Onward Christian Soldier
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The Lord Prepares His People for War
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SERMON SUMMARY
God's people are to take dominion of the earth. Whether that is by means of ordinary work or disciple-making, we are on a mission to conquer the world. Numbers 10 helps us see who we are as God's foot soldiers and the assurance that the battle is his. |
Message begins at the 35 min mark.
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Julian is said to be the last pagan emperor of the Roman Empire. He is sometimes refereed to as Julian the Apostate, because he reigned in the mid 4th century, after Constantine the Great. Constantine, of course, is the emperor who had declared Christianity to be a lawful religion in the Roman Empire.
But Julian was a determined enemy of Christianity and he sought to return Rome to its pagan roots. While he did not attempt to exterminate the Christians with murderous persecutions, he did seek to harass them to no end. He passed laws and made edicts which sought to keep Christians from having any kind of influence in society. His desire was to see Christianity pushed into the lower classes and, therefore, into a place of irrelevance.
At the end of his life he was engaged in a in a war with the Persians. He suffered a fatal wound. In this condition we are told that he filled his hand with blood and casting it into the air, said, “Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!”
During this expedition, in another part of the world (the city of Antioch) one of Julian's followers a Christian who lived there a question. Derisively he inquired, “What is the carpenter's son doing?” The Christian man replied, “The Maker of the World, whom you call the carpenter's son, is employed in making a coffin for the emperor.”
A few days after, news came to Antioch that Julian had died.
People might have only seen one war being waged at the time. But you can be assured that there were actually two battles being fought. And the conflict between the Romans and the Persians was much less significant than the conflict that was being waged between the King of Rome and the King of Kings.
Today we are turning to the book of Numbers. This passage is all about Israel having to pack up and move. They had been at Mt. Sinai for over two years. And they are now setting out to begin their journey to Canaan. And the cry of this text is “Onward Christian Soldier!”
Those who read this passage are to be reminded that God’s People are engaged in a war—a war that God himself will win.
If you are keeping track of world news, all you have heard about for the last couple days are wars. Wars in Israel; wars in Ukraine. There are rockets soaring and guns blasting all over the earth today.
But this passage is not about just any war. This passage reminds us of God’s war. And it is the war to end all wars. For it is the War for Peace. Our mighty King wages a war on Evil. And he calls us to rise up and engage in this war. And we will understand more fully our calling to go forth in our battle when consider what this passage says about Israel, Hobab, and Moses.
The first thing I want to draw your attention to in our passage is Israel as a whole. Specifically, their formation. You get an understanding of the war when you think about how Israel is arrayed.
I. The formation of Israel [11-28]
In verses 11-28 we have one of those really repetitive and stimulating passages that about puts you to sleep as you read it. It probably doesn’t mean much to you and you probably wonder why it is here.
But I have a couple pictures here for you. And you can see in these pictures a little of what it would have looked like as they set out. And you’ll get the real sense of what this passage portrays.
Julian is said to be the last pagan emperor of the Roman Empire. He is sometimes refereed to as Julian the Apostate, because he reigned in the mid 4th century, after Constantine the Great. Constantine, of course, is the emperor who had declared Christianity to be a lawful religion in the Roman Empire.
But Julian was a determined enemy of Christianity and he sought to return Rome to its pagan roots. While he did not attempt to exterminate the Christians with murderous persecutions, he did seek to harass them to no end. He passed laws and made edicts which sought to keep Christians from having any kind of influence in society. His desire was to see Christianity pushed into the lower classes and, therefore, into a place of irrelevance.
At the end of his life he was engaged in a in a war with the Persians. He suffered a fatal wound. In this condition we are told that he filled his hand with blood and casting it into the air, said, “Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!”
During this expedition, in another part of the world (the city of Antioch) one of Julian's followers a Christian who lived there a question. Derisively he inquired, “What is the carpenter's son doing?” The Christian man replied, “The Maker of the World, whom you call the carpenter's son, is employed in making a coffin for the emperor.”
A few days after, news came to Antioch that Julian had died.
People might have only seen one war being waged at the time. But you can be assured that there were actually two battles being fought. And the conflict between the Romans and the Persians was much less significant than the conflict that was being waged between the King of Rome and the King of Kings.
