preach on the concept of holy war and then proceed on some other area.

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• But I'm trying to establish the fact that we have been so humanistically taught and so humanistically developed. We've always thought that all war was automatically wrong, and that war was inherently evil in and of itself. And of course, those are untrue concepts. You see, holy war is always directed by God himself. As we just read in 2 Chronicles 6, and I'll call your attention to it again in verse 34, Solomon prays, "If thy people go out to war against their enemies," note this next phrase, "by the way that thou shalt send them." So God does send his people out to war from time to time. And you've got to remember that God himself is the captain of the host. Therefore, war is divine activity.

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• Now, let me begin today in my introduction to try to ask and answer a question. And then I want to proceed on the spiritual preparation for war in the Bible. A question that should be absolutely fundamental to every individual is this: How in the world do we discern or how do we know whether or not God orders or demands a holy war? What is our basis? What is our foundation?

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• Let's suppose something arises in the next week or the next month or the next year and warfare is taught. What do we do? How do we know whether or not a war is of God or not? Let me just try to answer this, and I'm going to show you that we should know chiefly by three ways, or literally by four, I should say. The fourth one should be very obvious. First of all, number one, on some occasions in the Bible, God revealed his will to his leader, or his covenant mediator, who then informed the nation. So let me just try to summarize that. Sometimes God singled out a leader. God singled out his covenant mediator, that holy leader, and God revealed his will to that holy leader, who then turned around and informed the nation this is what God would have us to do. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Numbers, chapter 25. I'm going to try to give you just enough scripture to establish each of these concepts.

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• Notice in Numbers, chapter 25. Notice verses 16 and 17. Now God is speaking to Moses. Note the scripture says, Numbers 25, verse 16 and 17, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Vex the Midianites, and smite them. Why? For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague, for Peor's sake." Now, God spoke to Moses and said in verse 17, "Vex the Midianites, and smite them." So God literally told Moses, begin a war with them.

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• What I want you to do is wipe them out. So God then told Moses, and Moses turned around and informed the nation that's exactly what they were supposed to do.

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• Now, if you would turn over in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 2, let me show you several passages where God told the leader on some occasions not to make war and on other occasions to make war. Notice Deuteronomy chapter 2, begin there with verse 1. Moses writes, "Then we journeyed and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spake unto me, and we compassed Mount Seir many days." Now, Mount Seir is where Esau lived. "The Lord spake unto me, saying, You have compassed this mountain long enough to turn you northward. And command you the people, saying, You are to pass through the coast of your brethren, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they shall be afraid of you. Take you good heed unto yourselves, meddle not with them, for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a footbreadth, because I have given Mount Seir unto Esau for possession.

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• You shall buy meat of them for money that you may eat, and you shall also buy water of them for money that you may drink." And so God says, don't make war against them. Skip down to verse 9. "And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle, for I will not give thee of their land for possession, because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession." Note, if you would please skip down to verse 19. "And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them. For I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession, because I have given it unto the children of Lot for possession." So here are three instances where God has told the covenant leader, don't make war against Edom, against Ammon, or against Moab. Now, if you'll skip down to verse 24 in the same chapter, God now says, "Rise you up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon.

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• Behold, I have given unto thine hand Sihon the king of the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and shall be in anguish because of thee." So now God tells him, I do want you to make war against Sihon, the king of the Amorites.

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• Now if you look in chapter 3 and verse 1. "Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And the Lord said unto me," note that phrase, "'And the Lord said unto me, Fear him not, for I will deliver him and all his people and his land into thy hand, and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon, king of Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also the king of Bashan and all his people, and we smote him until none was left remaining in him.'" So here God says, make war.

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• Now, turn over your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 7. Deuteronomy 7, look at verses 1 and 2. Deuteronomy 7, verses 1 and 2, God says, "When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou. And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them, thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them." So here are seven nations now that God has told Moses, you are to make war with. You're to destroy them.

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• So it's very obviously plain. Now, I'm not going to ask that you turn to this one, but you remember in Joshua chapter 5, God not only told Joshua to do battle against Jericho, it was God who in Joshua chapter 6 even gave Joshua the strategy, the battle plan for defeating Jericho. So very obviously God is saying here is one place I want you to make war. Let me show you one other. Turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 15. 1 Samuel 15. So I think this is very obvious that sometimes in the Bible, God told the leader, this is what we're to do. So 1 Samuel chapter 15, begin there with verse one.

