GOD IS A MAN OF WAR
Part 2

“And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
And five of you shall chase an hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight:
and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword”
(Leviticus 26:7, 8).

We are currently studying the different Hebrew words of God as a “a man of war.”

3.     IZZUZ

Another Hebrew word meaning “forcible, an army, power,” It is also used to describe God in Psalm 24:8: “Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong (izzuz) and mighty.”

4.     TSABA

This is another very familiar word for war in the Bible being used 482 times. It means “a mass of persons organized for an army, a multitude of warriors, battle, soldiers, warfare.” Are you getting to see how much war is talked about in the Bible?

It is used 261 times to describe God as “the LORD of hosts” as in Psalm 24:10: “Who is the King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.” Every time  you read “The LORD of hosts” in the Bible you are reading about God as the mighty warrior, the One who fights for his people, the One who commands the heavenly armies.

It is also used about the company of women in the home in Psalm 68:11 (CJB): “The women with the good news are a mighty army (tsaba).” The women at home are a mighty army, preparing and training the future nation.

5.     CHAYIL

This is another familiar word for armies in God’s Word. It means “an army, wealth, valor, virtue, strength, soldiers, war.”

David calls God this name in 2 Samuel 22:33, 40: “God is my strength and power (chayil) . . . For thou hast girded me with strength (chayil) to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.”

The Bible uses this word to describe valiant soldiers. Read 1 Chronicles, chapters 7 and 12 to read about all the “mighty men of valor (chayil).”

I love Psalm 110:3: “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power (chayil), in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou haste dew of thy youth.”

Th New English Translation says: “Your people willingly follow you when you go into battle. On the holy hills at sunrise the dew of your youth belongs to you. The NET commentary explains that this refers to the king’s army of strong, youthful warriors.

The message of this Scriptures is that they were WILLING WARRIORS! Can I be described as a willing warrior? Can you? What about our children? Are we raising them to be willing warriors in God’s kingdom? Other translations say:

GW: “Your people will volunteer when you call up your army.”

HCSB: “Your people will volunteer on your day of battle.”

TPT: This Passion translation is most correct when it states: “Your people will be your love offerings.” The word willing is ndabah and means “spontaneous, abundant, free will offering.” It is the same word that is used of the sacrifice offerings the Israelites FREELY offered to the Lord.

God wants us to be willing to get into the battle. Do you remember when young David faced the giant Goliath? Yes, he was only young, most probably a teenager. When the Israelites (who were trained soldiers for the battle) saw Goliath they “fled from him, and were sore afraid” (1 Samuel 17:24). But what did young David do? When the giant came near to him, he “hasted, and RAN (quickly, speedily, headlong) toward the army to meet the Philistine (1 Samuel 17:48). What a difference! David’s confidence was not in himself but in the “God of the armies of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45).

What is our response? Do we run to the battle or run from it? Are we full of fear or full of courage?

DO WE RUN TO PRAYER MEETINGS WHERE WE CAN FIGHT THE BATTLES OF THE LORD? Our greatest victories are fought in prayer.

But there’s something more amazing yet. This word chayil that is used for God and for valiant men of war is the same word that is used to describe the woman in Proverbs 31. You know it so well but let’s read it again: “Who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies.” Yes, the word virtuous is chayil, the same word that is used for men of strength and valor.

Dear mother, God has divinely created you to be an anointed nurturer, showing forth His tender love and care as you nurture and nourish your children. But He has also created you to be a woman of strength and valor—strong in faith and purity, strong in embracing who God created your to be as a mother, strong in your convictions, strong in holding on to God’s truth in a deceived world, strong in warfare prayer, and strong to stand against the enemy and every demonic force that seeks to enter your home.

We are in a battle, dear mothers. The devil contends for our children as we seek to raise them to be set apart for God in this deceived world. But we will not give in. We fight in prayer against all deceptions and principalities and powers (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5). And let me tell you, it is a fight. We face challenges and obstacles and demonic forces on every front, but we will never give up the fight.

We are fighting a battle in our nation at the moment. We are fighting against a fraudulent election. We are fighting against the removal of our God-given and constitutional freedoms. But we will not be those who cowardly submit to tyranny. We will stand true to our freedoms which are given to us by God.

