PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 129: THE LORD, MIGHTY IN BATTLE
FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 129: THE LORD, MIGHTY IN BATTLE
We continue discovering more of the twelve Hebrew words about God as a warrior. Every new generation must learn how to conquer and fight the enemy.
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, From Our Home to Yours, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.
Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Here I am again and continuing our study of how God is a man of war. Last time, we spoke about the first word, gibbor. Today, we'll go on to the second. Remember, I said I had found 10 different words. It's quite amazing how much God speaks about this subject in His Word.
MILCHAMAH
The second one is milchamah. It's found in many places, but here it's found in Psalm 24, verse 8. It's describing God again. I love descriptions of God, don't you? “Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.”
The word there is milchamah. This word, it means “fighting, engagement in battle, warfare, a warrior.” It's found 315 times in the Bible. It's translated “battle,” 151 times, “war,” 158 times, and “fight,” six times, apart from a few other words as well.
It's interesting, you know. I wonder whether you have found this. When you look up a Hebrew word . . . you're reading our English Bible and you look it up in the Hebrew, you usually find that this word is not translated as the same English word throughout the Bible. Often, they use many different words to translate this same Hebrew word. That's why it's so great to go back to the Hebrew and find out all the different words that are used for that one Hebrew word.
Another description of God: Deuteronomy 4:34. This is how God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. “Hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?” And so, God used war to help deliver the children of Israel.
Isaiah 42:13: “The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man.” That's the Hebrew word gibbor. “He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war (milcamah”). There's that same phrase that was in Exodus 15:3. God is a man of war. “He shall cry, yea, roar; He shall prevail against His enemies.” This is our God, dear ladies.
Exodus 17, verse 16 says:“ Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amelek from generation to generation.” Now in the Bible, Amelek always relates to the flesh, to that which is evil, and to wickedness. This Scripture tells us that God fights against this in every generation. It will be every generation until He comes, because until He comes and rises up as a man of war, we will have evil and wickedness until God brings it into subjection.
Of course, in every generation, we have to learn how to fight wickedness, too. The Bible also tells us that our battles are God's battles. God's battles are our battles, and our battles are His battles. They are all mixed up together. When we're fighting a battle, God comes with us. When He's fighting a battle, He wants us to be in that war with Him.
So remember that. In fact, in Judges 3, verses 1-3, you can look it up later, God tells them how He allows some of their enemies to be there, so that each new generation will learn the art of war. Because unless they have opportunity to fight, they're not going to learn the art of war. So God allowed them to have battles so they could learn warfare.
We also have to do that. We, as you know, we all fight battles. We all have different things in our lives that we're fighting. We have situations where we know the enemy is coming in and we've got to fight.
We've got to learn how to fight. It will never go away. We'll always have to be fighting evil, and fighting principalities and powers, and fighting demonic forces, because we are in a fight in this world. It's a fight between the kingdom of darkness, and the Kingdom of God.
In Numbers 32, verses 20, 21, 29, it says: “.. . . if ye will go armed before the Lord to war, and will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, every man armed to battle before the Lord . . . ” It's talking there about the two tribes and the half who were going to stay on this side of Jordan, before they crossed over.
God was saying to them, “You will have to go armed for war with the rest of your tribes to help them conquer the land. Then you can come back and possess this land.”
But I want to bring to you that little phrase, “before the Lord.” What does that mean? The word “before” is the Hebrew word panim. Panim means the Face of God. It's the word “face.” It 's usually plural, “faces.” So what it's really saying here is that God said, “I want you to go out armed for war with My Face upon you, in the Presence of the Lord.”
Now isn't that amazing? Sometimes we think of going out to war and facing a battle, “Well, that's just something we have to do ourselves.” No! We do it in the Presence of the Lord, with His Face watching over us. Isn't that beautiful? Take that, “armed before the Lord.”
The God's Word translation, it actually translates it perfectly. Did I write that down to tell you? I'm not sure whether I did. But anyway, it says that we are to go in the Presence of the Lord. It actually translates it that way.
