Battle Strategies
On this Mother’s Day, I enjoyed conducting the chapel service at Mackenzie Place. It was a delight to have Jerry Pippin as the piano player. These dear folks are always so appreciative and kind. We enjoyed a time of fellowship with the Pippins after the service. Jerry and Virginia were such a blessing to my family during the time of my health crisis. They are doing an excellent job as Directors of the Primetimers ministry at Timberline Church.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “David defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “Like a bursting flood, God has used me to burst out against my enemies.”… David again inquired of God, and God answered him, “Do not pursue them directly. Circle around them and attack them opposite the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then march out to battle, for God will have marched out ahead of you to attack the camp of the Philistines.” 1 Chronicles 14:11,14-15 HCSB
As David is crowned King over a united Israel he is confronted in battle by the Philistines. The Philistines had been the archenemy of Israel and David. However, during his time of exile, David found refuge in the cities of the Philistines. The Philistines were well aware of David’s leadership and exploits and quickly moved against him in battle.
In David’s day, battles were fought with opposing armies facing each other and confronting one another “head on.” Perhaps you have seen images of ancient battles in movies from even more recent eras. It seems that battle strategies remained the same for hundreds and hundreds of years.
As David trusted in the Lord, the Lord went before David and his armies and “burst out” against the Philistines. We don’t know how that took place but the enemy was overwhelmed before David and His men with the power of God on their side. So great and memorable was this victory “they named that place the Lord Bursts Out.”
Some time later the Philistines took aim at Israel once again. We see that instead of “charging off to battle” and doing the same thing in the same way; David sought guidance from the Lord. The Lord gave David unusual instructions for the day. Don’t attack directly but surround them in the midst of the trees of the forest. They were to wait not for David’s command, but for a signal from the Lord’s. We see a picture of the Lord “strong in battle” and the One directing King David and his generals. Once again a great victory was won.
What I notice in these two descriptions is the different strategies used to win a victory and to advance the cause of God’s people in the land. David was not stuck in “doing the same thing in the same way.” He sought the Lord for guidance and was willing to trust the Lord and obey, even if the directions were contrary to the “way things are done.”
We clearly see that the Lord is a God of “multiple strategies.” There is not “right way” there is just the “Lord’s way.” The Lord’s way may be reflected in a variety of approaches. I am thinking about the work of God’s people in the expansion of God’s spiritual kingdom, not a political kingdom. In God’s people going out to “conquer” our spiritual enemy who holds people captive, the methods may be many and varied. I believe this is found within a particular church tradition and can be seen in Christ’s church in a city or our world.
So often the focus is on “doing it right” or doing what we believe is “God’s way.” (Which can mean, “I am right, you are wrong.”) We believe that means the same way, for all situations, for all times. The creative God of the universe should be reflected in the creativity of the methods used to spread the gospel and accomplish the work of the Kingdom of God.
They key is not just human ideas and strategies, or just “being different to be different.” It is “God-inspired” “Spirit-directed” strategies. Some of the greatest conflicts that can occur in a church is doing “something different.” The resistance to change is often reflected in the statement, “we’ve never done it that way before!” One leader observed that we are so focused on uniformity and tradition that even in a church plant people can be founding saying, “we didn’t do it that way last week.”
David didn’t just follow the methods of generally accepted warfare. He was open to seeking the Lord and was flexible. When we embrace those values, we have more grace for appreciating different churches and their methods and changes in approaches within a congregation. The key is being directed by the Lord’s spirit and maintaining unity and keeping in mind the mission we have been given as God’s people. The bottom line is a focus on the mission not the methods. Advancing God’s kingdom is to be the aim behind our methods, regardless of what they may be.