“Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon.” (Numbers 21:14)
There may be those reading this right now who have never heard of the Book of the Wars of the Lord. Don't feel bad, most have not. As a matter of fact there are many books mentioned throughout the Bible that you may not have heard of. In both Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18, there is a book mentioned called The Book of Jasher, that tells of the military battles that Israel had won. Also, in 2 Chronicles 9:29, there are three books mentioned that we don't have: the book of Nathan the Prophet, the Book of the Prophecies of A-hi’jah the Shi’lo-nite,, and the Book of the Visions of Id’do the Seer. Also in 1 Chronicles 2:29 there is a book mentioned called The Book of Gad the Seer. And in 2 Chronicles 12:15 there is a book mentioned called The Book of Shem-a-iah the Prophet. And in 2 Chronicles 20:34 there is mentioned a book called The Book of Jehu.
My point is, although we don't have The Book of the Wars of the Lord in our possession, Oh, what if we did? Can you imagine what kind of victories would be written down within its pages? Can you imagine what kind of encouragement it would give to us in these modern times? Can you just imagine the stories it would tell of the times God came through for his people?
We must understand and acknowledge that God is a God of battles. He is not some little wimpy God who doesn't have any power, but rather is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who has all power. I think a lot of the church world imagines Him as this little white haired, white bearded man because they say He's real old, you know? But hear me, God is not some feeble old man who can't even defend Himself. As a matter of fact, in the song the children of Israel sang when they crossed the Red Sea, they said in Exodus 15:3 that “the Lord is a Man of war. The Lord is His Name.”
King David wrote in Psalm 24:8, “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 1:30, “The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you.” The author of 2 Chronicles 32:8 wrote, “with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles.” Our God is a God of battles. Our God is a Man of war. There is no telling how many countless victories have been won by our God. Victories that have been won over the years that nobody even knows about. Victories in our own lives that we will probably never even find out. If they were all recorded in one huge book called The Book of the Wars of the Lord, can you just imagine what would be contained within its pages? Talk about a book on how to win battles over the devil–this is it!
I'm talking about a God that has never lost a battle. I'm talking about a God that doesn't even know what the word defeat is. I'm talking about a God that has defeated so many of His enemies that He's got a reputation as a mighty warrior that can't lose. Don't believe me? Then read what the Word of God has to say about his reputation in 2 Chronicles 20:29: “And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.” His reputation as a warrior that can't be defeated is still intact today. When Jesus was here on earth, all He had to do was just walk by a demon possessed person and the demon would cry out, “Have you come to torment us before the time?” Even the demons from the pits of darkness know of His reputation. He can't be beat. He can't be defeated. He can't lose. He is the God of battles.
Think about it, fellow warriors. How many miracles? How many wars have been won? How many supernatural things has God done down through the ages that we haven't even a record of? I believe it would blow our minds if we knew. We are serving a mighty God. We're serving a God that can do so much, and has done so much, that if it were all written down on paper, the world itself wouldn't hold all the books that would have to be written. That's not my word, that's the Word of God in John 21:25, just talking about Jesus’ three and one-half years of public ministry. Just imagine if all the battles God has won since the beginning of time were recorded!
Is time for the Church of our day to quit trying to fight all the battles by ourselves. It's time we called upon the God of Battles once again. The Word says it's not our battle in the first place. The battle belongs to the Lord. It's His battle. I'm telling you, if The Book of the Wars of the Lord were ever found, it would confound our finite minds to find out how God has fought for us over the years. It would boggle our minds if we knew how many times God has dispatched his angelic host to our rescue.
If we had this book in our possession, there would probably be many great heroes of the faith listed in this great book. Men like Joshua, Gideon, David, Elijah, Elijah, the Apostle Paul, and John the Revelator. But somehow I feel that there are going to be a few names of people in this book that we won't expect. People that we've lived with and sat beside in churches for all of our lives. People who were mighty spiritual warriors for God. As a body of believers it is time to call upon the God of Battles. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Although there was a literal book called The Book of the Wars of the Lord, there are still battles ahead. There are still wars to be fought ahead in our future. There are many names that have yet to be written in the book. Could you be one? As a spiritual war fighter, do you choose to pick up the standard and march into battle with the Lord God of Hosts? If you will put your trust in Yahweh, the God of Battle, you will win.
Psalm 9:3 states, “When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.”
Psalm 44:5 continues this theme of victory in battle through the God of Battle, when it states, “Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.”
Psalm 60:12 tells us, “Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.”
The Book of the Wars of the Lord is not finished being written yet. There are a few more entries to be made. So let the Church arise as mighty warriors in God's end time army and proclaim once again that our God is the one and only true God of Battle.