Today we are turning to the book of Numbers. This passage is all about Israel having to pack up and move. They had been at Mt. Sinai for over two years. And they are now setting out to begin their journey to Canaan. And the cry of this text is “Onward Christian Soldier!”
Those who read this passage are to be reminded that God’s People are engaged in a war—a war that God himself will win.
If you are keeping track of world news, all you have heard about for the last couple days are wars. Wars in Israel; wars in Ukraine. There are rockets soaring and guns blasting all over the earth today.
But this passage is not about just any war. This passage reminds us of God’s war. And it is the war to end all wars. For it is the War for Peace. Our mighty King wages a war on Evil. And he calls us to rise up and engage in this war. And we will understand more fully our calling to go forth in our battle when consider what this passage says about Israel, Hobab, and Moses.
The first thing I want to draw your attention to in our passage is Israel as a whole. Specifically, their formation. You get an understanding of the war when you think about how Israel is arrayed.
I. The formation of Israel [11-28]
In verses 11-28 we have one of those really repetitive and stimulating passages that about puts you to sleep as you read it. It probably doesn’t mean much to you and you probably wonder why it is here.
But I have a couple pictures here for you. And you can see in these pictures a little of what it would have looked like as they set out. And you’ll get the real sense of what this passage portrays.
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This first picture is an aerial view of Israel. You see here how the different tribes would have looked like when they set out on the march. If you were to take a helicopter over the people of Israel this is the basic shape it would have had. You see all the different tribes in their different places.
Now, what you need to understand is that this is the formation of an army. This wasn’t just a people moving out into the wilderness. The Lord had aligned them in such a way that they would have looked like different battalions marching towards Canaan. |
So as you look at it, you see that the Lord was in the vanguard. He was out front leading the people. Then each of the tribes would have filed in behind each according to their standard.
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Here is an artist’s rendition of what we have here in Numbers 10. Again, you can see that the tribes are grouped together like army batallions.
It’s interesting that the artist of this picture even depicts the Israelites as having swords drawn and in a ready position. He might have been improvising at that point, but it does communicate the idea of warriors marching out to battle. |
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Now you can get a good idea of what is being communicated if you compare Israel's formation with other nations and their battle formations. Here is a depiction of a Roman legion. You can see the similarity. It is quite striking. In this picture you can see the regiments and auxiliaries all aligned in their respective leagues. Israel would have looked almost identical to this.
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So, when you read this (or when you look at this) you get the idea that this is not just a nomadic people. These were not a jumbled band on a hike to a new land. These people were on a mission. They were setting out with the intent of conquest. They had their sights set on land of Canaan, and possibly even the whole world. They were going forth to war so that they could make peace.
That was God’s original design wasn’t it? When the Lord gave Adam and Eve their marching orders he told them to go forth and have dominion over the world. They were to fill the earth and subdue it. In other words, they were to take possession of it and make it a world of peace and harmony.
You might say, “Hey! There was no sin in the world. Why would they have to make it peaceable?” Well the idea was that the land needed to be cultivated. Adam and Eve were like the first settlers who had to go out and bring order to the world by farming it and developing all its potential.
Here again in this passage in Numbers 10 you see the same sort of thing going on. God was leading his people forth to conquer the wild and bring peace to a world full of chaos.
And, of course, that is our mission. Christ has given us our marching orders. Christ has commissioned us to go into all the world and make disciples. Once again, He has given us the mandate to fill the world and subdue it.
Of course, we don’t do it with weapons of wood and steel. We do it with the Sword of the Spirit. By the word and by the Spirit we are bringing forth a new kingdom; a kingdom which wages war in order to bring everlasting peace.
Sometimes we will even talk about the church in different ways. When we refer to the saints who have died, we call them the church triumphant because they have gone into heaven. But those of us who are still here on earth, we are referred to as the church militant. We are the soldiers of God who are engaged in the battle.
Now, you probably have the little kids’ tune going through your head already: “I’m in the Lord’s army.” But let me use this opportunity to give you some encouragement. So often we think we are so much weaker than we are. We can get a pessimistic attitude and sometimes our moral can really sink. This is especially true if you are one who keeps track of the news. The headlines never seem to paint a good picture for us. And we can become downtrodden when we consider the status of the church today too. It is no secret that the church in America is a mess.
What we see with our eyes gives us every reason to sulk. But what we read in Scripture should brighten our attitude. God is conquering the world, and he is doing it through us.
