In the Gospels:
Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Mark 13:7, Luke 21:9
Luke 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Luke 23:11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.
Paul The Apostle:
1 Corinthians 9:7 Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
1 Timothy 1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
2 Timothy 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
James and Peter:
James 4:1-2 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
Revelation speaks of two wars, Armageddon (Revelation 16:16),
at the end of Tribulation and the Final war at the end of the millilumen (Revelation 20:7-9).
Revelation 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Revelation 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Revelation 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
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Category: BIBLE/SCRIPTURE
Battle Part 3
Appears in New Testament (5)
1 Corinthians 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
Revelation 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Revelation 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Revelation 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Revelation 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
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War Part 2
Requirements to go to war for Israel:
Numbers 1:3 From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.
Young Men from each of the 12 tribes:
Numbers 1:20 And the children of Reuben, …
Numbers 1:22 Of the children of Simeon, …
Numbers 1:24 Of the children of Gad, …
Numbers 1:26 Of the children of Judah, …
Numbers 1:28 Of the children of Issachar, …
Numbers 1:30 Of the children of Zebulun, …
Numbers 1:32 Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, …
Numbers 1:34 Of the children of Manasseh, …
Numbers 1:36 Of the children of Benjamin, …
Numbers 1:38 Of the children of Dan, …
Numbers 1:40 Of the children of Asher, …
Numbers 1:42 Of the children of Naphtali, …
Interestingly it does not match the order above. The twelve sons in the order from oldest to youngest: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Numbers 1:45 So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;
Repeats: Moses reminds the people that God is leading them:
Numbers 10:9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
Numbers 21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
Repeats: Young Men from each of the 12 tribes:
Numbers 26:2 Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers’ house, all that are able to go to war in Israel.
Moses gets the people ready for war as the march onward to the promise land:
Numbers 31:3-7 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian. Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.
Numbers 31:21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;
Numbers 31:27-28 And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation: And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:
Numbers 31:32 And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,
Numbers 31:36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:
Numbers 31:42 And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,
Numbers 31:49 And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.
Numbers 31:53 (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)
Numbers 32:6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?
Numbers 32:20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,
Numbers 32:27 But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord saith.
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Battle Part 2
Appears in Job (4)
Job 15:24, 38:23, 39:25, 41:8
Appears in Psalm (7)
Psalm 18:39, 24:8, 55:18, 76:3 , 78:9 , 89:43 , 140:7
Appears in Proverbs (1)
Proverbs 21:31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.
Appears in Ecclesiastes (1)
Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Appears in Isaiah (6)
Isaiah 9:5, 13:4 , 22:2 , 27:4 , 28:6 , 42:25
Appears in Jeremiah (7)
Jeremiah 8:6, 18:21 , 46:3 , 49:14 , 50:22 , 50:42 , 51:20
Appears in Ezekiel (2)
Ezekiel 7:14, 13:5
Appears in Daniel (2)
Daniel 11:20 , 11:25
Appears in Hosea (4)
Hosea 1:7, 2:18 , 10:9 , 10:14
Appears in Joel (1)
Joel 2:5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
Appears in Amos (1)
Amos 1:14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
Appears in Obadiah (1)
Obadiah 1:1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
Appears in Zechariah (6)
Zechariah 9:10, 10:3-5 ,14:2-3
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Battle
A body of forces, or division of an army. The main body, as distinct from the van and rear. To give battle, is to attack an enemy; to join battle, is properly to meet the attack; but perhaps this distinction is not always observed.
Battles make up smaller components of the bigger picture; WAR. As one studies these Battles (and Wars_ it is evident that God directly was involved).
Abraham deals with the first Battle recorded in Scripture:
Genesis 14:8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;
Appears in Numbers (7)
Numbers 21:33, 31:14, 31:21, 31:27, 32:27, 32:29
Appears in Deuteronomy (10)
Deuteronomy 2:9, 2:24, 3:1, 20:1-7, 29:7
Appears in Joshua (5)
Joshua 4:13, 8:14, 11:19, 11:20, 22:33,
Appears in Judges (10)
Judges 8:13, 20:14, 20:18, 20:20-28, 20:34, 20:39, 20:42
Appears in 1 Samuel (21)
1 Samuel 4:1-2, 7:10, 13:22, 14:20, 14:22-23, 17:1-2, 17:8, 17:13, 17:20-21,
1 Samuel 17:28, 17:47, 26:10, 28:1, 29:4, 29:9, 30:24, 31:3
Appears in 1 Samuel (21)
2 Samuel 1:4, 1:25, 2:17, 3:30, 10:8-9, 10:13, 11:1, 11:15, 11:25, 17:11
2 Samuel 18:6-8, 19:3, 19:10, 21:17-20, 22:40, 23:9
Appears in 1 Kings (9)
1 Kings 8:44, 20:14, 20:29, 20:39, 22:4, 22:6, 22:15, 22:30, 22:35
Appears in 2 Kings (2)
2 Kings 3:7, 3:26
Appears in 1 Chronicles (17)
1 Chronicles 5:20, 7:11, 7:40, 10:3, 11:13, 12:8, 12:19, 12:33, 12:36-37, 14:15
1 Chronicles 19:7-10, 19:14, 19:17, 20:1
2 Chronicles 13:3, 13:14, 14:10, 18:5, 18:14, 18:29, 18:34, 20:1, 20:15, 20:17
2 Chronicles 25:8, 25:13
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The Gospel
Not found in the Old Testament. The word gospel is derived from the Anglo-Saxon term god-spell, meaning “good story,” a rendering of the Latin evangelium and the Greek euangelion, meaning “good news” or “good telling.” Since the late 18th century, the first three, Matthew, Mark and Luke have been called the Synoptic Gospels.