IZZUZ
All right. So, number three, izzuz, in Hebrew. I just look up Hebrew words. This word means “forcible, an army, power.” It's used in Psalm 24, verse 8. Again, another description of God. “Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong (izzuz) and mighty.”
TSABA
Number four, which is tsaba. This is another very familiar word for “war” in the Bible. It's used 482 times. Wow! Yes, war is spoken about a lot in the Bible. It's actually used 261 times to describe God as “the Lord of Hosts.”
The Lord of Hosts. You've read that in the Bible so many times, but remember now, as you're reading it, whenever you read that phrase, it means “the Lord of the armies of heaven.” The Lord, Who is our warrior! The Lord, Who is the One Who commands the heavenly armies. He is the One Who fights for us! Yes! This is Who our God is, He is the Lord of Hosts.
We see this in verse 10 of Psalm 24: “Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.” Yes, He's the mighty warrior, the One Who fight for you, the One Who commands the heavenly armies.
Every time you read that phrase, read on to see what it's saying, because it's very important. The mighty warrior is speaking. But although this word is used about God, it's also used about us. It's used about men who are going out to battle many times, but it's also used of us women. Yes!
In Psalm 68, there's a couple of Scriptures here that tell a beautiful story. Verses 11 and 12: “The Lord gave the Word: great was the company of those that published it. Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoils.”
These Scriptures are talking about two armies. They're talking about the army of men who went out to fight the battle and to push back the enemyto protect their city and their land.
But it's also talking about the army in the home, the army of women in the home. You notice in verse 12: “she that tarried at home (she that dwelt in the home) divided the spoil.” When they came back in victory from fighting the enemy, the soldiers didn't say, “Well, here you go, you can have this because you stayed at home looking after the stuff and holding the fort while we were away.”
No! They realized the power of what they were doing, protecting the home, and caring for the children, holding down the fort, and doing everything that had to be done, even in the absence of the men. And they said, “Here it is, ladies! Here is the spoil! Take it! You divide it out. Divide it out among the families. Divide it out among the poor. We trust you to divide it out.”
They had complete control. But in verse 11, it says: “Great was the company.” That word “company” is this very word we're speaking about here, tsaba. The same word that is used to describe God, to describe Him as this great and mighty One Who goes out to war. It's the same word.
“Great is the company of those who published it.” It's in the feminine. Most translations will say: “Great was the army of women who published it.” So we see there the two armies, the one that goes out to fight the enemy, and the one who is fighting the enemy on the home front, right there in the home.
That's you, dear mother! You dwell in the home. But there may be enemies out there. There are enemies that seek to come to your home. There are enemies that want to get at your children. You have to be a warrior! You have to be a fighter. You've got to be one who is watching to protect your home. Amen?
Yes. And it's not just one or two. God wants a huge army of women in the home. You see, the word, this word, tsaba, it actually means “a mass of persons organized for an army, a multitude of warriors who go out to battle, a multitude of soldiers ready for warfare.”
The sad thing is, today, so many women have gone AWOL. They're not in their homes. They've left their station where God intends them to be—in the home, watching over the home, fighting for their home, fighting for their children, fighting against the enemy so that they will not be taken over. No!
We need mothers in the home, fighting to protect their homes. Not just a few. God wants an army of mothers. Oh, may this revival come of an army of mothers returning to the home. Amen?
CHAYIL
OK, the next word, number five, chayil. This is another very common word for war and battle in the Bible. It means “an army, wealth, valor, virtue, strength, soldiers, war.” All those different words are used.
David called God this name in 2 Samuel 22:33, and verse 40. “God is my strength and power,” (my chayil). “For thou hast girded me with strength (chayil)to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.”
So, this word is used of God, and this word is used of valiant soldiers. Take time to read 1 Chronicles, chapter 7, and 1 Chronicles chapter 12. You'll read about all the mighty men of valor, all the chayil men. Oh, goodness me! You will love reading about them! I do love 1 Chronicles 12. Let me just perhaps go, and just read you one Scripture from it. You can read it all on your own. You will love it. It's inspiring.