When Nehemiah and his team were rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, they built with one hand and held a weapon in their other hand. This is how we build our families. We build with one hand and we fight in prayer on the other hand. Nehemiah encouraged the builders in Nehemiah 4:14 (NTL): “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”

Are you in the fight for your family?

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, please help me to be willing to get into the fight. Willing to pray. Thank you for giving me an armor to put on to fight against the enemy. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I will be strong to fight the enemy, not in my own strength, but in the power of the Lord.

Did you know, I am now doing a podcast for you each week called FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell? I know you will be blessed and encouraged. Go to www.aboverubies.org and you’ll see the icon. Or go to http://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com

GOD IS A MAN OF WAR
Part 1

“The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name”
(Exodus 15:6).

“Really?” I hear you say. “I thought God was a God of love and mercy.” Yes, He is totally. One hundred percent. But the Scriptures reveal that He is also a “man of war.” God shows such patience and lovingkindness as He waits for all to come to repentance, but there is a day coming when He will rise up, He will roar, He will bring all His enemies into subjection unto Him, and He will bring justice to the earth.

The Scriptures speak a lot about battles and warfare. I found 12 different Hebrew words that relate to God as a warrior, and which also relate to His people. Shall we look at them?

 1.     GIBBOR

The Hebrew word for war is gibbor and means “a warrior, champion, chief, a strong, valiant man.” In Moses’ song of victory over the Egyptians, Exodus 15:3 tells us that God arose as a “man of war” to accomplish this miraculous victory.

Jeremiah 32:18 describes God as “the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name.” The word “mighty” is also gibbor.

This word is also used to describe valiant men. God used this word when He chose David. Psalm 89:19 says: “I have laid help upon one that is mighty (gibbor): I have exalted one chosen out of the people I have found David my servant, with my holy oil have I anointed him.” Many translations say: “I raised a warrior.”

God didn’t look for someone who would say the right things to keep people happy. No. He looked for a man who was real, a man with heart after His heart. He looked for a fighter, a warrior! He looked for a man who was not afraid to go out to war and conquer his enemies.

2.     MILCHAMAH

This Hebrew word is a common word for war in the Bible and it is used 315 times. It is translated battle 151 times, war 158 times, and fight six times, apart from a few other words. It means “fighting, engagement in battle, warfare, a warrior.”

It is also used to describe God in Psalm 24:8: “Who is this king of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle (milchamah)?”

How did God deliver the Israelites from the mighty power of Egypt? Deuteronomy 4:34 tells us: “Hath God attempted to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war (milchamah), and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God di for you in Egypt before your eyes?”

Isaiah 42:13: “The LORD shall go forth s a mighty man (gibbor), he shall stir up jealously like a man of war (milchamah): he shall cry,  yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.”

Exodus 17:16 says: “The LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with

Amalek from generation to generation.”

Amalek represents evil and wickedness in the Bible. God fights against it in every generation. We must also fight with Him against all evil. Every generation must fight evil until the day comes when all evil is brought into subjection to Jesus Christ, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Therefore, each new generation had to learn the art of war—how to fight in battle and how to conquer the enemy (Judges 3:1-3).

We as parents must know the art of war against the enemy and we must also teach our children.

God’s battles are our battles, and our battles are His battles!

The Bible tells us that David’s battles were the Lord’s battles (1 Samuel 18:17 and 25:28).

Another amazing thing we learn is that they had to go out to battle in the presence of the Lord. They didn’t go out on their own. They went out with God—in His presence. He ordered the battle. He went before them, and He helped them in their battles.

Numbers 32:20, 21, 29: “If ye will go armed before the LORD to war, and will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD . . . every man armed to battle, before the LORD . . .”

The phrase “before the LORD” literally  means “with God’s face upon you” or “in the LORD’S presence” as it is translated in God’s Word translation. God does not turn His eye away from war but is in the battle with us.

PRAYER:

“Thank  you, dear Father, that You are a “man of war.” You are Conqueror. I thank You that You don’t leave me in the lurch when I face my battles but You fight my battles with me. Lord God, I also want to help fight Your battles against sin and evil. Help me to never go AWOL but to always be ready to fight the “battles of the Lord.” Save me, Oh God, from ever siding with the enemy. Help me to always stand true to You and fight and against all evil and deception. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I belong to the kingdom  of God and therefore I am in a war against the kingdom of darkness. I cannot lay down my sword until Jesus comes!