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• Here it is in black and white. Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel.

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• Now, therefore, hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. Now, what is the Lord saying to Saul? "Thus saith the Lord of hosts. I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up out of Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox, sheep, camel, and ass."

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• So God says, kill them all. But now God has revealed his will to the leader, who is a holy and a godly man. Now there's a second way that we may know that God would have us make holy war. What is it? Sometimes the leaders were not told by God that they were to make holy war, but they had to inquire of God and discern the mind of the Lord.

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• I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel, chapter 23. 1 Samuel, chapter 23. Let me give you just a couple of illustrations. So there are times now that the leaders must ask God what his will is. God does not all the time make his mind known to the leader, at least not directly. Let me explain. 1 Samuel, chapter 23, verse 1. "Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing floors. Therefore, David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said unto David, Go and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah, how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines. Then David inquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their cattle and smote them with a great slaughter.

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• So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah." Now watch verse 6, "...and it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand."

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• Now David hears that the Philistines are attacking Keilah. And he asked God, Lord, what should I do? Should I go up and smite the Philistines? And God said, I want you to go because you're going to whip the Philistines. But his men are afraid. And they said, David, you better check with the Lord a second time. You better make sure God said that. And so David did. And once again, God said, I want you to go and smite the Philistines. Now, I want you to know in this instance, God did not inform David immediately. Here's what I want you to do. David had to ask and seek God for direction. Now, the Bible says that he inquired of God. You've got to ask this question, how did he inquire of God?

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• Well, verse 6 gives you the answer, because Abiathar, who was a priest, he was the son of Ahimelech, who was a priest. When he came down, he came down with an ephod in his hand.

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• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Numbers, chapter 27, and let me show you what this ephod was. Numbers chapter 27. Numbers 27. And look, if you would please, at verse 21. Here's the direction. "And he shall stand before Eleazar, the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord. At his word shall they go out, and at his word shall they come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation."

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• Now, the ephod contained what was known as the Urim and the Thummim. Now, I don't exactly know how that worked, and I don't guess any Bible scholar does. We can generalize, but the Urim and the Thummim happened to be a way to discern the mind of God. Evidently, questions were asked in a yes or no fashion, and depending which one the priest brought out, the answer came yes or no. So when Abiathar then came down to David, he brought this ephod, which was a priestly garment which the priest wore. He wore it around his chest, and he stuck his hand in and pulled out either the Urim or the Thummim.

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• And I want you to note, it talks about, "At his word shall they go out, and at his word shall they come in." Now, usually those phrases, going out and coming in, refer to making war. So when Abiathar then came down to David, he said, let me check this out. Let me find what God would have us to do.

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• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter 22, and let me show you another instance. Luke, chapter 22. Here is where Christ is in the garden, and they come after Christ with their swords and their staves. I was reading this this past week and I got tickled. Let me show you why. Look in Luke 22, and let's begin reading there with verse 47.

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• "And while he yet spake, behold, a multitude came, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto Judas, Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? When they that were about him saw what would follow, they knew what was coming down. They knew these men had swords and staves, and they saw Judas betraying him with a kiss.

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• They said unto him, now what's the question? Lord, shall we smite with the sword?

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• Now, you say, Brother Weaver, why did you get tickled? Look at the next verse. "And one of them smote the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear." Now, here's the question. Watch this. "Lord, shall we smite with a sword?" You know, like, Lord, we're asking, but while the answer's being delayed, we're going to cut our way through just in case, you know. Well, very obviously, they did right in asking, and probably did right in slicing with a sword as well.

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• But the point is, at least they did ask. They may not have waited for an answer. But the point is, many times we do have to inquire of God.

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• Now, we don't have Urim and Thummim today, but we do have the word of God. And we do have our great high priest, the intercessor, and we have means and we have access into the holy of holies. So sometimes, number one, God just makes his word known and his will known to the leader. Other times, leaders have to fast and pray and ascertain the mind of God. Now, there's a third way that we can know the will of God about holy war.