Verse 8 of chapter 12: “And of the Gaddites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains.”
Wow! What an amazing description. Do you notice in only one Scripture, it uses three different Hebrew words for war and battle? It uses “might” and “war” and “battle.” So there we go.
Now here's a beautiful Scripture that uses this word, chayil. Psalm 110, verse 3: “Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power.” That's chayil. “In the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth.”
Let me give it to you from the New English Translation. “Your people willingly follow you when you go into battle. On the holy hills at sunrise, the dew of your youth belongs to you.” The Bible commentary on the New English Translation explains that this refers to the king's army of strong youthful warriors.
It's talking about youthful warriors. David himself was a young man at this time. So many young men came to help him. They weren't old men. They were young men. The message of the Scripture is that they were willing warriors. They came to help willingly.
The God's Word Translation says: “Your people will volunteer when you call up your army.” The Holman Translation says, “Your people will volunteer on your day of battle.” The Passion Translation, I think, is most correct when it translates: “Your people will be your love offering.”
And that is absolutely correct, because the word willing, “thy people will be willing,” is the Hebrew word that means “spontaneous abundant, free-will offering.” It's exactly the same word that was used for the free-will offerings that the Israelites offered on the altar to God.
There were offerings that they were commanded to do, but there were offerings that were free-will offerings, that they did out of the willingness of their heart, because they just wanted to offer to the Lord. It's the same word that is used for those free-will offerings.
So these young warriors, they freely offered themselves to the Lord. When there was a battle, wow, they ran to the battle! Makes me think of that beautiful story of David himself, when he was facing Goliath. We all know the story so well.
But I notice in the story, did you notice before, when you were reading it in 1 Samuel 17? That's a chapter worth reading again. We all know the story, but my, it's great to read it again. When Goliath of Gath would come out and begin to roar at the people, and say, “Who can I fight? I want someone who will come and fight for me.”
And in, let's see, what verse was it? Yes, verse 24! It says, “The Israelites (and this was their army, these were the guys who were soldiers that were trained for fighting) they all fled from him and they were sore afraid.”
But what could young David do? He was only young. Some commentaries say he would have been about 17 years of age. Some make him a little older, 20 or 22. But I think perhaps 17 would be more correct, because they were not allowed to go into the army until they were 20 years of age and over.
David was not in the war. He went down to just visit his brothers, who would have been 20 years of age. Three of his brothers were there in the battle. So he was only young, whatever age he was.
But the Bible says that when the giant came near to him, “he hasted.” That means he hurried and ran! He ran headlong toward that army to meet the Philistines. Isn't that amazing? What a difference! These Israelites, who were supposed to be there fighting the Philistines, they all ran from the giant! But David, a young man, he runs to the giant! He runs right into the battle!
Oh, I just would love to think that we could have an army of young people, well, not only young people. Middle-aged people, and older people, everyone, of course, running into the battle. Oh, I know there are many, many young people today who are doing this. They're running into the battle.
How do they run into the battle? Well, of course, the biggest way we fight, dear ladies, is in prayer. And so, they're going to run to the prayer meetings. In fact, ”My people will be willing, in the day of battle.” We are in such a battle at this time in our nation. We are in a great battle that the whole world is facing. It's all at this time.
We are facing an election that has not yet been decided, an election that will go one way or the other, an election that will take us down a road of extreme socialism and communism. It will take us down a road of more and more babies being murdered, because this democratic party believes in abortion up til the day of birth, and afterwards, if the baby had been designated for abortion, and survived.
We will go down a path of more and more transgender. We will go down a path of darkness and lockdowns. This is what this party wants. They want lockdowns. They want the stopping of churches. They want our whole nation to lock down. They don't want singing in churches. They want us to be a masked people with social distancing. This is not how God intends us to live!
