2 Chron 13:18 The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD , the God of their fathers.

 

We may wonder why physical wars played such a part in Israel's life. The answer is because they were, and are, a physical nation and constantly had to defend themselves from the godless nations surrounding them. However today's battle was between the two parts of the divided kingdom, but a same additional reason and principle applies. The additional reason for a battle is to reveal the Lord's presence. It wasn't merely that they were at war, but that God was there with them and when God fought for them they always won. That is the principle!

 

The other side of that same coin – God fighting for them – was that they had to rely upon Him. That was part of the relationship (covenant). In this case it was ungodly Israel (the northern kingdom) fighting against godly Judah (the southern kingdom) and because of the descriptions just given, the outcome is foregone, although Israel hadn't realised that.

 

Today we fight a spiritual battle as Paul reveals to us (Eph 6:12) and the principle is the same. The person who relies upon the Lord for the battles of life, will be the person who will be victorious. The nature of the battles today means that Jesus has already won every battle through the Cross – it is merely up to us to hold the ground (Eph 6:13) as we follow James' instruction to first “Draw near to God” (Jas 4:7)