Some thought the men of Gad had the hearts of lions.
Before we move on to understand how the inheritance of Israel came forth for the rest of the tribes of Israel; we should pause here and note that there is so much Christians of today could learn from the tribe of Gad. We can see this in the way they stood and fought with their nation to obtain total freedom for all of God’s people.
WELCOME
Welcome to the COME AS A CHILD BIBLE STUDY which we conduct on this blog every Thursday. Today we are continuing our study from The Book of Joshua. If you wish to take this journey through the bible with us; just click on the “subscribe” button above and provide your contact information. You will receive each new post in the future. Thank you for joining in with us! Our journey so far has been exciting.
We can’t leave our discoveries of the tribe of Gad who are now returning to their share of the inheritance of Israel’s sons without asking what the warriors of today could learn from them.
DO WE HAVE LION’S HEARTS?
Moses had rightfully called these warriors of Gad “lions.” What was it about their characters that resembled lions?
Lions stand and fight.
They are never victims.
Lions are bold and courageous.
These Gaddites did not roll over and play victims to the lies of the pagans who roamed the land of Canaan. The Gaddites knew the One True God and they were willing to put their own personal needs aside to stand and fight for His honor.
These men had integrity and dignity. They were loyal and good and remained faithful to their community.
DO WE HONOR GOD’S TRUTH?
How do the modern-day warriors of God compare to these ancient warriors?
Are they so bold?
Will all of the warriors of today stand for the truth of The One True God and honor Him, even when it means risking themselves and their own blessings in the process?
I wonder.
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF WARFARE
One wise and weary warrior of today has faithfully pointed out to us the fact that today’s warriors must learn how to master a type of fifth-generation warfare.
5GW is unlike battles of the past. It is warfare that is conducted primarily through knowledge using social engineering, misinformation, cyberattacks and other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and other types of autonomous systems. This modern warfare is a war of “information and perception.”
A truly discerning modern-day warrior must master the lies and deceptions of today’s culture.
Warriors of the past had to fight physical battles. Today’s warriors must fight spiritual and mental battles. Today’s greatest enemy is deception. Jesus warned us to be aware of such things. We must learn how to discern crowd psychology, trolls, bots, swarm decision making and the hidden powers that step up to influence how we see, think and feel about our world.
Today’s warriors must see the world through God’s eyes; not those deceivers who throw false and misleading information at us in every turn of the road
Modern-day warriors for God must always remember the word of Daniel 12:4; But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”
KNOWLEDGE HAS INCREASED
The above passage warns us that in the end knowledge will be increased. Any information that we want is readily available to us these days in an easy-to-obtain format because of the internet and increased technology.
Knowledge has been greatly increased and that is one sign of the end.
However; receiving so much knowledge from so many sources does not necessarily mean that we have become wiser. True wisdom comes from God. His Word is the solid truth that we are given for discernment in these days. God’s Holy Spirit living within the spirits of God’s people is allowed to be there in order to help us to find our way. That way is often against the grain of the world’s “knowledge.” We must be careful to seek God’s answers in order to have perfect wisdom. God’s wisdom will help us to win these modern-day battles of the mind.
ARE YOU WINNING THE VICTORY?
When you received salvation from believing in Messiah; you were automatically enlisted as a warrior in this battle.
If this pattern for seeking God’s truths and living our lives through them were truly playing out among God’s warriors of today; there would be more repentance going on with our lands. People would be more humble. Sin would decrease instead of steadily increasing throughout our lands. Multitudes would come to understand the truth instead of falling for the one long string of misinformation and falsehoods that they are being fed and are now swallowing up and trying to digest.
The food of the world is very unhealthy. This constant spiritual health problem is only going to increase and continue to bring more and more health problems to people who are not paying attention to God’s ways of living.
In John 16:13 Jesus told us how to find real truth. That is the only healthy food for our souls.
John 16:13 -But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
Modern-day warriors for God are truth-seekers and overcomers.
ONLY THE TRULY WISE WILL UNDERSTAND
The same angel that told Daniel of the things to come also told him that in the end the wicked would be even more wicked and only the truly wise would understand. It is our responsibility to become truly wise. That requires knowing and recognizing who the enemy is.
All of the end-time warriors should be able to recognize the strategy of Satan and his demons. We should never fall for their deceiving tactics. Their words are carefully crafted and they sound so good. They are false words that deceive, lie, steal and kill.
The war that we are fighting is truly an information war. The huge increase of information that is readily obtainable by any and all is what the enemy of God will twist and turn and use against us if we are not careful and discerning.
Information technology and politics are a deadly weapon in today’s warfare. Much of it is furnished by those controlled by demons and Satan. Things are not always what they seem. A great warrior must be constantly consulting and praying to God for discernment and direction.
THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY SEEM
The hidden demons and principalities which we face in today’s battles have been around since the beginning of time. They have successfully used their methods of deception since The Garden of Eden. It takes maturity in Christ and prayerful direction from God to fight the constant bombardment of information we are receiving.
We all have friends, loved-ones and neighbors who are not yet mature in God’s Kingdom. They may not yet be strong enough to discern certain aspects of the battle. It is up to us to keep the truth alive and known. We must fight for them. The living stones of the Church of The One True God must continue to furnish true and dependable spiritual guidance; not the garbage that can be obtained from the streets of the world.
THE BATTLE WILL BE LONG
Those ancient Gaddites grew tired and weary in battle. It was a long time between the day they claimed the land they desired for their inheritance and left their wives and children behind while they fought the never-ending battles that were needed to free the inheritance of the rest of Israel.
They did not stop until God’s leader told them that the fighting would end.
The brave men of Gad gave years of their lifetime helping others to know how to overcome and walk into their own inheritance from God.
Being warriors of this fashion was part of what God had called the men of Gad into when He first formed their purposes on this earth. They faithfully lived into their purpose. The great blessings in the lush green valleys full of herds surrounded by cozy homes with their loving families were the reward that would eventually play out for them. However; these mighty men of Gad knew if they were not loyal enough to stand and help their spiritual and national family that all of those blessings would eventually go away from them too. The men of Gad did not give in to the culture around them.
They fought God’s battles.
Each Gaddite warrior fought the good fight.
The Gaddites remained determined and fought on until all of the necessary battles had ended. The nation of Israel gained much and thrived on because of their mighty efforts which were continually backed by God’s supernatural strength. These warriors bravely lead each charge; being the first to face the enemies and prevail through the power and might of a supernatural God.
OUR DEMONS ARE EVEN GREATER
We must find the strength and determination that these men knew.
Our stand must be even stronger because the demons and principalities that we face are even greater now. God will help us to prevail in a supernatural way if we just stay the course and keep fighting.
Be like those warriors of old and stay committed to integrity, truth, human dignity and community.
The enemies of God have firmly planted bad seeds deep down into our amber waves of grain. An Armageddon is coming; but we know who wins.
OUR GOD IS GREATER THAN ANY DEMON
Be strong and do not cave.
Do not allow yourself to be forced into joining in with those who are not loyal to the ways of God.
Fight the battle of the mind with all of your strength. Call on God’s power to back you up. This is how all great and godly nations continue to thrive and bring God’s glory to the earth.
Be the Gaddites of today and stand firm, strong and loyal for God’s Kingdom.
The green pastures will be there when the battles are over.
God always keeps His promises