Jesus told the parable of the mustard seed. The mustard seed was the smallest seed imaginable, but it grew to be the biggest tree in the garden. That parable was about the kingdom of God. There was a small seed that was sown in a cave in Judea. The body of our Lord was put in the earth. But his church is growing and infiltrating the whole world. My friends, Christ is building his church and the gates of hell are quivering at the sight of it. And we are a part of that great advancement.
Years ago, when I first came back to Ashland, I was seeking to be a church planter in Ashland. That church plant didn’t last. It only went for about 5-6 years. And it only had a handful of families who were a part of it. It may have had 20 people on a Sunday. That would have been a big crowd.
But one of the guys in that church said something that really stuck with me over the years. He said of that church, “We may be small, but we are mighty.” That is exactly right. (And I personally believe that we were more mighty than he even imagined!) That little church did a lot of evangelism. There were prayers that were offered by that church that were great prayers. I know that it didn’t end up lasting, but I can’t help but think that that little outpost was a real threat to Satan.
Now, in thinking about ourselves, you should see our congregation as one of the regiments in this battle. We are part of this great conquest of Christ too. And God is calling us to wage war. Because there’s only one way that we can make peace. It is through our witness and through our prayers and through our worship that God is bringing his kingdom to bear on the world around us.
It is a beautiful thing to behold that God was taking this ragtag band of ex-slaves and making them into his earth conquering warriors. We can see it in Israel’s formation. He’s sending a clear message of who Israel was and who we are.
But we can also see this beautiful little holy war verses 29-32. This is the passage which talks about Hobab and how he comes to be assimilated into the nation of Israel.
II. The assimilation of Hobab [29-32]
In verses 29-32 we are made to listen in on a conversation between Moses and Hobab, his brother-in-law. You remember that Moses ran away from Pharaoh after he killed the Egyptian. And he ran away to the desert. There he became a shepherd. While he was out there he married a Midianite woman by the name of Miriam. Hobab is Miriam’s brother.
In these verses we see Moses urging (almost begging), Hobab to come with Israel as they set out on their journey. And you notice that at first Hobab is hesitant. But after Moses insists, Hobab concedes and says he will go along. And we know that from the book of Judges. In Judges tells us that decadents of Moses’ wife’s family were present in Israel after the time of the conquest. So Miram’s family comes to be assimilated into the covenant people of God.
But what I want you to notice is that this is a mini battle in the war on the world. What was Hobab’s initial response? He wanted to go back to his nation. He wanted to return to his family. That is to say, he wanted nothing to do with the Lord and his people. His initial response was to forget the Lord. He wanted to go back to his old, pagan ways.
But when he was pressed, he could not resist. And you can understand why. It was such a persuasive argument. Moses said, “If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things that the Lord gives us.” In other words, you will have a lot with us in the promised land and share in the plunder we take.
What you have here is a little evangelistic encounter. Moses is saying, “You need to come follow the Lord. You need to dedicate your life to the Lord.” And that really translates into putting his faith in the Lord. And Moses is using territorial language, but it is really the language of the gospel. If you come with us, the Lord will do you good. You will have a share in the land of promise. That’s basically Moses’ way of saying, “Hobab, if you trust in the Lord, you will receive eternal life. You will be the beneficiary of God’s promises.”
So there’s a sense in which Hobab himself becomes the first to be conquered in Israel’s conquest. And isn’t that a great way to start a war for peace? The Lord subdues one of his enemies right there. A man makes peace with God and becomes assimilated into the Lord’s ranks.
Really, this is partially how the war is won. God’s war is won as people come to embrace the good promises that God makes. God promises to do us good; to give us the greatest good: It is the good of eternal life in heaven.
I hope that this gives you a little insight into what evangelism is all about. I know there are different people here who are at different places in regards to evangelism. Some of you are not really the kind who want to engage. Maybe you don’t know how to engage. Maybe you have some trepidation about engaging someone. Certainly family members; people like Hobab, can be some of the most difficult or awkward people to engage.
And I know that there are others of you in this congregation who are like special forces when it comes to doing evangelism. You have a gospel tract in one hand and you’re ready to ask someone if they are a good person. You have the methodology memorized and you are ready to pull the trigger at a moment’s notice.