Or we have a party who believes in freedom, and believes in this nation, and wants to stop it being a socialist nation, and going down this New World Order. But it's a battle, and the battle is only won in prayer.
I believe this is an hour where every one of us, old, middle-age, young, no matter what age, should be running into the battle, running to prayer meetings. I'd love to think of our young people running to prayer meetings, being like David, running in to face the giant, running in to pray, and coming against the forces of evil. Because this is the greatest way that we are in the battle, in that place of prayer. Of course, we stand up against deception, we stand against all evil. We speak it out with our mouths, and we stand for our convictions.
We don't cave in. So many are caving in today. Even across the church, they're caving in to not going to church. They're caving into social distancing in church. They're caving in to not singing in church.
This is ridiculous! This is giving up! This is such wimpiness, because we have the freedom, we have the right with our Constitution. We have it by God! We have it in the Word of God!
We should not be bowing to these tyrannical things that they are putting upon us. It's worse than communism, just about, already. Help! If this democratic party gets in, where will we go?
But God says: “Thy people shall be willing in the day of battle.” They will be free-will offerings to run into the battle. To run to the prayer meetings. To run to stand up against all evil. Oh, my, this is a time like no other, to be in the battle. Amen?
Well, this word, although it's used for God, although it's used for valiant soldiers, this word is also used for us women! Yes! I wonder if you know where that is found? Of course you do. It's Proverbs 31, verse 10. “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.” The word “virtuous” is chayil!
It's exactly the same word that is used to describe these men of valor! It's amazing how the translators of the Bible, they used the words “valor, valiant, mighty, strength,” and all those great words to describe these men of courage and men of battle.
But then, when it came to the woman, and it's the same Hebrew word, they thought, “Oh, we'd better use a different word here.” And they used “virtuous.” Well, that's a wonderful word, but ladies, it does mean that we also are to have strength for the battle, because that's the word.
Once again, as I shared with you in our last week's podcast, how that we, God has chosen us, as mothers, to reveal His beautiful, gentle, and tender, and nurturing mother-like anointing. But He also wants us to be fighters. He wants us to be women of strength who will be strong for the battle!
Because as we raise our families, we face battles. I know you know that. I know many of you are facing this, in all different ways. We all face our battles in different ways.
But we do have to be strong for the battle. We also need to be strong in our faith, and in purity. Strong in embracing who God created us to be as women, to be the mothers of this nation. Strong in our convictions, and strong in holding to God's truth. We will not be deceived, and we will not cave in!
We will be strong to pray, and strong to fight the enemy, and every demonic force that comes against us and comes against our children. Amen?
I think of that wonderful word that Nehemiah gave to his helpers as they were building, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, because that's what you're doing mothers, you are building. YOU ARE BUILDERS. “Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands” (Proverbs 14:1).
You are a builder! But as you're building your family, you will also have the attacks of the enemy along the way, as the builders did in Nehemiah's time. So they builded with one hand, and they held a weapon in their other hand. That's what we have to do. We build on one hand, and on the other hand, we pray and fight the enemy.
Nehemiah said in chapter four, verse 14, I'm reading now from the New Living Translation. “Don't be afraid of the enemy. Remember the Lord, Who is great and glorious, and fight. Fight for your brothers. Fight for your sons. Fight for your daughters. Fight for your wives. And fight for your homes and your families.” We are in a fight, dear ladies. We can't get out of it. The enemy is around.
What does it say in 1 Peter 5, verse 8? “Be sober, be vigilant, because your enemy, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour.” That's what he's doing. He goes about. He's not the lion. Oh, no, no! We have the Lion of the tribe of Judah!
But he tries to be a lion. He just goes about as a lion. Sometimes he convinces us he is, but no, he's not the Lion. He just makes out he is. But he seeks to devour us.