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• Let me give it to you like this. In some instances, God just simply placed in the hearts of the people what they were to do. In some instances, God just placed in the hearts of the people what was right and what they were to do. I'm not going to go into detail on this one because we're going to be looking at some of these passages in detail in the next few weeks. But let me give you an instance.

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• You remember in Genesis chapter 14 when Lot and his family were taken captive by those kings. When Abraham heard that his nephew had been captured, he didn't inquire of God. God didn't tell him to do anything, nor did he seek the mind of God. He just armed his 318 trained servants and went after him. Why? Because he knew it was right to do that. He knew it was the right thing to do.

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• Let me give you another illustration. Israel did not seek God when they warred against Benjamin, one of their own tribes, when Benjamin was protecting a bunch of sodomites and murderers and refusing to give them up. They didn't inquire of God whether we should fight or not. Now they did inquire of God as to which tribe should fight first, but they already knew that they should fight. God had just put it in their hearts. David did not have a direct revelation from God that he was to fight Goliath, nor did he seek God as to whether it would be God's will for him to fight Goliath. He just knew that it was the right thing to do, and he did it.

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• Now, we are not told in Scripture that some of those judges, men like Ehud, sought the Lord or had a revelation from God. They just knew it was time to do something God had placed in their hearts and they did it. So, on the one hand, we know a holy war is in order when God reveals it to a holy leader, or number two, when the leaders cry and pray and seek the face of God and God shows them, or number three, when God puts it in the hearts of his people, or number four, you could say this, when God just simply begins to sovereignly destroy our enemies before us.

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• And sometimes he does that. You'll find that in the Bible. Many times the people didn't even have to fight. God just started the war himself. And therefore, you know.

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• Now, let me just give you a word of caution before we go further. Usually when holy war is in order, one of these four things are going to be made very clear. I've always had people ask me, especially in the last three or four years, they said, Pastor, when do we know when to fight? And my answer has always been this. When it's time to fight, we will all know. We'll know. You say, how will we know? Either God is going to raise up a leader and say, now's the time, boy. And when God raises up a leader, guess what God's going to do? God is going to unite our hearts to follow him. Or secondly, our leaders will get so burdened, and when I say our leaders, I'm not just referring to civil leaders now, OK? I'm including spiritual leaders in this as well. Or they'll get so burdened, they will pray and seek the Lord's face, and God will say, now is the time, and listen again, God will bind the hearts to those leaders.

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• Or thirdly, God will just put in every man's heart where we will know that is exactly what we're to do. You say, Brother Weaver, give me a further explanation. I can't, because the Word of God does it. But all I'm saying is you will know. I will guarantee you if you had been alive in 1776, you'd have known it's time to fight. If you'd been alive in 1861, you'd have known it's time to fight. You just would have known it, because God would have placed it in your hearts. Now, let me just go a little bit further today with this concept of holy war. You see, war is normally holy because God makes it. War is normally holy because God demands a holy cause and a holy army and a holy camp and a holy leader.

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• But I want you to understand that in the Bible there were numerous spiritual preparations for war. In fact, I'm going to say this, and I'll make the application at the end. The spiritual preparations were more important than the physical preparations. You say, what kind of spiritual preparations are we talking about? Well, first of all, there was sacrifice. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Samuel chapter 13. Let's begin there, 1 Samuel, chapter 13. Let's begin reading with verse 1. In fact, we'll read through the first 14 verses. 1 Samuel, chapter 13, verse 1.

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• "Saul reigned one year, and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him 3,000 men of Israel, whereof 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and Mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin, and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent." Now, watch carefully, "...and Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba. And the Philistines heard of it, and Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear." Now, I want you to recall this phrase, because I'll explain it later, "and Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines, and the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel." Now, I want you to watch this multitude. "30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude, and they came up and pitched in Michmash eastward toward Beth-Aven.

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• When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves in caves and in thickets and in rocks and in high places and in pits. I mean, man, they knew the odds were against them, and so they said, We'd better get out of here. And some of the Hebrews went over to Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead.

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• They just left the country. "And all the people followed him, that is Saul, trembling, that is the few that he had. And he tarried seven days according to the set time that Samuel had appointed. But Samuel came not to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said," watch carefully, "'Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings.' And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash, therefore, said I, the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication of the Lord. I forced myself, therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly.

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• Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. For now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever, but now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee."

