Spiritual Warfare

[1 Sam 13:17] And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies…

[1 Thes 5:23] And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Philistines were enemies of Israel. It is believed that they migrated from Crete to Palestine either directly or through Egypt. Goliath represented the kind of threat and taunting these Philistines posed for Israel.

The word translated spoilers in the first text indicates those who ravaged, corrupted, ruined, or destroyed. These were annihilators and exterminators. That is the purpose of the enemy of the soul, the devil, who is typified by these people called Philistines.

The second text contains a prayer of Paul for the believers at Thessalonica that they would be watched over, protected, guarded completely (as seen in the word preserved) so that nothing could be laid at their charge when Jesus comes.

I have used the two texts together to illustrate how the ultimate giant, the devil, attacks us on three fronts – physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Some of us are very intense spiritually to the extent that we do not attend properly to our bodies. These are they who are pure of heart and would not think of “moving away” from the Lord in any way. The enemy knows that they know how to combat him in the spiritual realm so he attacks them on another front.

There are others who are so intense psychologically that the enemy knows he cannot disrupt their mental and/or emotional focus. I mean these folks could jump in the middle of any crisis with a perfectly clear mind and not be rattled emotionally. They would not collapse if the world around them did. Death, divorce, disaster, nothing seems to distract or deter them. They are mentally and emotionally focused and stay that way, so the enemy is shrewd and comes from another direction in attack.

Some are specimens of health. They are in excellent shape physically. They eat the right things, abstain from the right things, and get proper exercise, rest, and recreation. I mean these folks are so fit it is amazing. They can do at 80 what many of us can’t do at 60. So where does the Philistine giant attack them? He does it where they are most vulnerable; on another front.

These are ways he knocks the props out from under us. It is how you see a great man of war struggling not with armies, but with relationships. Samson was a great man physically but somewhere in his psyche there was a weakness for women. Abraham had to be coerced to take Hagar, but he lied about Sarah being his wife for fear of his own life. The Bible is filled with examples of what I am saying and it is why we are warned to “guard, protect, or keep” our hearts with all diligence. It is why our text says are spirit, soul, and body is to be “guarded, protected, or kept” all of our lives until Jesus comes for us.

I realize that it is not always this cut and dry, but it will illustrate the need for vigilance. We can never afford to let our guard done for a moment.

BLESSINGS!