But let me just say that what you have here is a great way to do evangelism. It’s not overly confrontational and it is really easy. It’s as simple as this. “I want you to come to know the goodness of the Lord. I want you to know the good that the Lord can do for you.”
That’s basically what Moses did for Hobab. He just laid out the promise. God has promised to do good to us. He’s promised us good things like eternal life. He can give it to you too. Why don’t you come join us. Come find out what the Lord is willing to do for you.
You’ll notice that Hobab wasn’t given the 4 spiritual laws. He wasn’t even asked if he was a good person or not. Moses didn’t interrogate Hobab as to whether he was a liar or if he had ever stolen anything.
There’s no doubt that Hobab would have been confronted with the realities of God’s law at some point. He’d certainly been there when Moses came down off the Mountain with the law. But you’ll notice here that it is all about the promises of God and the hope that God would do good to them.
Sometimes that’s what people need to hear. That’s really what redemption is all about. It is about God doing good to his people. It’s about how he fulfills the promises that he has made to his people.
The beautiful thing about Hobab is that he accepts that truth. He chooses to follow the Lord and he clings to that promise.
This is why we can have confidence in the mission of the church. Hobab, the idolator, wants to go follow his easy, comfortable, enjoyable life. But he gets caught up with the good that God has promised.
Maybe there’s someone here too that needs to here of the good that God promises. Maybe there’s someone here who is in Hobab’s spot. Let me invite you to join Hobab. God’s call to you is to come be a part of his people. Begin to follow Christ. I can assure you that what God has to offer is so much better than anything else that you could possibly have in this world. God promises good things like peace, joy, and forgiveness. God promises eternal life and a hope for a better life, even one beyond this world.
You know, again, it all comes down to the fact that God is waging a war in this world. And you want to be on the winning side. And if you side with Christ, there is peace to be had. Peace with God and peace for eternity.
There’s one more part of this passage. And there’s another part of the war that I want you to see. It comes at the end of the passage.
III. The declaration of Moses [33-36]
In the last few verses of chapter 10 we see Moses lifting up his voice in a triumphant war cry. When the Lord set out Moses cried out, “Rise up O Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.” And then when it was time to camp He said, “Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.”
Can you see the war/peace contrast? “Rise up. Let your enemies be scattered.” That’s the shout of war. And the cry of peace, “Return to the thousands of Israel.” The warrior is returns from the conflict to settle down in his house among his family.
Here we learn the greatest lesson regarding the war we are engaged in: We are not the ones who are ultimately fighting the battles. God is the warrior. He is the one who is involved in the contest. We are just following behind him settling what he has overturned.
You know, in the New testament, that same sort of message is conveyed. The last few chapters of the book of Revelation are quite vivid in their description of God’s war. There’s all kinds of war language used in that book. But one of the great war images is of Christ upon a white stallion. Christ comes forth riding on this mighty steed, depicted as a great warrior.
And the message there to those saints was one of victory. It was a reminder that Christ was going forth to do battle. They might not feel that they could stand up against the persecutions that they were undergoing. They might think that they could never survive all that Nero was throwing at them. It was a hard time. And that’s why they needed to remember that it was Christ who was riding forth before them into battle. The battle was the Lord’s battle and the victory was already in his hands. The Christians need only persevere and live in obedience.
A lot of people talk about how Christ was a man of peace. They like to play up his role as a peacemaker and how he was meek and mild. Somehow they forget that Christ was also the one who had fire in his eyes. He was the one who came not to bring peace, but a sword. And the picture of Christ in the book of Revelation is a bloody one. His robes are stained with blood like a man who has just treaded the grapes in a wine press.
So you see how Christ establishes peace by conquering evil, but you’ll also notice that Moses is very balanced in his view of God.
He not only calls God to rise up and scatter his foes, he also is happy to declare the God of Israel to be the one returns to the thousands of Israel. He returns to his people (the very ones he subdues) and he enjoys communion with them. He’s not just a great warrior, he’s a great Father. He will march out to war, but he will also come in to be with his people and serve them.
There’s the balance you see in the book of Revelation. There at the end, you have God returning to the thousands of his people. The Book of Revelation ends with city, a city in which God dwells. Right there in that city God is going to have a throne upon which he will sit. He will be right there in the midst of that city and he is going to dwell with the people of that city.
The great thing about that is that after he conquers our hearts he does not throw us in the stocks. He becomes our king. He becomes one who is ready to commune with us and serve us.