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• Now, what was Saul's great sin? Saul's great sin was in offering the burnt offering.

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• Now, very obviously, this sacrifice was to be made before the war. Samuel had told Saul, you wait for me there at Gilgal. Don't you start anything without me, because I will come and we will offer the sacrifice. It was a religious act. It was an act of worship. When Saul began to see the people defecting, hiding, and leaving him, and Samuel hadn't showed up right on the dot, Saul forced himself, he said, and offered the sacrifice. Now, I want you to understand, but the sacrifice was not only a means of worship, not only a means of supplicating God, but evidently it was also a means of bonding the people with their leader. Because Saul said, when I saw that the people were defecting, when they were leaving me and not following me, when I saw that, I forced myself and I went ahead and offered the sacrifice. Why was the sacrifice so important? Because it was an act of imploring God for his blessing and for his protection. So very obviously, when the battle was to begin or when the war was to begin, there was always this act of sacrifice, this act of worship, seeking God's blessing, and the people then would be cemented with their leader because they knew that he was acting in accordance with the will and the word

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• of God. Let me just hasten to explain it like this. You say, Brother Weaver, that means if we come to a battle today, if we come to war, then we have to offer a burnt sacrifice. And the answer is no. Why would we not offer a burnt sacrifice? 1 Corinthians 5, verse 7, "For Christ, even our Passover, is sacrificed for us." Although we would not offer a burnt sacrifice, what we would do is gather together in prayer and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true sacrifice, and rest upon his shed blood, and his merits, and his works, and his sovereign protection and power. The principle is the same, although the circumstances may have changed. So the very first preparation was an act of sacrifice. You will note, if you would, by the way, in Judges chapter 6, you don't have to turn there, but before Gideon began his conquest, he offered sacrifice, even tore down the altar of Baal, the altar of the grove, and then used the cattle there and sacrificed unto God.

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• So there was, first of all, the act of sacrifice, which was an act of worship. Secondly, there was the act of circumcision. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua. Let's begin with chapter three. I read this passage last week. Let me read it again and then continue the thought. Joshua chapter three and verse five, they're passing over. "And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." So the word sanctify means to sacrifice or make holy or to set apart yourself, consecrate yourself. So sanctify yourselves. Now, look in Joshua 5.

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• Please remember that this is right before the battle of Jericho. Joshua 5, verse 1, "And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, who were on the other side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we passed over, that their heart melted, neither was their spirit in them any more because of the children of Israel." "And the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time." Now, that doesn't mean the same men the second time, but watch, "...and Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins." And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise. All the men that came out of Egypt that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness, by the way, after they came out of Egypt. Now, all the people that came out were circumcised, but all the people that were born in the wilderness, by the way, as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.

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• "For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war which came out of Egypt were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord, unto whom the Lord swore that he would not show them the land which the Lord swore unto their fathers, that he would give us a land that flowed with milk and honey. And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp till they were whole. 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."

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• Please remember, they're about to go to battle. "...and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho."

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• Now why in the world would Joshua circumcise the men of war? Humanly speaking, that was a very unwise thing to do. You say, Brother Weaver, why in the world was it a very unwise thing to do, humanly speaking? Don't you remember the story of Dinah in Genesis chapter 34, where Shechem raped the daughter of Jacob? And then he wanted her for his wife. And so he and Hamor, his father, said, Give us this woman so my son can marry her. And the children of Jacob, the sons of Jacob, said, We can't do that. That is a reproach unto us if we marry anybody that is uncircumcised.

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• Now, we'll tell you what you do. You circumcise every man in the city, and then we'll let you have our daughter. If you don't, we won't. Well, they went back to the city and said, look, these people will dwell among us if we'll just be circumcised. Well, will not their cattle be our cattle? That means everything they have will be ours. Let's do that. And so all the men were circumcised. And on the third day, when the men were so sore they couldn't move, Simeon and Levi took swords and walked in the city and killed every man there. Just two men.

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• So, humanly speaking, it was a very unwise thing to do. But the reason it was done was because it was not only in obedience to God, but circumcision was the sign of the covenant. You follow that? And these people had the reproach of Egypt still upon them. You've got to remember in Exodus chapter 4, you remember when Moses was going back to the land, to deliver the children of Israel. Don't you remember this or not? But the Bible says that God met Moses by the way and sought to kill him. God had sent him back. Now, why is God seeking to kill him?

