Blood-chess

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

How many battles have been fought since the beginning of time? How many wars? How can the death and destruction that resulted from all of the needless aggressions of Man be measured? The exact answer to these questions doesn’t matter; the result is still a waste of human lives. Wars are still being waged to this day. And because of the sheer number of conflicts, humanity has developed war into an art form. Hostility, al la Sun Tzu! Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Genghis Kahn, Napoleon Bonaparte, Ulysses S. Grant, and Adolph Hitler played blood-chess with entire generations. Depending on who or when you asked, they were all intensely loved or passionately hated.

Today, campaign strategies, casualty reports, missile trajectories, and troop movements have all been reduced to formulae on a laptop impersonally held by someone usually far from the front lines and earshot of the sounds of death!  Computerized slaughter might appear to desensitize one to the carnage, but death is death. Sons and daughters will never again sit at a holiday banquet table. Birthdays of fallen heroes now bring heartbreak and tears instead of cake and presents. Too many candles have been extinguished. Nevertheless, my friends, wars still rage!

One prerequisite for bringing marginal order to the chaos of war is the necessity of following orders. Chains of command are established to ensure who has been given authority to lead and issue orders. Every person involved needs to understand where his or her place is in this chain, who we command, and who commands us. But one thing needs to be perfectly clear: orders must be obeyed from the top down! “Are we clear?” “Crystal!”

Moses had recently died, and Joshua immediately received a field promotion (probably with a substantial “bump” in pay!) God ordered him to lead all of Israel across the Jordan River and enter the land God had promised Moses. He told Joshua that every place he put his foot was Israel’s land. If anyone disputed his claim to the inheritance the Israelites were given, they would not be able to stand against you. And, believe me, there were plenty of disputes. Nevertheless, God was not only with them; He would be their constant companion, always ready with unwavering support. God told Joshua, “I will be your Commander-in-Chief. I will fight all your battles, and Josh, I haven’t lost one yet!”

And now, God gives the order: “Be strong and courageous.” God told him not to be frightened. He knew what was ahead of them. More importantly, He knew that Israel’s memory was pretty short—their ability to recall miracle after miracle seemed to fade with each new trial or inconvenience. But God promised them they would all be okay if they didn’t turn to the right or left and kept His Word in their hearts. In other words, if you follow My orders, you’ll be fine. Did they follow orders? Yes, they did... for a little while. 

But that was then, and this is now. Do we still follow orders? Do we still understand who will always be our Commander-in-Chief? Do we question His authority? Do we believe we have enough strength and courage to continue our battles? Do we realize that someday, there will no longer be wars? Fact! We are not alone. God is still with us in Jesus the Christ! Emmanuel – “God with us!” Fact! Sure, it’s not always easy to obey, but when we follow the battle plans of the Lord, it's empowering. It’s exciting and energizing. We know that victory is right around the corner, and we are all an integral part of His army... as long as we follow His orders!

“Squad! Attention!” Respond, “Yes, Lord! We’re ready for Your command!”

I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the truth is... "Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." - Joshua 1:9

All Scripture notations are taken from the World English Bible (WEB).