I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. Exodus 23:27 NKJV
In our Scripture passage today, God has brought the Israelites out of Egypt. They are free from slavery but will now have to fight when they get into the Promised Land. God wants them to destroy these people living in the Promised Land because they are pagans who are deeply involved in idolatry.
In many of these battles, the armies are too big for the Israelites but not too big for God. In numerous cases God throws the enemy’s army into confusion.
When the Amorite army came against Gibeon, God told Joshua not to fear them for He had delivered them into their hands. In verse 10, it says, “And the Lord threw them into a great panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.”
In 1 Samuel 7:10, the Philistines came against Israel, it says, “But the LORD thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion and they were defeated before Israel.”
And my favorite battle in the Old Testament is the one fought by King Jehosaphat, or should I say observed by King Jehosaphat and his men. King Jehosaphat was walking with the Lord and doing his best to get his kingdom to follow God. He got word that three armies were coming against him. In 2 Chronicles 20:3 he is told that a great multitude was coming against his kingdom. He didn’t panic, he prayed. In verse 3 we are told Jehoshaphat set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
God told Jehoshaphat not to fear for this was not their battle but His. They were instructed to suit up and position themselves for battle, stand still, and watch what God was going to do.” He sent his praise team or his musicians and singers who praised the Lord out first.
God threw these armies into confusion, and they ended up destroying each other. King Jehoshaphat and his men didn’t have to fight, they just had to go in and take all the plunder.
Many people are in confusion today because they don’t know the Lord. They haven’t trusted in Him, nor have they surrendered their lives to Him.
If we stay faithful to God and trust in Him, He will take care of our enemies. We don’t need to plot vengeance. We need only to pray. When we do our part and trust in God and serve Him, He will handle all the rest. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be provided for us.
It’s our job to seek the Lord. It’s our job to surrender to Him. It’s His job to take care of our enemies. In Romans 12:19, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:35 where the Lord says, “Vengeance is mine: I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near and their doom is coming quickly.”
We are living in a battle zone. We are either a soldier in God’s army or the Devil’s army. There is no in-between. If you are with God, there should be no confusion. 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. When we trust in the Lord, we can remain calm. He does not create confusion or contradiction but provides wisdom and truth for those who trust in Him.
In many cases in the Old Testament God did throw the enemies into confusion and panic. If we look around the world today, we see a lot of that going on with those who oppose God and refuse to obey His commands. When we refuse to submit to God, He will give us over to our evil desires (Romans 1:18-24). This is when confusion and panic can set in.
When we surrender to Him, we can be at peace knowing He’s got us. Trust in Him and sit back and watch Him work. He’s got this.
Have a great day!