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• Zipporah, his wife, takes a knife and circumcises their son. And she throws the foreskin at her husband's feet and said, A bloody husband thou art to me. God sought to kill him because he had failed to remember and to keep the first act of covenantal obedience, which was circumcision.

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• Now, you ask the question, Brother Weaver, does that mean then that every warrior that fights should be circumcised? I'm going to answer that, yes, but you're going to have to understand what I mean by that. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Colossians 2. By the way, I'm not preaching on this today, but I will tell you this much. There was not only a religious significance to circumcision in the Old Testament, there were also health benefits in the Old Testament, and that even continues today, by the way.

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• I realize a lot of people do not circumcise their male children anymore, but studies have been done to show that it is really health-wise one of the wisest things to do. But you say, well, why did you say the warriors needed to be circumcised? Well, look in your Bible, Colossians chapter 2, and let me show you what circumcision is really typical of. Notice Colossians 2, verse 11. Paul is writing to these Colossian Christians and he says, "...in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." So what is circumcision a type of? The new birth, the covenantal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That's why he says, "...in whom now we are circumcised," how? "With the circumcision made without hands.

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• In other words, man doesn't do it. God does it. It means our hearts are circumcised. In fact, all through the Bible, God commanded the people to circumcise their hearts before the Lord. That is, you obey the Lord. So the answer comes back, yes, the people need to be circumcised, and all that means is they need to be begotten by God, they need to have a relationship with God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.

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• So circumcision then was a spiritual preparation for battle. Very obviously, that's why God commanded it in Joshua chapter 5.

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• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 11. Let me try to answer a question for you. I don't know if this question is ever in your mind, but it certainly is in mine. And by the way, I've told you this before. That is one reason I preach on some things. Because when I read the Bible, I have questions, and I don't know the answer. And I want to find out what the answer is. And I figure if it bothers me and I need to know the answer, it probably bothers other folks as well, and they'd like to know the answer, too. But this one kind of puzzled me for a while. In 2 Samuel 11, you remember that David has committed adultery with Bathsheba.

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• She now finds herself with child. And David seeks to cover his sin, and he invites Uriah, her husband, home from the battle. And he just automatically assumes that Uriah will go down and visit his wife and sleep with her, and boy, he'll think it's his child, and thus David's tracks are going to be covered. Well, let's look at it. 2 Samuel 11, verse 6, "And David said to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. Joab sent Uriah to David, and when Uriah was coming to him, David demanded of him how Joab did and how the people did and how the war prospered." Now, very obviously, David could have found that information out from anyone. In fact, I can assure you there were regular runners to David on a daily basis, letting him know how the war went. Watch verse 8, "And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

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• One man told David, saying, Uriah went not down to his house. David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? Why didst thou not go down unto thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in tents. And my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go into mine house to eat, and to drink, and to lie with my wife, as thou livest?

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• And as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. David said to Uriah, Tarry here today also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day. And the morrow, when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him, and he made him drunk. And at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he went not down to his house." Of course, you remember now David writes a letter and he tells Joab, you set Uriah in the foremost front of the battle, and withdraw from him that he may be smitten. Now, why was it that Uriah went not down to his house?

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• Why is it he wouldn't go down and visit his wife? Was he angry with her? Well, of course not. And very obviously, Bathsheba was a very beautiful and desirable woman. Why would he not go down there? Let me tell you why. Because of the spiritual preparations that were required for battle. Uriah was expecting to go back to battle instantly. Look at what he said. He said in verse 11, "And Uriah said unto David, The ark and Israel and Judah abide in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go into mine house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife, as thou livest and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing."

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• Now, let me just pause and show you something. Uriah was a mercenary. He was a Hittite. He was a proselyte. And in this instance, Uriah was more godly and more holy than David was. Uriah not only had loyalty to Joab and to the other servants, but if you will, when you get home, read Leviticus chapter 15, verses 15 through 18, you will find that there is a discharge that is unclean and thus unable to fight. And Uriah said, no, I'm not going to go down and visit my wife. I want to keep myself spiritually prepared so I can fight the Lord's battles. So here was spiritual preparation on the part of Uriah, and Uriah was the one who was doing that right. Now, fourthly, let me give you another instance of spiritual preparation, and that is what I'm just simply calling vows. Turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Numbers, chapter 21. Numbers, chapter 21.