The next verse goes on to say, “Whom we resist, steadfast in the faith.” We resist him. We will not allow him to take hold in any area in our family, in our home, in any one of our children. When we even begin to see anything, we will get into the battle in prayer, and we will get alone with our husband. We will say, “Come on, darling. We've got to pray about this together!” And you'll pray together and come against the enemy. Because we have to fight this battle.
I will close now with that Scripture in Daniel. Daniel 11, verse 32. This Scripture is in the context of persecution and deception. It says there, “BUT (it starts with a “but.” All this is going on around) “but the people who do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.” That is the King James version.
But if you go to the Hebrew, you find the word “exploits” is not there. It literally says: “But the people who do know their God shall be strong and DO.” It ends with DO. Of course, it really just means they will take action.
Most translations say: “and will TAKE ACTION.”
Some other translations say: “The people who do know their God will be strong and RESIST.”
Another translation says: “And the people who do know their God will be strong and FIGHT BACK.” Whatever one you want to take, they're all good.
But this is the hour not to cave in, not to be wimps, but to be who God wants us to be, fighters in God's battle. Because this is the battle. It's God's battle. We're fighting against wickedness, and fighting in spiritual places, and fighting principalities and powers.
So we will hold on, and we'll be in the fight, knowing that God is with us, because He's with us in the fight. We fight the battles of the Lord, and He fights our battles with us. Amen?
OK, and we haven't finished all these words yet! Isn't that amazing? God has so much to say. And I'm only just giving you just two or three Scriptures on each Hebrew word, when there are literally hundreds of Scriptures on each word! This is the Bible, ladies! OK? So let's pray.
Dearest Father, we come into Your Presence, and Lord, we thank You, that, even when we have to go to battle, and we have to go war against the enemy, that Lord, we go in Your Presence. We go in the Presence of the Lord. We don't fight on our own. You come, and You fight our battles with us, for the battle is the Lord's.
Oh, how we thank You, Father. I pray for every precious one listening today. Lord, I know that so many are facing battles in all different ways. Some, Lord, are facing battles in their bodies, and need healing, Lord. Just help them, as they fight the battle of faith, Father! Oh, God, strengthen them in their battle of faith, as they fight this good fight of faith.
Lord, there are others, who are facing the inroads of the enemy coming into their homes, touching their children. Oh, God, I pray that You will help them to rise up, Lord, in indignation, and they will take authority, for Lord, we read in 1 John that You came to destroy the works of the enemy. You now dwell in us, to destroy his works. We pray, I pray, Lord, that You will give them courage, and boldness, and You will help them in the fight against the enemy, in the name of Jesus,
I pray that You will help us all, Lord God, as we have this fight in our nation, at this moment, Lord. It's a spiritual fight. It's not a fight against flesh and blood and personalities. It's a spiritual fight between two kingdoms, the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of darkness.
And Lord God, we just cry out to You again today, Oh God, that righteousness will win, and Lord, that all evil will be exposed, and, Lord God, that You will save this nation from going down a road of extreme socialism.
Lord God, we ask this, and we pray, Lord, that there will be a whole new willingness to pray and enter the battle. And that people will be running to prayer meetings and organizing prayer meetings. And Lord God, we will fight this battle in prayer, in the Name of Jesus! Amen.
And I just want to encourage you, dear ladies, if you are in a battle, don't try and fight it on your own. Yes, God is with you, but you also need others. Just gather others to pray with you in the battle that you face.
We, at the moment, we have a precious family who are facing their . . . she is pregnant, but the diagnosis from the medical profession is not good. But we not taking that. We are gathering as a body each night to pray over this dear mother and her baby.
And this is what we have to do, ladies. We have to gather together and fight these battles together. If you have a situation in your life, gather some others to pray with you, even praying for this nation at the moment. Gather some others to pray with you. There is power in corporate prayer.
We only become an army as we join together. A soldier in an army is not a soldier on his own, until they all meet together, and go out and fight. Then they are an army. We have got to gather together to be a mighty army.
The Lord bless you.
Love from nancy Campbell
Transcribed by Darlene Norris