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Spiritual Warfare in the Old Testament Part II

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Posted by codybateman on Jan 12, 2012 in Encouragement, Spiritual Warfare | 4 comments

“Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:10-20


… Continued from “Spiritual Warfare in the Old Testament Part I

In 2 Kings chapter 6, the king of Syria was waging war against Israel. God informed Elisha the prophet of all the Syrian king’s battle plans in advance, and the prophet conveyed them to the king of Israel, so that all of Syria’s attacks were nullified. When the king of Syria learned that Elisha was the source of his troubles, he sent out his army to seize him. In the morning, the Syrian troops surrounded the city of Dothan, where Elisha was staying. When Elisha’s servant arose early and went out, perhaps to draw water, he saw the Syrian army as it was surrounding the city. The panic-stricken servant rushed to his master and told him what he had seen.

While the servant was terrified by what he had seen, Elisha remained calm. He knew something that his servant did not. He knew that earthly armies were no threat when the host of heaven was on his side. And so he prayed that the eyes of his servant might be opened, to see the “invisible army” which was on duty to protect the people of God:

15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said,” Strike this people with blindness, I pray. “So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria (2 Kings 6:15-19).

This heavenly army descended to Elisha, who prayed that they might strike the enemy with blindness. As a result, Elisha was able, single-handedly, to lead the entire Syrian army into the hands of the Israelite army’s hand. He would not allow them to be killed, but instead sent them all home after giving them food and water. The heavenly army is ever-present, and it responds to the prayers of the saints.

In 1 Chronicles, we see another glimpse of Satan’s opposition to God and to His people. A glimpse which is not mentioned in the parallel account in 2 Samuel chapter 24: “Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel” (1 Chr. 21:1). Unless we had been given the revelation of this verse, no one would ever have attributed David’s actions here to anything other than bad judgment. But behind his foolish and sinful decision we find Satan, ever seeking to oppose God through His people.

Finally, in the Book of Daniel we come to one of the most dramatic examples of the spiritual warfare:

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he responded and said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “Certainly, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!” (Daniel 3:24-25).

10 Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 And he said to me, “O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.… 20 Then he said, “Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. 21 “However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince (Daniel 10:10-13, 20-21).

In Daniel chapter three, Daniel’s three companions are thrown into the fiery furnace, because they will not bow down before the golden image which king Nebuchadnezzar had set up. But when these three were cast into the furnace, the king looked in and was shocked to see not three, but four men inside, and they were not writhing in pain or being consumed by the flames, they were walking around inside that furnace. If not our Lord Himself, this fourth person was surely an angelic being, sent there to save the lives of these faithful men.

In chapter 10 an angel was sent to Daniel, in answer to his prayers (note verse 12). This angel informed Daniel that he had set out to come to him much sooner, but that he encountered opposition from the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” who withstood him, delaying him for 21 days. Having been left there with the kings of Persia, Michael came to his rescue. After he finished speaking with Daniel, the angel would encounter the “prince of Persia” and the “prince of Greece” (verse 20). The important thing to notice here is that angels are very much involved in the affairs of men and of nations. The godly angel came in response to Daniel’s prayers and the ungodly celestial beings opposed this angel. More than this, the unholy angels seem to have a link with political kingdoms and their kings.

Continued…

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