Did you know, I am now doing a podcast for you each week called FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell? I know you will be blessed and encouraged. Go to www.aboverubies.org and you’ll see the icon. Or go to http://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com

A STRAIGHT PATH

“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low:
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.”
(Isaiah 40:3-5).

We read in Luke 3:3-6 that John the Baptist came as “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” to prepare the way of the Lord. Each one of the Gospel writers confirms this—Matthew 3:1-4; Mark 1:1-2; and John 1:23. The last verses of the Old Testament also prophesy it and Luke 1:16-17 and 76 fulfill the prophecy.

These Scriptures explain in more detail exactly what it means to prepare the way for the Lord: “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

To prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, John had to make the way straight. He was anointed to “turn the hearts of the fathers (which includes the mothers too) to their children.” But the prophetic word of Malachi 4:5-6 says that it will happen again “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.”

We are getting closer to this time. It is time to prepare. It is time to straighten the paths.

When the hearts of fathers and mothers are not turned to their children, they are on a crooked path. There are many deviant paths in this humanistic world. There are luring detours off the straight road. They may look enticing. They may even seem the right way, but they are often subtle “windings” to steer us away from God’s perfect plan.

Are you on a winding path? Sometimes you don’t even realize it until you get lost. You wake up to find that the devil’s tempting ways are not what they seem. Your family life is out of order and you wonder why. Perhaps, without realizing it, you have landed up on a winding path of independence from your husband. You are too busy to serve him and your family.

Perhaps you veered on to a crooked path of busyness—running here and there, attending this meeting and that, getting involved with this organization and that. You are in a whirlwind of activity. It seems great, but where is this winding path taking you? What is the end result?

It’s a long way off the path God planned for you as a mother—to be nestled in the heart of your home. And what are your children learning? That life consists of going to this and that, being involved in this sport and that organization, and rarely having time to sit around the dinner table together?

Are they learning the ways of the home? It is in the home they learn the patterns to pass on to the next generation. They have time to create, think great thoughts, and bask in the joy of home and family life.

Our children will generally follow the path we take. We dare not take them down winding paths of deception. The decisions we make and the paths we choose will determine the course of not only our children, but generations to come.

Keep alert for these crooked roads and remember that we only prove the salvation and deliverance of the Lord on the straight path. It is only on the straight path that His glory is revealed.

He wants to show His power in your life—to bridge the lonely valleys with His love and compassion; to level every mountain that looks impossible in the natural but can melt away in the power and presence of His Spirit, and to cut a straight path of truth through all the windings that crisscross over and back through God’s straight road. Will you let Him lead you?

I love the Way’s translation of 2 Timothy 2:15: “Be earnest . . .  a laborer who needs not to blush for his work, but who drives the ploughshare of truth in a straight furrow.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Father, I ask You to help me to keep on Your straight path, never turning to the right or the left. Please expose every winding path that beckons me away from Your truth.” Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I will plough a straight furrow in my life and the life of my family.

Did you know, I am now doing a podcast for you each week called FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell? I know you will be blessed and encouraged. Go to www.aboverubies.org and you’ll see the icon. Or go to http://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com

THERE'S A LOT MORE!

"Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people"
(Psalm 96:3).

We know how important it is to hide God's Word in our heart, don't we? We understand how imperative it is to make sure our children get God's Word in their hearts. I'm sure you have taught your children Psalm 119:11: "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I night not sin against thee."

I agree with the old saying: "Sin will keep you from God's Word, or God's Word will keep you from sin."

However, IT'S NOT ENOUGH! There's MORE! God not only wants us and our children to hide His Word in our hearts and souls. He wants it to come out of our mouths, our hands, and our feet-out of every part of our being. We are God's living letters, to be known and read by all men (2 Corinthians 3:2). It's only when it affects every part of our body that it truly works in our lives. Let's check it out:

OUR MOUTHS

God gives a mandate to us and our children and children's children in Isaiah 59:21: "As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy MOUTH, shall not depart out of thy MOUTH, nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed, nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever." I don't think we could get the vision any clearer than that, do you?