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• We'll look at several of these. Numbers, chapter 21, beginning with verse 1. Of course, I want you to know that there is a study of vows in the Bible, and I'm not going to go over all of this. But vowing is a religious act. And many times before a battle, vows were given. Numbers chapter 21, verse 1, "And when King Arad the Canaanite, who dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies, that he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners.

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• And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities." Watch verse 3. "And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities, and he called the name of that place Hormah." So Israel vows a vow. They said, Lord, if you will just give us this people, we'll kill every one of them. God said, I'm going to hold you to that. And God gave them the people, and they kept their vow, and they destroyed them all, and so the place is called Hormah, which literally means utter destruction.

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• Look in your Bibles, if you would, please, to the book of Judges, chapter 11. Judges, chapter 11. And here is one that I'm sure that everyone is familiar with. This is about Jephthah. Judges 11, beginning with verse 29. You remember now, Jephthah had been cast out by his brethren because he was the son of a harlot, and now they're in trouble and they want Jephthah back, and so they want Jephthah to lead them in a war. "Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon." Now watch verse 30, "...and Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, then it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon

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• shall surely be the Lord's and I will offer it up for a burnt offering." So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands. So Jephthah is making a vow. Now remember, Israel has come to him and said, Will you lead us in this fight against the children of Ammon? He said, Will you make me your captain? Will you make me your leader? They said, Sure. Fine.

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• He said, I'll do that. So now he says, God, if you will just give me victory. Whatever comes to me out of the doors of my house first, I'm going to give to you. I want you to stop and think about that. That's quite a vow. I'll offer up as burnt sacrifice. Well, skip down, if you would please, to verse 34. "And Jephthah came to Mizpah unto his house, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances, and she was his only child. Beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes and said, Alas, my daughter, Thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me.

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• For I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth. Forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon." So his only child came out. Oh no, he said.

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• You've taught me very well. She said, just do to me whatever you said.

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• Now I've had people ask me, well, did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter to the Lord as a burnt offering? And the answer is no. To do so would have been unscriptural. It would have been a blasphemy, but he did sacrifice her to the Lord. You say, how so? Well, look in verse 37, "And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me. Let me alone two months,

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• that I may go up and down upon the mountains and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows." And he said, Go, and he sent her away for two months. And she went with her companions, females, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass that at the end of two months that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had vowed, and she knew no man. There was a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite, four days in a year.

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• So she remained a perpetual virgin in his house. What does that mean? It meant the end of Jephthah's line. She was an only child. So no one succeeded him in his position of leadership. When she died, that was the end of it. So here was a vow, and you'll find that many times there were vows before battles because that was part of spiritual preparation. Turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to Exodus chapter 30. Exodus chapter 30. Let me show you another act of spiritual preparation. Exodus chapter 30.

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• Let's begin with verse 11. This is known as the atonement money. Exodus chapter 30, beginning with verse 11. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them, that there be no plague among them when thou numberest them. This they shall give every one that passeth among them that are numbered half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel is twenty gerahs, a half shekel shall be an offering of the Lord. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered from twenty years old and above shall give an offering unto the Lord. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give an offering unto the Lord to make an atonement for your souls. And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and thou shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls."

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• Now, here is an atonement money. Note, if you would please, in verse 12, he said, "...when thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number." Let me tell you what the word number is here. In fact, I told you that the book of Numbers is an entire book given to war, and I prove that to you from the Bible. But let me just tell you that the word number itself literally means muster. Actually, the book of Numbers is a book of mustering the people. When you find a census in the Bible, it is not necessarily just counting heads, it is an act of war, it is an act that the military performed, but when you took the census, when you mustered the men, you always took this half shekel for the sanctuary.

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• By the way, I hope you remember, this was the great sin of David, or at least part of his sin, when he numbered the people. He failed to take this half-shekel. Of course, it was only to be done in a time of war, except initially. So this atonement money then was given to God and His work. It was money that was given to God in recognition of God's protection and God's provision and God's grace. The word atonement here means literally a covering or a protection. It was by means of this tax that the people placed themselves under God's sovereign authority, under God's sovereign protection, recognizing God as their one true king and paying tribute to him. So this covering, then, was given as a ransom for the life of the soldier, lest he should die in battle. And by the way, we'll discuss some of this later, but there were wars in the Bible where not one Israelite died. Not one. So this atonement money was taken. And of course, once again, today we do not necessarily take an atonement money if there is a war.