SEE The Gospel of Matthew
SEE The Gospel of Mark
SEE The Gospel of Luke
SEE The Gospel of John
SEE The Gospel of Paul
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Suicide
There are church traditions on suicide which can confuse the issue. Some, even teaching that a person who commits suicide can not go to Heaven. A Look are those who took their own lives:
Wicked Abimelech committed suicide, persuading another man to help.
Judges 9:54 Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his servant ran him through, and he died.”
Samson feeling all was lost pulled down the house:
Judges 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
King Saul also wanted his servant to kill him, but had do to it himself.
1 Samuel 31:4 Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
Feeling all lost, the servant followed his King:
1 Samuel 31:5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him.
Ahithophel so depressed by events that happened in his family.
2 Samuel 17:23 And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
The sins of Zimri (16:19) overcame him:
1 Kings 16:18 When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died.
Judas so depressed by his actions:
Matthew 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
The jailer would have BUT Paul stopped him:
Acts 16:27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled
Yes, suicide is a terrible tragedy, a sin even, but it does not negate the Lord’s act of redemption. Did any of the seven go to Heaven? It depends on what they believed, NOT what they did! When one becomes a Believer, they have Eternal life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
This is a promise from God. The Lord Jesus said:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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Exodus – Part 44
To Rephidim came the Israelites and once again they had a great plight. Not enough water for man and beast to drink. Just like at Kadish and now what should they think?
They hollered at Moses to give him shame.
Just as in the past they forgot God’s name.
Moses’s reply was quick and clear,
remember its God that you should fear.
After all He has done for both me and you,
God is so faithful and always so true.
But, maybe we should not be so quick to judge. In our land of plenty only a small minority are willing to thank God for all we have.
And remember, they lived 400 years in a country that worshipped Pharaoh as their god-man.
Under those circumstances it might be easy to revert to the thought that their leader was not just a man, but a god-man.
Once again the Israelites were mad, their reply was, why did you bring us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst.”
All through the first five books of the Old Testament
we will find evidence that the Israelites confused the personalities and personages of God with Moses.
We tend to assume Moses was conflicted. He cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people?
Before long they will be stoning me.”
Protests in that day were symbolized by the stoning of those the people were unhappy with. Moses evidently was afraid of that fate.
We don’t know if Moses was truly afraid the Lord may allow him to be stoned to death or not.
Put yourself in his place, would you be afraid of that type of riot?
But the Lord had an answer. He told Moses to Pass before the people with some of the elders of Israel
and take your rod that has performed favorably in the past.
God then assured him. I will be standing there before you on the rock at Horab. Smite the rock and water will issue forth from it and the people will drink.
This place was named Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested God. Massahtranslates quarreled, Meribah translates tested.
After that incident there was a fourth crisis that fell upon the Israelite people.
The nation of Amalek, though unprovoked, came and fought with the Israelites. Moses instructed Joshua to pick some men to go out and battle Amalek.
But Moses didn’t just send Joshua, he gave him confidence that he would also be there.
He said, “I will station myself on the top of the hill,
with the rod of God in my hand.”
Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron and Hur went on top of the hill.
I don’t know about you, but that man named Hurcaught my attention, because I never heard of him before. Though I remembered the movie “Ben Hur”.
Well there are three separate men named Hur mentioned in the Bible, all in the Old Testament.
The least-known of the three is simply mentioned by name in Nehemiah 3:9. He was the father of Rephaiah, one of the rulers of Jerusalem who repaired a section of the walls of Jerusalem.
Another Hur in the Bible was one of the five rulers of Midian in the time of Moses.
But the most well-known Hur appears in the book of Exodus. He is described as being from the tribe of Judah.
As Hur is most often mentioned in conjunction with Aaron, Moses’ brother and high priest of the Israelites; it is likely that Hur also had a place of authority among the people.
Hur is one of the two men who went to the top of the hill with Moses, while the Israelites’ battled
against the Amalekites.
At the top of the hill whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but whenever he let down his hand Amalek prevailed.
Well you can imagine poor Mosses, his hand grew weary. So they took a stone and put it under his armwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hand
on each side. Mosses hand stayed steady until the sun set.
Some interpret the fact of holding up his hand was so the Israelites could look up and dedicate their hearts to their father in Heaven, and then they prevailed; but when they forgot to look up they failed.
And Joshua overwhelmed the people of Amalek
with the sword.
