Defeat the Enemy Within

RestoringVoice

Oct 1

"So then, the Lord left some nations in the land to test the Israelites who had not been through the wars in Canaan. He did this only in order to teach each generation of Israelites about war, especially those who had never been in battle before. Those left in the land were the five Philistine cities, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanon Mountains from Mount Baal Hermon as far as Hamath Pass. They were to be a test for Israel, to find out whether or not the Israelites would obey the commands that the Lord had given their ancestors through Moses. And so the people of Israel settled down among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. They intermarried with them and worshiped their gods." Judges‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭

Joshua knew that they were called to defeat the enemy within these areas as they entered the promised land.

The Lord your God will bring you into the land that you are going to occupy, and he will drive many nations out of it. As you advance, he will drive out seven nations larger and more powerful than you: the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. When the Lord your God places these people in your power and you defeat them, you must put them all to death. Do not make an alliance with them or show them any mercy. Deuteronomy 7:1-2

"But when you capture cities in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, kill everyone. Completely destroy all the people: the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord ordered you to do. Kill them, so that they will not make you sin against the Lord by teaching you to do all the disgusting things that they do in the worship of their gods. Deuteronomy 20:16-18

Then Joshua said to the people, "Come here and listen to what the Lord your God has to say. As you advance, he will surely drive out the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. You will know that the living God is among you. Joshua 3:9-10

In Joshua 9, we learn that the Hivites deceived Joshua and he ended up entering a covenant with them because he did not seek God first. Other than this, it was the disobedience on the parts of the Israelite. They did not defeat the enemy within which left continuing issues with these nations following the death of Joshua.

Although on a national level, we may have enemies; I believe as individual believers this also applies. When God gives us a revelation of areas in our life of area where we need to defeat the enemy within us, we need to take those seriously. We need to completely eradicate the power of our life and break off the strongholds and chains of sin that exist in our lives. We can break the chains of generational strongholds and curses from our family so that they don't come back to test those who come after us.

The seven nations that were to be destroyed were part of a curse that Noah put on His son.

Noah, who was a farmer, was the first man to plant a vineyard. After he drank some of the wine, he became drunk, took off his clothes, and lay naked in his tent. When Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked, he went out and told his two brothers. Then Shem and Japheth took a robe and held it behind them on their shoulders. They walked backward into the tent and covered their father, keeping their faces turned away so as not to see him naked. When Noah sobered up and learned what his youngest son had done to him, he said,

"A curse on Canaan!
He will be a slave to his brothers.
Give praise to the Lord, the God of Shem!
Canaan will be the slave of Shem.
May God cause Japheth to increase!
May his descendants live with the people of Shem!
Canaan will be the slave of Japheth." Genesis 9:20-27

Had the Israelites done as God commanded initially, maybe their history's would have been different. Instead they continued to be attacked throughout the Old Testament and most are still around today although they are known by other names.

When we don't destroy in our life what God has told us to, to eradicate the sin strongholds, what is left will end up being a test to those who come after us. Our descendants will end up fighting the giants, like the Philistines, because we didn't completely destroy them. Those that follow will continue to battle and not know the peace that is available until they have learned from the tests of the battle of war they never should have had to face.

Prayer - Lord, reveal areas in my life where I need to defeat the enemy within my own soul. In Your power, stop completely the influence of sin's strongholds in my life. I don't want my children, grandchildren, and other decedents in the generations that follow after me to have to fight those things that I should have destroyed. Lord, I want to have victory over the generational curses and strongholds, in Jesus name. Amen.