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• because Christ is our great atonement, but we still may vow to him and we still may give to him based upon the principle. We do not do it exactly like this because, like I say, Christ is the fulfillment of this. I want you to turn, sixthly, to the trumpets, Numbers chapter 10. And I'm just trying to give you a number of things that went in spiritual preparation. You might call this message a potpourri of spiritual acts for war, but I'm just simply pointing out the fact that war had to be holy because there were so many spiritual preparations. Look in the book of Numbers, chapter 10, and we'll look at a number of other passages. Numbers, chapter 10, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Numbers 10, verse 1.

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• "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Make thee two trumpets of silver, of a whole piece shalt thou make them, that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to be at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. When you blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east part shall go forward. When you blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey. They shall blow an alarm for their journeys. But when the congregation is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but you shall not sound an alarm. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets," now watch carefully, "'and they shall be to you for an ordinance forever throughout your generations.

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• And if you go to war in your land against an enemy that oppresseth you, then you shall blow an alarm with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. Also on the day of your gladness and in your solemn days, in the beginnings of your month, you shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings and sacrifices of your peace offerings that I may be to you for a memorial before your God, I am the Lord your God." Now, I want you to note that these trumpets were used not just during the burnt offerings, not just during the new moons, not just ordering the camp, not just calling the assemblies, but these same trumpets were used to sound before the Lord during the battle, before the battle. In other words, God said, when I hear the trumpets, I'll remember you. It's an act of calling upon God.

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• Now, I want you to look at Numbers chapter 31 and verse 6. Numbers 31 and verse 6. I want you to note what the Bible says. In fact, let's read verse 5. "So they were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, 12,000, armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the priest of the war, with the holy instruments and the trumpets to blow in his hand." Now, I want you to turn right over to Psalm 47. Look at verse 5.

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• There were a multitude of verses. To be absolutely honest with you, I thought about bringing a whole message just on the trumpets, and I changed my mind, but trumpets are important in the Bible. Look in Psalm 47 and verse 5. Look at what Scripture says. "The Lord, or God, has gone up with a shout, and the Lord with the sound of a trumpet." I want to call your attention to other passages in regard to trumpets. First of all, look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 8. 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 8. Look what the Apostle Paul says concerning the trumpet. 1 Corinthians 14 verse 8. "And if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" So the trumpets were used to call people to battle and for preparation. Now look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 4. Jeremiah chapter 4 and verse 19. Jeremiah 4, verse 19, look what Jeremiah says. Jeremiah 4, verse 19. Jeremiah says, "My bowels, my bowels, I am pained at my very heart.

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• My heart maketh a noise in me. I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

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• Now skip down to verse 21. Watch what else he says. "How long shall I see the standard?" That's the battle flag. "...and hear the sound of the trumpet." So trumpets then were sounded, number one, to call the people to arms. Number two, trumpets were sounded to sound an alarm. Thirdly, trumpets were sounded to be remembered before God in the battle. And these were the same trumpets that were used in the regular worship and the regular sacrifices. So the sound of the trumpet was an act of worship, and it was also an act of asking God to remember us in the battle. Now, there's one last one that I want to cover today, and that's the ark. Before I cover it, you remember I read from 1 Samuel where King Saul sounded a trumpet, or sounded an alarm. He said, let the Hebrews hear. What did he do? He blew a trumpet. Remember when Jephthah escaped after killing Eglon? He blew a trumpet. And all Israel gathered and stuffed them in because the trumpets were used to call the assembly or to tell people it's the time to get ready for battle.

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• We're going to have a war. Now let's look at the ark. The ark is a very significant instrument. It represented the divine presence of God with the army during warfare. The ark was a mobile symbol of God's presence. Usually the Levites from the clan of Kohath were charged with transporting the ark from site to site during the wilderness wanderings, and this ark also was used. For instance, look in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Numbers, chapter 3, verse 31. Numbers 3, verse 31, just show you about the Kohathites. Numbers 3, verse 31.

