1S7-11: ‘Guns & Moses’ Is The Secret To Israel’s Victories On The Battlefield

“As Sh’mu’el was presenting the burnt offering, the P’lishtim advanced to attack Isra’el. But this time, Adonai thundered violently over the P’lishtim, throwing them into such confusion that they were struck down before Israel.”-1 Samuel 7:10

So the Israelites are praying and sacrificing to the Lord…

And just when Samuel offered up a young lamb…

The Philistines attacked…

That should have been the end of the Israelites…

Except it wasn’t.

We’re told the Lord “thundered” down from heaven and threw the Philistines into a panic.

What does this “thundering” mean exactly?

Scripturally speaking, whenever we read of a “thundering in the heavens” or the Lord “thundering”, it always precedes God’s judgement in some way.

In other words, “thunder” is symbolic of the Lord’s anger.

But what exactly happened here at Mitzpah when the Philistines attacked?

Was it actually the scary noise of real thunder that sent the Philistines into a panic?

Or something more supernatural in nature?

We do have instances in the Scripture where the Lord psychologically “panics” the enemy…

And this will have nothing to do with any physical phenomenon.

It’s just that the Lord in some mysterious way instills this overwhelming fear into Israel’s enemies that causes them to flee in terror.

Or it could be a combination of both…

Which is what I suspect is happening here.

Now I’m getting 3 takeaways from today’s lesson.

FIRST, notice how the Lord easily gave Israel the victory simply because they were in prayer and worship to Him.

As a result, the Israelites were able to chase down the panicked Philistine soldiers and strike ’em all down when just a few years earlier, at the exact same battlefield, the Israelites were slaughtered by the Philistines and lost their precious Ark of the Covenant.

The tables had been turned simply because Israelites decided to gather together for prayer and repentance.

There’s a huge lesson there folks!  

Don’t overlook it.

Onwards.

SECOND, when reading this account about how the Lord threw the Philistines into a panic…

I couldn’t help thinking there were many times in my life when I suffered anxiety and panic attacks…

But then I asked myself, as a believer, is this supposed to happen?

I mean shouldn’t I be experiencing the peace that surpasses all understanding?

After praying about the matter, I realized sometimes the reason we suffer from worry or anxiety may be due to disobedience to Him in someway.

In other words, the panic we feel is a sign from the Lord that we have strayed off the path and need to get back on it.

If that’s the case, then we need to reexamine ourselves and get right with Him again.

FINALLY, the third takeaway I’m getting from today’s post is just how important the psychological and spiritual components are to warfare.

In fact, I’d say it’s even more important than physical weapons.

The Philistine warriors were trained soldiers with the most sophisticated weaponry of their time in their possession…

Yet after just one divinely sent panic attack sent by the Lord, they were thrown into a tailspin and defeated by a bunch of Hebrews in prayer.

There’s another huge lesson there homies.

So tell me, which takeaway resonates the most with you?

Or if you got another takeaway, I’d love to hear it.

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

^“Put on the full armor of God,
so that you can take your stand
against the devil’s schemes.
For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers,
against the authorities,
against the powers of
this dark world and 
against the spiritual forces of
evil in the heavenly realms.”
-Ephesians 6:11-12