It is only what we speak that we keep. "I believed; therefore have I spoken" (Psalm 116:10 and 2 Corinthians 4:13). We are born again into God's family, not only by believing, but by confessing that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9, 10). We must speak God's Word and His truths out loud with our mouths for them to become part of our lives. And how can we pass them on to the next generation and to others if they don't not flow out of our mouths?
 
OUR FEET

David confessed in Psalm 119:59, 60: "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments." God's Word got into his feet. It kept his feet from evil. God wants to get His Word into our feet to work out in our lives, too. Instead of sitting on the sofa with our feet up (except when we are nursing babies, reading stories to our children, and talking to them of God's ways which are great works) our feet walk around the house to make things happen and keep it in ship shape. They walk to people who need our help and encouragement.

When God's Word gets into the feet of our children they will not want to walk in the way of evil or worldly places. They'll walk a straight path. We'll know when they have got God's truth when we see them walking in righteousness.

OUR HANDS

When we read God's Word, our hearts burn within us. But it can't stay in our hearts. We lift up our hands with praise to God for His wonderful commandments. In response to reading about our great God we lift up our hands in worship. David said in Psalm 119:48: "My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved."

God wants His Word to be so practical in our lives that it comes out of our hands. As mothers, we minister God's love from our hands all day long as we
caress babies, hug children, nurture children, hug our husbands, and work hard with our hands to make our home a delightful place. Cooking, baking, cleaning, shopping, and caring for our children are the practical outworking of God's living Word (Psalm 128:3; 1 Timothy 2:15; 5;14; Titus 2:3-5 and many others).

We can also write or type God's Words to bring encouragement to others. In Psalm 66;16 the psalmist says: "I will declare what he hath done for my soul." The word declare means to be a scribe. He not only confessed God's goodness, but He wrote about it. Write about God's Word and His Word to people to encourage and bless them.

May we let God's Word flow out of every part of our being today.

Be encouraged,

Nancy Campbell

Painting by Sharon Wilson.

PRAYER:

"Dear Father, I want to fill my heart with Your Word but I also want to have
my mouth filled with Your Word too. I want it to flow from me, from my
mouth, my hands my feet, and my very being. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I will be a Word-confessor, a Word-declarer, a Word-writer, and a Word-doer.

FOR THE BEREANS (those who love to search the Word):
Further Scriptures for to check out. You may like to take a few Scriptures
each day and look them up and talk about them with your children.

Hide God's Word in your heart and soul:
Psalm 119:11, 80, 111, 112, 129, 145, 161, 167.

Confess God's Word with your mouth:
Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:6, 7; 11:18, 19; 30:14; 31:19, 21; Joshua 1:8; Psalm
9:11; 18:49; 22:22; 40:9, 10; 66:16; 71:17; 78:1-7; 96:3; 107:21, 22;
116:10; 119:2, 3, 13, 27, 43, 46, 171, 172; 145:4-7; Isaiah 12:4-6; 38:19;
43:10-12; 44:8; Joel 1:3; Matthew 10:32, 33; 24:14; 28:19-20; Mark 16:15;
Luke 12:8; John 12:42; Acts 1:8; 4:19, 20, 29; 5:20, 40-42; 8:37; 14:3;
20:27; 22:15; 26:22; Romans 10:9, 10, 14, 15; 15:9; 2 Corinthians 4;13;
Colossians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 2;1-4; 1 Timothy 6;12; 2 Timothy 2;12, 25;
4:2; Hebrews 4:14; 10:23; 11:13; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 John 1:1-5; 4:2, 3, 15; and
Revelation 12:11.

Walk out God's Word with your feet:
Deuteronomy 5:33; 8:6; 10:12; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16; Psalm 37:31; 44:18;
81:13; 86:11; 119:32, 59, 60, 101, 105, 133; 128:1; Isaiah 2:2, 3; 30:21;
Jeremiah 6:16; 11:7, 8; 13:10; 44:23; Ezekiel 18:17; 20:19; 36:26, 27; Micah
4;2; Matthew 7:21; James 1:22, 2 John 1:6; and 3 John 1:3, 4.

Write or type  God's Words with your hands:
Deuteronomy 6:9; 11:20; 17:18, 19; and Jeremiah 30:2.