Conclusion:
Prince Edward was part of the English royal line in the 14th century. He died early in life, so he never was able to become king. But he was an apt ruler and quite a capable military man. He was known as the Black Prince because he favored a dark color for his armor.
It has been said that Edward never fought a battle that he did not win. (And this is true of our God. He is the victor in every contest he enters.) But Edward conquered France in one of his campaigns. And in doing so he took the king of France prisoner. That same night Edward brought the defeated king in to his supper table. He didn’t leave that French king to rot in a prison. Edward brought him into so that they could eat together. And, to top it all off, Edward nobly condescended to wait on his royal captive. The conqueror actually served the conquered.
That is what Christ does for each of us who are subdued by him. By his grace he subdues us. But then he brings us into his house. And our God goes so far as to waits upon us.
To be sure, our God is a God of war. But let me just remind you that it is a war that has as its aim more than just ravaging the enemies and their lands. It is ultimately a war of peace.
And one day, my friends, evil shall be overthrown once and for all. Our God is currently rising up. He’s marching forth. And someday there shall be one last battle where he brings it all to an end. As Paul says in the book of Romans, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under our feet.”
Until that time, our cry is onward Christian soldier. We need to file in with the ranks of Israel and continue to seek dominion over this earth.
That was God’s original design wasn’t it? When the Lord gave Adam and Eve their marching orders he told them to go forth and have dominion over the world. They were to fill the earth and subdue it. In other words, they were to take possession of it and make it a world of peace and harmony.
You might say, “Hey! There was no sin in the world. Why would they have to make it peaceable?” Well the idea was that the land needed to be cultivated. Adam and Eve were like the first settlers who had to go out and bring order to the world by farming it and developing all its potential.
Here again in this passage in Numbers 10 you see the same sort of thing going on. God was leading his people forth to conquer the wild and bring peace to a world full of chaos.
And, of course, that is our mission. Christ has given us our marching orders. Christ has commissioned us to go into all the world and make disciples. Once again, He has given us the mandate to fill the world and subdue it.
Of course, we don’t do it with weapons of wood and steel. We do it with the Sword of the Spirit. By the word and by the Spirit we are bringing forth a new kingdom; a kingdom which wages war in order to bring everlasting peace.
Sometimes we will even talk about the church in different ways. When we refer to the saints who have died, we call them the church triumphant because they have gone into heaven. But those of us who are still here on earth, we are referred to as the church militant. We are the soldiers of God who are engaged in the battle.
Now, you probably have the little kids’ tune going through your head already: “I’m in the Lord’s army.” But let me use this opportunity to give you some encouragement. So often we think we are so much weaker than we are. We can get a pessimistic attitude and sometimes our moral can really sink. This is especially true if you are one who keeps track of the news. The headlines never seem to paint a good picture for us. And we can become downtrodden when we consider the status of the church today too. It is no secret that the church in America is a mess.
What we see with our eyes gives us every reason to sulk. But what we read in Scripture should brighten our attitude. God is conquering the world, and he is doing it through us.
Jesus told the parable of the mustard seed. The mustard seed was the smallest seed imaginable, but it grew to be the biggest tree in the garden. That parable was about the kingdom of God. There was a small seed that was sown in a cave in Judea. The body of our Lord was put in the earth. But his church is growing and infiltrating the whole world. My friends, Christ is building his church and the gates of hell are quivering at the sight of it. And we are a part of that great advancement.
Years ago, when I first came back to Ashland, I was seeking to be a church planter in Ashland. That church plant didn’t last. It only went for about 5-6 years. And it only had a handful of families who were a part of it. It may have had 20 people on a Sunday. That would have been a big crowd.
But one of the guys in that church said something that really stuck with me over the years. He said of that church, “We may be small, but we are mighty.” That is exactly right. (And I personally believe that we were more mighty than he even imagined!) That little church did a lot of evangelism. There were prayers that were offered by that church that were great prayers. I know that it didn’t end up lasting, but I can’t help but think that that little outpost was a real threat to Satan.
Now, in thinking about ourselves, you should see our congregation as one of the regiments in this battle. We are part of this great conquest of Christ too. And God is calling us to wage war. Because there’s only one way that we can make peace. It is through our witness and through our prayers and through our worship that God is bringing his kingdom to bear on the world around us.