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• The Bible says, "And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary, wherewith they minister and the hanging and all the service thereof." Well, if you look back in verse 13, if the chief of the house of the fathers and families of the Kohathites, if you look in Numbers chapter 4 and verse 5, "and when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the testimony with it." So the ark was a portable symbol of God's presence. Now, in 1 Samuel chapter 11, verse 11, you remember when Uriah came back to David. You remember what he said? "Shall I go down to my house and enjoy myself while the ark and Joab and my servants are at the battle?

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• I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to go there." Here, look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 14. 1 Samuel 14. You'll see the presence that the ark had. 1 Samuel chapter 14. Let's begin reading there with verse 18, 1 Samuel 14, verse 18. "And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God, for the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. And it came to pass, when Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased. And Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. And Saul and all the people that were with him were assembled themselves, and they came to the battle, and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. Moreover, the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.

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• Likewise, all the men of Israel, which had hid themselves in Mount Ephraim, when they had heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle passed over to Beth-Aven. But note verse 18, "And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark." So the Ark, which represented God's presence, was in battle.

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• Now let me just hasten to tell you this. There was a time when the Ark did not save Israel. You can read about it in 1 Samuel chapter 4. That is when Hophni and Phinehas, those two wicked priests of Eli, the sons of Eli, in the battle of Philistines, they said, let us send back for the Ark of the Covenant that it may save us. What were they doing? They were trusting in the Ark instead of the God of the Ark. They were using the Ark the way a lot of people use a rabbit's foot for luck, or a four-leaf clover for luck. Let me tell you something, folks. It's not the symbols that save us, it's God who saves us.

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• Now, I want you to turn to two other quick passages. One of them is Numbers 10. Let me show you what was said when the ark was taken up and when the ark was put down. Look at Numbers 10, verse 35. "And it came to pass when the ark set forward that Moses said," watch now, "'Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee before thee.'" Verse 36, "...and when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel." So when that ark was picked up, Moses said, "Rise up, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered." When it was set down, "Return, O Lord, and protect us now as we rest."

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• Now, if you look in your Bibles to Psalm 68, and hopefully I'll get to preach on this a little bit later, I want you to note in Psalm 68 how this song was a battle song. Notice Psalm 68 beginning Psalm 68, verse 1. "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered. Let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melted before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad and let them rejoice before God. Yea, let them exceedingly rejoice." So let God arise, let his enemies be scattered. And this battle song came from the ark that Moses said every time that ark was picked up, let God arise, let his enemies be scattered.

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• Now I've got one application, and I want you to listen to it. And that's this. Spiritual preparation is far more important than all the physical preparation that you could ever make in war. I heard Bill Clinton say this week with my own ears, talking about sending that force over to Zaire, he said, "And shall not the most powerful nation on the earth do what is right and help these people?" Well, that's a real assumption, isn't it, that we're the most powerful nation on the earth. And we may be militarily speaking, but that does not mean that we're the most powerful nation spiritually speaking. All of our armaments, all of our weapons of war are useless apart from God.

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• Let me just give you two scriptures, I'll quote them. The Bible says in Proverbs 21 and verse 31, "The horse is prepared for battle, but safety is of the Lord." And in the book of Psalms, David said, "A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither will he deliver any by his great strength." You could paraphrase that. A tank is a vain thing for safety. Neither will it deliver any by its great firepower.

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• So the truth is, folks, the physical preparation for war is the smallest part. The greatest part is the spiritual preparation, because if God be against us, we'll never ever succeed. We must make sure that we're with God, and we're right with Him, and doing as He wills. And then I can assure you that victory is absolutely assured. No matter the amount of men, no matter the fewness of the weaponry, if God is on our side, we will win. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray and ask thee today to let us see that war is not just something that is physical, but Lord, it's something that is spiritual. It's a divine act, and there must be spiritual preparations.

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• And may our hearts be prepared to serve thee in any way that we possibly can. May we keep our lives holy and godly so that we may worship Thee with reverence and godly fear. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen. This program was produced by Dominion Ministry. For more information about Pastor Weaver's sermons, you may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N, Street, Suite 705, PMD 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406.

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• Or give us a call at 912-925-7000.

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• You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:43:16Z