Swords and Violence !!

 

Swords and Violence !!  (Praying Over our City Message)

Jesus was speaking;  "And from the days of John the Baptist until now; The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12 NKJV)

“The kingdom of heaven suffers violence” is a graphic picture of the enthusiasm and excitement generated by John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ teaching. People were hungry for the truth and would not be kept away.   For centuries, God’s prophets had predicted the Messiah’s coming, and now that the Messiah was here, nothing could hold back the flood of people pressing into the kingdom. We see some of this fervor in Luke 5:18-19, when some men literally tore through a roof to get to Jesus, and in John 6:15, when a crowd “intended to come and make Jesus king by force.”

I am remembering as a young girl, when I believed that intercession was only one way and that was to have a burden so violent that your insides felt like you were giving birth. Now I am not saying this is wrong, because there are situations that call for this type of intercession. Then there are other times we intercede in prayer by sweet and gentle praising God that he has answered our initial prayer which may in many cases been that heavy violent prayer of intercession.

Other times we use God's word as we intercede over the pressing needs of our loved ones, our city, state and Nation.

The Bible refers to the Bible being a sword that cuts and divides the soul and the spirit. God's word as a sword is sharp and at times makes huge slices to bring about changes in our life. As we pray using scriptures we can claim that God is working toward the answer that is so heavy on our hearts. Thanking God for Opening blind spiritual eyes to truth and causing deaf spiritual ears to respond to the invitation of Jesus to come follow me.

Today I want to call our attention to one of the Judges in the Old Testament. Moses was a judge, but when the task became too heavy for him, he appointed 70 elders to judge in each of the 12 tribes. These judges were appointed by man, and were anointed and set in place by God. When we as individuals respond to truth being taught, we expand our horizons to include new borders that were not there before. We take on the assignment to become a prayer warrior over our home, reaching out to our neighborhood. We become like the Judges in the old Testament.

A biblical Judge had three phases, and in each phase the judge discharged one of his three primary duties. Conviction, Deliverance, and administration. We can pray for God to send conviction over those without Jesus, to bring Deliverance to those who are oppressed and in bondage, and we can each one of us become an administrator to share what the Bible says about living for Jesus.

The first task that a Biblical judge had to perform was to convict the people of their sins. The sin in question here was a national or collective sin: turning away from God and worshiping other gods. These other gods were usually the local agricultural and fertility cults that were abundant in Canaan, and included Baal and Ashtoreth.

A judge would measure his success by the genuine repentance of the people, and the demonstration of that repentance by their actions in putting away all their foreign gods and God-substitutes and serving the True God and no other.

Once the judge had accomplished the first task, he could usually be sure of achieving the second. God always was ready to deliver His people when they returned to Him. The deliverance, or liberation, was usually from exacting of tribute to actual invasion and occupation or, in the original case in Egypt, slavery.

After the judge had achieved deliverance, he would administer justice and keep the people focused on serving God alone for as long as he lived. This was a very difficult task, and to be effective, the judge had to set a good example in his personal conduct in addition to judging cases fairly and honestly.

I am reminded of; 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Because The children of Israel had forgotten God, and were in bondage and heavily taxed by the King of Moab, they humbled themselves and cried out to God for deliverance. When the Israelites cried out to God for help, God sent Ehud to serve as a judge. You may never have heard of Ehud?

Ehud served as the second judge of Israel following Othniel. After Othniel’s death, the people of Israel sinned and were taken in bondage to the king of Moab, serving him for 18 years (Judges 3:13-14.)

Ehud was the son of Gera and belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. He was also noted as a left-handed man (Judges 3:15). This detail would become important to the success of his mission.

Beginning in Judges 3:16, we read that Ehud made himself a small sword (about 16 inches long) and strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes—had Ehud been right-handed, he would have carried the sword on his left side. Next, he visited the Moabites’ King Eglon bringing the tribute payment. When Ehud was checked for weapons, his small sword was apparently missed as it was in an unexpected location.

Following the presentation of his tribute, Ehud said that he had a secret message for the king. Everyone left the room except Ehud and King Eglon. Ehud then pulled out his sword and stuck it into the king’s stomach. The king was extremely obese, and the sword disappeared inside his belly. Ehud left the sword and escaped through a porch opening.

When Eglon’s servants later found the king dead and they were terrified. Ehud had already escaped and rallied the people of Israel. Going to the town of Seraiah, located in Ephraim, Ehud sounded a horn or shofar, calling the people to battle. The Israelites cut off the Moabites at the Jordan River. Judges 3:29 records that about 10,000 Moabites were killed in the battle. Once free from Eglon’s rule, the Israelites enjoyed 80 years of peace, the longest peaceful period recorded during the time of the judges (Judges 3:30).

While this account is one of the more graphic scenes in Scripture, it is also very insightful. We can seen the power of God in this story for a variety of reasons. First, a lone man (one person) walked into the king’s palace, assassinated the king, and walked out without being captured. This was a highly unexpected event that involved great risk. Second, one battle changed the next 80 years of Israel’s history. Ehud’s story involves more than removing a wicked leader; it includes a change in national history for an entire generation. Third, Ehud’s success is a story of freedom. Just as God had redeemed Israel from Pharaoh and the land of Egypt when they cried out for help, God redeemed Israel from their bondage under King Eglon when they turned to Him.

What can we learn from this message? Ehud’s actions offer a valuable look at how God can change the course of a nation in a single day when He responds to the cries of His people.  Also God is looking for ONE person to be obedient and respond to His voice of direction.

A lesson relevant still today.  It is important for us to consider that the righteous prayers of ONE intercessor is powerful enough to change a city, a state and a nation. Let us hold high the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God, and at times let us become violent in our prayers as we intercede for those who need Jesus.