It is a beautiful thing to behold that God was taking this ragtag band of ex-slaves and making them into his earth conquering warriors. We can see it in Israel’s formation. He’s sending a clear message of who Israel was and who we are.
But we can also see this beautiful little holy war verses 29-32. This is the passage which talks about Hobab and how he comes to be assimilated into the nation of Israel.
II. The assimilation of Hobab [29-32]
In verses 29-32 we are made to listen in on a conversation between Moses and Hobab, his brother-in-law. You remember that Moses ran away from Pharaoh after he killed the Egyptian. And he ran away to the desert. There he became a shepherd. While he was out there he married a Midianite woman by the name of Miriam. Hobab is Miriam’s brother.
In these verses we see Moses urging (almost begging), Hobab to come with Israel as they set out on their journey. And you notice that at first Hobab is hesitant. But after Moses insists, Hobab concedes and says he will go along. And we know that from the book of Judges. In Judges tells us that decadents of Moses’ wife’s family were present in Israel after the time of the conquest. So Miram’s family comes to be assimilated into the covenant people of God.
But what I want you to notice is that this is a mini battle in the war on the world. What was Hobab’s initial response? He wanted to go back to his nation. He wanted to return to his family. That is to say, he wanted nothing to do with the Lord and his people. His initial response was to forget the Lord. He wanted to go back to his old, pagan ways.
But when he was pressed, he could not resist. And you can understand why. It was such a persuasive argument. Moses said, “If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things that the Lord gives us.” In other words, you will have a lot with us in the promised land and share in the plunder we take.
What you have here is a little evangelistic encounter. Moses is saying, “You need to come follow the Lord. You need to dedicate your life to the Lord.” And that really translates into putting his faith in the Lord. And Moses is using territorial language, but it is really the language of the gospel. If you come with us, the Lord will do you good. You will have a share in the land of promise. That’s basically Moses’ way of saying, “Hobab, if you trust in the Lord, you will receive eternal life. You will be the beneficiary of God’s promises.”
So there’s a sense in which Hobab himself becomes the first to be conquered in Israel’s conquest. And isn’t that a great way to start a war for peace? The Lord subdues one of his enemies right there. A man makes peace with God and becomes assimilated into the Lord’s ranks.
Really, this is partially how the war is won. God’s war is won as people come to embrace the good promises that God makes. God promises to do us good; to give us the greatest good: It is the good of eternal life in heaven.
I hope that this gives you a little insight into what evangelism is all about. I know there are different people here who are at different places in regards to evangelism. Some of you are not really the kind who want to engage. Maybe you don’t know how to engage. Maybe you have some trepidation about engaging someone. Certainly family members; people like Hobab, can be some of the most difficult or awkward people to engage.
And I know that there are others of you in this congregation who are like special forces when it comes to doing evangelism. You have a gospel tract in one hand and you’re ready to ask someone if they are a good person. You have the methodology memorized and you are ready to pull the trigger at a moment’s notice.
But let me just say that what you have here is a great way to do evangelism. It’s not overly confrontational and it is really easy. It’s as simple as this. “I want you to come to know the goodness of the Lord. I want you to know the good that the Lord can do for you.”
That’s basically what Moses did for Hobab. He just laid out the promise. God has promised to do good to us. He’s promised us good things like eternal life. He can give it to you too. Why don’t you come join us. Come find out what the Lord is willing to do for you.
You’ll notice that Hobab wasn’t given the 4 spiritual laws. He wasn’t even asked if he was a good person or not. Moses didn’t interrogate Hobab as to whether he was a liar or if he had ever stolen anything.
There’s no doubt that Hobab would have been confronted with the realities of God’s law at some point. He’d certainly been there when Moses came down off the Mountain with the law. But you’ll notice here that it is all about the promises of God and the hope that God would do good to them.
Sometimes that’s what people need to hear. That’s really what redemption is all about. It is about God doing good to his people. It’s about how he fulfills the promises that he has made to his people.
The beautiful thing about Hobab is that he accepts that truth. He chooses to follow the Lord and he clings to that promise.
This is why we can have confidence in the mission of the church. Hobab, the idolator, wants to go follow his easy, comfortable, enjoyable life. But he gets caught up with the good that God has promised.
