“They set out and went to Bethel to inquire of God. The people of Israel said, “Who of us shall be first to
go into battle with the Benjaminites? God said Judah goes first.”
The people of Israel marched out against Benjamin and took up their positions, ready to attack Gibeah.
But the Benjaminites poured out of Gibeah and devasted twenty-two Israelite divisions on the ground.
The Israelites went back to the sanctuary and wept before God until evening. They again inquired of God,
Shall we again go into battle against the Benjaminites, our brothers?
God said, Yes, Attack.
And they again inquired of God. The Chest of God’s Covenant was there at the time with Phineas son
of Eleazer, the son of Araron, as the ministering priest. They asked,
Shall we again march into battle against the Benjaminites, our brothers?
Or shall we call it quits?
And God said, Attack. Tomorrow I’ll give you the victory.
Judges 20: 18-28
This is a very interesting story. It is interesting because,
The Israelites were told to attack the Benjaminites and only after the third attempt were they successful!
THEY SOUGHT THE LORD for direction and it was The Lord who
told them to attack!!!! God told them to attack and they got defeated twice…… A lot of people were killed
during the first two attempts! Was there confusion, yes! But God told us to attack, must have been the thought
on people’s minds. Did we make a mistake hearing God’s voice, must have been another thought. But this is the
point, God had told them to attack!
I didn’t get it at first. How could that be? How could God tell them to do something only to fail? I asked
God to show me the lesson He wanted me to learn from this story. The lesson is this,
There may be things you are trusting God for. You may have even heard Him say yes, but that doesn’t
mean instant success. There will be times where you will doubt what God told you to do. But there is a reason.
God wants you to trust Him.
Just because God said “yes” doesn’t mean no problems and trials, and challenges, and questions. Keep on fighting,
Keep pressing on towards what God told you to do. You may be in a place where nothing seems to be working.
Maybe God wants you to keep at it. Don’t lose hope. He has not abandoned you.
You may have lost a lot as you followed what God told you to do and you are now regretting stepping out.
Your story is not over. There is a reason you are going through what you are going through.
He can be trusted…..
Rolain
kingspeech 