Joshua 5:13 – “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “ Are You for us or for our adversaries?”NKJV
For some reason this popped into my mind as I sat down to blog, “Whose side is God on”? And then this verse was brought to my mind. Having been down this road before, I knew what I was supposed to blog about tonight!
In the text for today, Joshua was ready to go into battle against Jericho. Apparently he was taking a stroll, or praying, or thinking about strategies for the upcoming battle, when suddenly someone was standing before him. He didn’t know it was an angel at first, but he asks, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
How many times have we gone to God asking the same question? “God, whose side are you own?”
People take their sports seriously in America. Football, basketball, baseball, and every other kind of sport is serious. I well remember watching the playoffs during the Bulls many championship seasons, and feeling those tense moments when the game wasn’t going in our favor. It wasn’t strange to have someone say, “God is for the Bulls! We’re going to win this thing!” Maybe jokingly, and maybe not, but they felt the game was just that important to them so it must’ve been important to God. And since they were believers, He had to be on their side! Or because the quarter back was a believer, or the pitcher, or the coach… You get the point!
How about in the dispute of marriage? Two believers are having a really tough time at it. They are both sure that they are right, and they are both sure that God is leading them. They dig their heels in feeling confident they are hearing from God! Whose side is He on? How would you know?
Well, in this particular instance with Joshua, the angel responded that he wasn’t on either side, because he was on the side of the Lord! I don’t believe the angel has changed positions, nor has God! If the sports fanatic asked him that question, he would respond the same way. If the spouse asked him that question, he would respond the same way! The Lord changes not!
You see, Joshua was sent by God to fight the battle of Jericho. Technically, Joshua was on God’s side. Interestingly enough to note, that even though Joshua was carrying out the will of God in going up against Jericho, the angel reminded Joshua that he was on the side of the Lord, and only on God’s side!
I’m going there tonight! Whose side is God on in this presidential mayhem? Is He for the Democrats or the Republicans? Who did He want to win and what will He do about it? God’s on His side! He’s for the Democrats and the Republicans and He gave us the choice to pick our president!
Sometimes we vote and we elect a Republican for President, and sometimes we elect a Democrat. It is inevitable since we have only two major parties, that it happens that way. It’s called a democracy!
As Christians we understand that God cares about a righteous nation.
Proverbs 11:10 – When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation. NKJV
And:
Proverbs 29:2 – When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. NKJV
Righteous leadership always benefits the righteous! But with all that is going on in our country, its getting increasingly more difficult to determine who is righteous. And that’s a shame!
I mentioned before that in the 2016 election, Democrats were referred to as the “evil Democrats” by too many church leaders. And here we are four years later and it is still happening! We’ve learned nothing in four years!
I believe that in this culture of politics, we have become one another adversaries, and I think it is wrong. We still are not to wrestle with flesh and blood! This is not a theocratic situation where we got together before God, He told us who the leader would be, and we chose them, anointed them, and released them to lead. Nope! It’s a democracy! And we have voted and chosen our new President. Half of the country is not happy, the other half is very happy! We all think God is on our side! But He isn’t! He is on His side!
It’s always great when our candidate win! However, in a democracy, once the vote is cast, the deal is done! I agree with President-elect Biden, it’s time to put the harsh words and the name calling aside, and join forces to unite our country! Hear the words of our Savior:
Mark 3:25 – And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. NKJV
Jesus told it true! If we keep fighting like this, we will destroy ourselves and no foreign power will have to. We cannot afford another civil war! Let’s unite! Let’s continue the mantra, “one nation under God” and let’s do all we can to make it so! Wonderful Jesus!
Wonderful Jesus! 