Maybe there’s someone here too that needs to here of the good that God promises. Maybe there’s someone here who is in Hobab’s spot. Let me invite you to join Hobab. God’s call to you is to come be a part of his people. Begin to follow Christ. I can assure you that what God has to offer is so much better than anything else that you could possibly have in this world. God promises good things like peace, joy, and forgiveness. God promises eternal life and a hope for a better life, even one beyond this world.
You know, again, it all comes down to the fact that God is waging a war in this world. And you want to be on the winning side. And if you side with Christ, there is peace to be had. Peace with God and peace for eternity.
There’s one more part of this passage. And there’s another part of the war that I want you to see. It comes at the end of the passage.
III. The declaration of Moses [33-36]
In the last few verses of chapter 10 we see Moses lifting up his voice in a triumphant war cry. When the Lord set out Moses cried out, “Rise up O Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.” And then when it was time to camp He said, “Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.”
Can you see the war/peace contrast? “Rise up. Let your enemies be scattered.” That’s the shout of war. And the cry of peace, “Return to the thousands of Israel.” The warrior is returns from the conflict to settle down in his house among his family.
Here we learn the greatest lesson regarding the war we are engaged in: We are not the ones who are ultimately fighting the battles. God is the warrior. He is the one who is involved in the contest. We are just following behind him settling what he has overturned.
You know, in the New testament, that same sort of message is conveyed. The last few chapters of the book of Revelation are quite vivid in their description of God’s war. There’s all kinds of war language used in that book. But one of the great war images is of Christ upon a white stallion. Christ comes forth riding on this mighty steed, depicted as a great warrior.
And the message there to those saints was one of victory. It was a reminder that Christ was going forth to do battle. They might not feel that they could stand up against the persecutions that they were undergoing. They might think that they could never survive all that Nero was throwing at them. It was a hard time. And that’s why they needed to remember that it was Christ who was riding forth before them into battle. The battle was the Lord’s battle and the victory was already in his hands. The Christians need only persevere and live in obedience.
A lot of people talk about how Christ was a man of peace. They like to play up his role as a peacemaker and how he was meek and mild. Somehow they forget that Christ was also the one who had fire in his eyes. He was the one who came not to bring peace, but a sword. And the picture of Christ in the book of Revelation is a bloody one. His robes are stained with blood like a man who has just treaded the grapes in a wine press.
So you see how Christ establishes peace by conquering evil, but you’ll also notice that Moses is very balanced in his view of God.
He not only calls God to rise up and scatter his foes, he also is happy to declare the God of Israel to be the one returns to the thousands of Israel. He returns to his people (the very ones he subdues) and he enjoys communion with them. He’s not just a great warrior, he’s a great Father. He will march out to war, but he will also come in to be with his people and serve them.
There’s the balance you see in the book of Revelation. There at the end, you have God returning to the thousands of his people. The Book of Revelation ends with city, a city in which God dwells. Right there in that city God is going to have a throne upon which he will sit. He will be right there in the midst of that city and he is going to dwell with the people of that city.
The great thing about that is that after he conquers our hearts he does not throw us in the stocks. He becomes our king. He becomes one who is ready to commune with us and serve us.
Conclusion:
Prince Edward was part of the English royal line in the 14th century. He died early in life, so he never was able to become king. But he was an apt ruler and quite a capable military man. He was known as the Black Prince because he favored a dark color for his armor.
It has been said that Edward never fought a battle that he did not win. (And this is true of our God. He is the victor in every contest he enters.) But Edward conquered France in one of his campaigns. And in doing so he took the king of France prisoner. That same night Edward brought the defeated king in to his supper table. He didn’t leave that French king to rot in a prison. Edward brought him into so that they could eat together. And, to top it all off, Edward nobly condescended to wait on his royal captive. The conqueror actually served the conquered.
That is what Christ does for each of us who are subdued by him. By his grace he subdues us. But then he brings us into his house. And our God goes so far as to waits upon us.
To be sure, our God is a God of war. But let me just remind you that it is a war that has as its aim more than just ravaging the enemies and their lands. It is ultimately a war of peace.
And one day, my friends, evil shall be overthrown once and for all. Our God is currently rising up. He’s marching forth. And someday there shall be one last battle where he brings it all to an end. As Paul says in the book of Romans, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under our feet.”
Until that time, our cry is onward Christian soldier. We need to file in with the ranks of Israel and continue to seek dominion over this earth.