By T. Austin-Sparks
Reading: 2 Chron. 20:1--27.
"Then upon Jehaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the assembly; and He said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: Thus saith the Lord unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed: tomorrow go out against them; for the Lord is with you" (2 Chron. 20:14--17).
"Having despoiled (or, having put off from Himself) the principalities and the powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it (the Cross)" (Col. 2:15; A.S.V.).
While it is true that in the New Testament the Lord's servants are designated "soldiers," and while it is also true that there are battles to be fought, there is one big fundamental and all-inclusive battle in which the Lord's people have no part whatever. To engage in it is to write over all the work of our Lord Jesus in His Cross, Failure!--to write it off as something which does not hold good. There is a battle in which you and I have no fighting place. It was the Lord's battle, not ours, and it is over the recognition and settlement of that fact that most of the trouble arises in the experience of multitudes of the Lord's people. There has been a battle which includes all other battles, which has been fought by the Lord Himself for us. It is important for us to know both that fact, and what that battle was.
A Victory To Be Appropriated By Praising Faith
The story in the Old Testament which we have read is an illustration of it. I am not saying that it fits into Col. 2:15 in doctrine, but in principle it does. The principle is this--that in both of those passages of Scripture a battle is set forth as having already been won.
The next thing is that the victory which already exists has to be entered into by faith. There has to be a stand taken in relation to that, and not a fight for it. If you begin to take up that fight you are destined to defeat, because you have put God's ground away from under your feet. We shall see that when we come to the nature of the battle. But it is very serious, and we should recognize it. Here is something in existence, and upon that something as an accomplished fact in the realm of hostilities a stand has to be taken by faith, and no conflict allowed.
In the case of the people of Judah of whom we have read, their faith as to what had been said--"The battle is not yours, but God's... ye shall not need to fight in this battle"--was demonstrated by song. You do not need that I stay to show how necessary faith was, and that it was genuine faith and not mere optimism. No, it was faith that was required. It was a very desperate situation naturally, but faith was demonstrated, and it was demonstrated by singing. Their song was the evidence that they believed God and His Word; they believed the thing that was declared to them, and they proved it by singing. And it was not the kind of singing of the little boy walking along the country lane in the dark, who sings to try and keep himself cheerful in the midst of terrible fears. There is no doubt about it, it was a song of assurance and confidence.
"...Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper." And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto the Lord, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, "Give thanks unto the Lord; for His lovingkindness endureth for ever." And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten" (2 Chron. 20:20--22).
The Battle Already Won In The Cross
And then--this is where we begin to get near to the heart of the nature of this battle--the song was governed by the priestly and Levitical side of things. You will see at the end of the previous chapter how the government was put into the hands of the priests; and then the narrative in chapter 20 shows that it was the Levites, whose it was to praise, who spontaneously broke into praise (v. 19). Praise expressive of faith was governed by what was priestly and Levitical--which shows the nature of the battle at once. This was the question, the whole question--on whose side was God? and God has no favorites. God is not on one side just because He feels inclined to favour that side. God is only on the side of righteousness, on the side of holiness--"in holy array." God is on the side where salvation is already implicit by reason of priestly government, or the government of priestly principles--that is, the Blood, the Cross, all that redemption means through the work of the Lord Jesus. And so the answer to the question, On which side is God? is this--He is found where that is represented and implicit which is the work of His Son on Calvary. That is the nature of the battle; and that is not your battle nor mine; that was God's battle!
So we come over to this well-known passage in the Letter to the Colossians. It is a wonderful passage. I have been looking at several different versions, and, although I do not often trouble you with the technique of different translations, I think it worth dwelling upon two or three.
"Having despoiled the principalities and the powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it (His cross)."
"The dominions and powers He robbed of their prey, put them to open shame, led them away in triumph through His cross."
"He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in His cross."
Now you notice that is all in the past tense; that is something done. The ground has been taken from the enemy--that is the first thing; and when an enemy's ground is taken from him, he is in total confusion. Note the confusion back there in 2 Chron. 20--they are all killing one another. Why?--their ground upon which they trusted has been taken from them. In Colossians it is the same confusion: "put to shame." What is shame but confusion? If anybody is in confusion, they are very much put to shame. In confusion they are helpless, you can take their prey; and that is what Judah did in the story we have read. That is why I gave you those different versions. He took their prey, prey from the principalities and powers. Why?--because their ground was taken away.
The Enemy's Only Ground Of Hope
What was the ground upon which the principalities and powers rested their confidence, and upon which they found their strength? Now, follow closely here; let us look at it.
"And you who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us in legal demands; this He set aside, nailing it to the Cross. He despoiled the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing openly in His cross. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food, drink, festivals, new moons, sabbaths; these are only the shadow of things which were to come."
And then--this is where we begin to get near to the heart of the nature of this battle--the song was governed by the priestly and Levitical side of things. You will see at the end of the previous chapter how the government was put into the hands of the priests; and then the narrative in chapter 20 shows that it was the Levites, whose it was to praise, who spontaneously broke into praise (v. 19). Praise expressive of faith was governed by what was priestly and Levitical--which shows the nature of the battle at once. This was the question, the whole question--on whose side was God? and God has no favorites. God is not on one side just because He feels inclined to favour that side. God is only on the side of righteousness, on the side of holiness--"in holy array." God is on the side where salvation is already implicit by reason of priestly government, or the government of priestly principles--that is, the Blood, the Cross, all that redemption means through the work of the Lord Jesus. And so the answer to the question, On which side is God? is this--He is found where that is represented and implicit which is the work of His Son on Calvary. That is the nature of the battle; and that is not your battle nor mine; that was God's battle!
So we come over to this well-known passage in the Letter to the Colossians. It is a wonderful passage. I have been looking at several different versions, and, although I do not often trouble you with the technique of different translations, I think it worth dwelling upon two or three.
"Having despoiled the principalities and the powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it (His cross)."
"The dominions and powers He robbed of their prey, put them to open shame, led them away in triumph through His cross."
"He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in His cross."
Now you notice that is all in the past tense; that is something done. The ground has been taken from the enemy--that is the first thing; and when an enemy's ground is taken from him, he is in total confusion. Note the confusion back there in 2 Chron. 20--they are all killing one another. Why?--their ground upon which they trusted has been taken from them. In Colossians it is the same confusion: "put to shame." What is shame but confusion? If anybody is in confusion, they are very much put to shame. In confusion they are helpless, you can take their prey; and that is what Judah did in the story we have read. That is why I gave you those different versions. He took their prey, prey from the principalities and powers. Why?--because their ground was taken away.
The Enemy's Only Ground Of Hope
What was the ground upon which the principalities and powers rested their confidence, and upon which they found their strength? Now, follow closely here; let us look at it.
"And you who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us in legal demands; this He set aside, nailing it to the Cross. He despoiled the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing openly in His cross. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food, drink, festivals, new moons, sabbaths; these are only the shadow of things which were to come."
