A Big God, Two Little Flocks of Goats, and A Vast Army
So it was, in the spring of that year, that Ben-Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
. . . Now the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the countryside. . . . And they encamped opposite each other for seven days. So it was that on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; then a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left.
And Ben-Hadad fled and went into the city, into an inner chamber.
Then his servants said to him, "Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please, let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare our life."
So they wore sackcloth around their waists and put ropes around their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-Hadad says, 'Please let me live.' "
And he said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother." I Kings 20:26-32 (NKJV)
. . . Now the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the countryside. . . . And they encamped opposite each other for seven days. So it was that on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; then a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left.
And Ben-Hadad fled and went into the city, into an inner chamber.
Then his servants said to him, "Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please, let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare our life."
So they wore sackcloth around their waists and put ropes around their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-Hadad says, 'Please let me live.' "
And he said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother." I Kings 20:26-32 (NKJV)
Ben-Hadad started off boasting against Israel because Syria had a vastly superior army. What he did not know was that Israel did not depend on the vastness of their army but rather on the vastness of their God. Israel knew that God could save by the few or many as Jonathan the son of King Saul once said to his armor bearer. Israel knew that God could whittle down a vast army of 32,000 soldiers to a paltry 300 men and still give them victory as He did with Gideon.
Israel knew as the Psalmist says in Psalm 20:7 that "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the Name of the LORD our God."
God had already assured them of victory so even though they "Looked like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the countryside," a victorious outcome was already theirs because their Mighty God was leading them in battle. The miracle of two little flocks of goats killing 100,000 enemy soldiers and twenty-seven thousand others crushed by a divinely orchestrated falling wall; along with their king wearing sackcloth and ropes tied around his head pleading for his life was a divinely orchestrated victory.
The vastness and enormity of your situation, in light of your strength and ability to fight on, might make you look like two tiny flocks of goats facing a vast army that fills the countryside. You don't have much of a weapon but the enemy has numerous horses and chariots. But hold on. Listen and look up to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith. He is with you all the way.
Your vast and enormous situation might be in the form of the salvation of a loved one for whom you have been praying for years; it could be a difficult financial situation; it could be a difficult boss at work or an overwhelming job situation and environment; it could be a messy marital situation or even an impossible legal situation; it could be a deadly disease ravaging your body. Like Caleb and Joshua, don't look at the giants on the land, but look at the Giant of the God you serve.
Don't be intimidated by the vastness of your problem; be encouraged by the vastness of your God and keep fighting on. You might look like two tiny flocks of goats and the enemy might look like a vast army spread among the countryside, but you serve a big God. Don't give up. Fight on. Get up everyday and determine to fight on. God will bring you the victory.
Israel knew as the Psalmist says in Psalm 20:7 that "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the Name of the LORD our God."
God had already assured them of victory so even though they "Looked like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the countryside," a victorious outcome was already theirs because their Mighty God was leading them in battle. The miracle of two little flocks of goats killing 100,000 enemy soldiers and twenty-seven thousand others crushed by a divinely orchestrated falling wall; along with their king wearing sackcloth and ropes tied around his head pleading for his life was a divinely orchestrated victory.
The vastness and enormity of your situation, in light of your strength and ability to fight on, might make you look like two tiny flocks of goats facing a vast army that fills the countryside. You don't have much of a weapon but the enemy has numerous horses and chariots. But hold on. Listen and look up to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith. He is with you all the way.
Your vast and enormous situation might be in the form of the salvation of a loved one for whom you have been praying for years; it could be a difficult financial situation; it could be a difficult boss at work or an overwhelming job situation and environment; it could be a messy marital situation or even an impossible legal situation; it could be a deadly disease ravaging your body. Like Caleb and Joshua, don't look at the giants on the land, but look at the Giant of the God you serve.
Don't be intimidated by the vastness of your problem; be encouraged by the vastness of your God and keep fighting on. You might look like two tiny flocks of goats and the enemy might look like a vast army spread among the countryside, but you serve a big God. Don't give up. Fight on. Get up everyday and determine to fight on. God will bring you the victory.
Prayer: Father, I thank you for the assurance that it is not by my might nor by my power but by Your Spirit. The mountain I face will be leveled in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.