Battle Tactics

I've heard it said that army generals have studied the book of Joshua to glean from the battle tactics that helped the nation of Israel chase out its enemies in record time. Well I live in an army town and I watch Army Wives on Lifetime every Sunday evening, but I've never heard of a Joshua Course or a Joshua Manual. So I don't know if the U.S. Army follows the patterns of Joshua or not.

But as I've read from the pages of Joshua over the last few days, I've discovered some principles of battle that are certainly worth taking note of on a personal basis. Now I'm not talking about employing these tactics in a fight with your husband, a skirmish with your teenager over curfew or a spat with your sister. No, these maneuvers should be applied at higher level--in our spiritual battles. For you and I do not battle against flesh and blood (though sometimes it may seem that way), but we battle against the spiritual forces of this world.

In fact, the first tactic I found in Joshua is to know who your enemy is. How can you know? You let God name them, as He did for Joshua. And He names our enemies in the pages of His Word:

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.
(Ephesians 6:11-12)

That means that while people may sometimes lend themselves to Satan's ploys--and it's a sad day when they do--the enemy always remains the same: it's Satan and his evil forces. 

People are never the enemy. Repeat that with me. People are never the enemy. 

On the other hand, God will deal justly with people who repeatedly enlist in Satan's army. But we'll let Him deal with that.

On to what I'll call our Joshua Maneuvers! Here's what I've learned so far from studying reading through Joshua (and I'm not actually very far into the book yet!). Remember these are maneuvers we can apply to our spiritual battles, which are, needless to say, best fought with spiritual armor found in Ephesians 6. 
There's a lot more I've learned from Joshua and I'm continuing in its pages over the next week or so. If you are facing a daunting enemy, you might want to read through Joshua too. And take courage, dear friend. The battle is the Lord's.

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