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Exodus – Part 48
The fourth of the ten Commandments is “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Notice that God did not have to tell the Israelites what day the Sabbath was.
He had already taught them that they could gather the manna for six days and on the sixth day, Friday, they were to gather a double portion so they would not have to gather or to work for their food on the seventh.
The instructions from God were not to work on Saturday, but it also does not say they were to rest on the Sabbath. Actually they were told to make it holy. In Hebrew “holy” means separate or distinct.
There are actually only two commandments that require positive action. All the others say, “Thou shalt not.” And remember the Sabbath is the only commandment that requires a ritual.
It’s also important to note that the ten Commandments are universally applicable.
And it is interesting to note that the Christian world is the only non-Jewish civilization to have adopted the Ten Commandments. And the best part of all is
there is a good reason for accepting and adopting the Ten Commandments as our creed: it affirms that God created the world in six days and on the seventh day He rested. This is a good pattern for man to follow to be healthy, wealthy and wise. And the neat part of it is that your children and your animals are just as free from work as you are
on the Sabbath.
After teaching we need a day of rest we are next told to honor our father and our mother. If a child does not honor parental authority he is less likely to honor God.
In fact, it is so in reverse also. If a child does not honor their parent they are less likely to honor God.
If we pay close attention we will see there are only two commandments telling us who we should honor. First God and second our parents.
Actually it is more important to honor your parent than it is to love them. The moral success of a society does not depend on children loving their parents, but it does depend on children honoring their parent.
We know in Paul’s writings he repeats “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
“Honour your father and mother”, which is the first commandment associated with the promise. It says “so that it may be well with you and you may have a long life on the earth.”
The only moral authority that is higher than parents is God. And then comes the reward! To honor your father and mother is the only one of the Ten Commandments that specifies a reward. The promise is to all of society. It promises the collective nation that if its members honor their parents,
the family will be preserved, it religious traditions and beliefs will be preserved, and the civilization will long endure.
The breakdown of the family is a guarantee of the breakdown of a civilization. God bless those parents
who have raised up a child In the way he should go.
God’s promise is:
Train up a child
in the way he should go:
and when he is old,
he will not depart from it.
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Exodus – Part 47
At this point the Israelites are at God’s Mountain, – Mt. Sinai, and they are warned they cannot touch the mountain when God is there. When God was no longer there they could go to the mountain because it was not holy if God was not there.
Having fear for what God can do, this fact truly frightened the Israelites.
In the Talmud there is a legend that depicts God holding the mountain over the heads of the people and threatening to drop it on them if they did not accept the law. The point being made is the Israelites accepted the law out of fear.
When you think about it logically that seems to be what makes people obey a law? If we are truthful, it is very convincing that we are persuaded to obey
by the combination of love or fear.
(I behave myself because I don’t want to suffer the consequences of misbehaving, or, because my love for the law giver makes me want to keep the object of my affection happy, whether parents, spouse, or other authority. I believe my attitude is shared by possibly the majority of people.)
Moses led the people out of the camp toward Gad where they took their places at the foot of the mountain.
Mt Sinai was all in smoke, because the Lord was on it. The Lord had come down upon it; and the whole mountain trembled violently. The Lord had come down upon it in fire. And as Moses spoke God answered him in thunder.
The Lord had come to the top of Mt Sinai and called Moses to the top with Him. He then told Moses to go down and warn the people not to break through the land to graze. He also said the Priests must remain pure. After this he reiterated that the people were not to come to the mountain or they would die.
Per normal, telling them once is not enough but poor Moses is naïve enough to think that since they were warned they would not come to the mountain
God, being much wiser than Moses knows curiosity will be stronger than the rule to stay away from the mountain. Genesis chapter 20 makes it abundantly clear that it is God who gave the Ten Commandments and they were not Moses’ idea.
No human is the sole source or responsible for all the words in the Ten Commandments. God is the sole author and giver of these rules that are given to the people.
The Ten Commandments are also called “the Decalogue”. The Decalogue is the alternative name
for the Ten Commandments, and actually means Ten Words.
The Ten Commandments are the first and only example of a covenantal relationship between
deity and an entire people. They are unique in that God revealed His will not just to a single prophet
or to a privileged class, but to an entire people;
all of whom became answerable to its terms.
The Ten Commandments focuses not only on the relationship with the ruler, but also on each individual’s behavior toward every other individual. They treat both religious and social obligations as expressions of divine will. The Ten Commandments are laws that are simple, absolute, and devoid of qualification.
God gave the Ten Commandments to the ancient nation of Israel. He chose to give the Commandments in the no-man’s land of a desert
rather than in the land of Israel. This seems to signify that they are not just for one nation but apply to all people, from the beginning of their giving clear through to the end.
These biblical principles given to the Jews are set principles given by God, relating to ethics and worship, and play a fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity.
The first and second commandments go hand in hand, both emphasizing the need to give our worship exclusively to the one true God
The commandments were written on two tables of stone by the finger of God. The Jews are to follow the commandments anywhere and everywhere thy go, and not just when they are in Israel.
The Commandments are listed in both Exodus and Deuteronomy.
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