Be Strong -  Be Brave - and - Fear Not

 Moses spoke all these words to the children of Israel:

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

There have been many warnings to God’s people over the last several years. They come from messengers, prophets and regular people who have dreams and/or visions. We are told there is a time of great testing and tribulation coming.

 Most people think of Christians as meek, pale and weak individuals.  They know that when Yeshua came he was meek and lowly.

He even told us to love our enemies and pray for those who mistreat us.

Somehow that has become an idea that we are to be doormats for others who want to hurt us or our families.  That is NOT how the Bible portrays the people of God. 

 All the way back to Abraham.  Wasn’t he a weak old man? Have you not heard what he did when a group of kings went to war and attacked the city where his nephew Lot lived? Abraham gathered men and went after them.  The Bible describes it as a “slaughter”.  He rescued Lot and the rest of the captives and their belongings.

Genesis 14:14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

 

What about Moses? He is called meek in one place, but the word means “humble”.  He wasn’t weak, just didn’t think of himself as more important than others.

 He went from being a shepherd in Midian to facing off against the mightiest king in the greatest nation on the earth at the time (arguably).  He could have been killed many times for defying Pharaoh, but he wasn’t – Yehovah was with him.

(see the book of Exodus)

Then there’s Joshua and Caleb? You think those men were weak?

First they were 2 of the 12 spies who went out to recon the land of Canaan before Israel would go in to take it.  They were the only 2 of the group who stood bravely on God’s side.  The rest had no faith, and because of them the people grumbled and were sentenced to wander for 40 years in the wilderness and die there.

(see Numbers 14)

Of course, later, Joshua went on to be the leader of Israel and led them in many battles as they conquered the Promised land. Caleb was also a mighty warrior and was one of Joshua’s general (if not the head general).

(see book of Joshua)

What about the Judges? 

Gideon -  see Judges 6-8

Judges 7:12 Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.

Gideon and 300 men went against them and won!  They were the original 300!

Jephthah –  see Judges 11:1-12:7

Judges 11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.

Samson -  see Judges 13-16  - He killed 1000 Philistine soldiers with the jawbone of an ass.

Judges 15:14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.

Then there was David, the son of Jesse.  He went against a giant of a man when the entire Israelite army was afraid of him.  David killed him and went on to win many battles.  He was a mighty warrior and mighty king!

(See I Samuel 17)

David even had a small group of Mighty Men – amazing warriors in their own right. These were some of the bravest and toughest men there were!

(See 2 Samuel 23) 

We could also talk about Daniel, and the three young Hebrew men – Azariah, Hananiah, and Mishael. (later called Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.)  Between Daniel being thrown into a den of hungry lions, and the three being thrown into a fiery furnace, they faced some of the most horrific punishments imaginable. They each stood firm for Yehovah and His Ways, and he saved them.

(see Daniel chapter 3 and chapter 6) 

I could go on and on.  Your Bible is full of brave men and women.  Believers down through the ages have seen imprisonment, torture, and all kinds of horrible deaths.  These men and women were NOT cowards.  They stood firm for God no matter what!

 These are the epitome of courage.  That is your lineage.  That is your history.  And it may very well be your destiny.

 

If you stand strong in your faith, you have nothing to fear.  Yes.  You may be killed, imprisoned or tortured.  No one wishes for that, but you can be strong.

Think of these great heroes of the faith.  They are watching you from Heaven’s bleachers.

They know the reward and are cheering for you!

I’m not saying this is the end for us.  No way!  God has plans for this world and for His people. 

Remember, if you hold out until the end, you might just get to see Yeshua the Messiah coming on the clouds with the armies of Heaven!  My God.  Just imagine that! 

Our side wins…  

Compiled by G.E. Walker                                                                                      May 2019