M-G: 10.10.13 // Why Are We Defeated, Romans 13:14

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While camped in the wilderness at Rephidim, the Israelites were attacked by the Amalekites (Ex 17:8). This nomadic tribe in the Negev took their name from Amalek, the grandson of Esau. After their defeat led by Hoshea (Joshua, Num 13:16), Moses commemorated the victory by constructing an altar unto the LORD and called it – “The-LORD-Is-My-Banner” or Yahweh Nissi (Heb., YHWH [Yahweh], Nissi [a banner or standard]). Technically, this name referred to an altar, but the proper noun means the LORD is my banner or my standard; Yahweh would be the banner or standard of His people (Ex 17:15). 

  

This defeat of the Amalekites that day was rich in symbolism. The ancestor of the Amalekites, Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, was nothing more than “the testimony of a man who loved the physical realm more than the spiritual; he was indeed a man of the earth who appreciated the physical qualities it yielded over spiritual blessings. He simply could not grasp the spiritual import of anything” (http://michael-gram.blogspot.com/2011/05/m-g-52311-genesis-2528.html)! So his descendants are considered a type of the flesh (or the Adamic nature of man, cf. Heb 12:16) that is evil and corrupt and warring against the new man this side of eternity.

It was a strangely fought battle. While the Israelites and the Amalekites were going at it on the desert floor, Moses stood on a hilltop lifting his rod which was used to bring forth water for the people. This rod of Moses was a very powerful symbol of authority and God’s personal involvement in the battle. When Moses’ hands were raised high, the Israelites triumphed, and whenever he dropped his arms the Amalekites prevailed over the Israelites! This fighting was going to last until the going down of the sun. Moses couldn’t possibly keep his arms lifted toward the heavens. So Aaron and Hur provided a rock for Moses to sit upon and each held Moses' arms upward until the battle was over (Ex 17:9-13). 

A more important truth learned from the battle at Rephidim was that victory is never achieved through our own efforts but through God alone (Jn 16:33; 1 Jn 2:13-15; 5:4-5). This thing with the rod being lifted high into the air demonstrated to all present that if there would be any victory, Israel would have to depend upon God and not on their own strength. It also reminded the contentious people that God was with Moses after the people were complaining and arguing with Moses about dying of thirst in the wilderness at Rephidim (Ex 17:7). I have a sneaky suspicion that God used the provocation of the Amalekites to chasten Israel for testing the LORD while they camped and complained about being led into the wilderness simply to die of thirst. They were thinking of stoning Moses (Ex 17:4) and questioning, “Is the LORD with us or not” (Ex 17:7)? They must have missed the pillar of cloud (Ex 13:21, 22) that day….

After all these centuries, this truth about needing the LORD for victory over the flesh (symbolized by Esau’s descendants) has not changed. Whenever we engage our enemies in our own strength, whether it is our human nature, the world system, or Satan, we will certainly suffer defeat (cf. Jn 15:5; Php 4:13). When we go into spiritual combat in the strength of the Lord does not mean that we are passive while God is doing all the fighting; there were casualties at Rephidim!  

We lose those spiritual skirmishes whenever we make provision for the flesh and remove God from the picture (Rom 13:14). “Provision” (Gk., pronoia) means forethought or planning ahead. It comes from a compound verb (Gk., pronoeō) meaning to consider in advance, to provide for, or to supply. Here is where many a battle with the flesh is lost because thoughts precede behavior. When we give forethought to our own sinful desires, particularly a “pet” sin, a known weakness, we supply the mental fuel that supports the negative behavior (Rom 13:12-13). 

When we are “drawn away” or lured like a fish to some bait (always harmful to the fish), our inward desires are strongly pulling us toward that bait. Our own desires cause us to take the bait or “enticed,” an old fishing term meaning “to capture” (Jas 1:14). The hook is set, spelling physical death for the fish (Jas 1:15). 

“But each one … by his own desires” (Jas 1:14) indicates that there are contributing factors different from each person's enticement based on “inherited tendencies, environment, upbringing, and personal choices” (The MacArthur Bible Commentary) that shape and influence how we respond to temptation. We may gain insight into the sinful behavior by any of these contributing elements, however, we cannot use any of them or other excuses to justify sinning against the Lord from wrong choices (cf. Mt 15:19-20; 1 Jn 2:1; 4:4; Jas 4:17).

  

“Conceive, birth and death (Jas 1:15) suggest there is a process in yielding to sin, and the response to carnal stimuli (those forethoughts of wrong thinking) can produce a  spontaneous and impulsive reaction. Once sin has been conceived, self-condemnation as a repeat offender takes place. We interrogate ourselves by questioning how we could have sinned against God who has been so gracious and kind toward us. We are brow beaten by guilt, shame, and remorse. Then comes the petition for the nth number of times pleading forgiveness and restoration and promises to “never do it again”…. 

The whole episode of dwelling on evil rather than godly thoughts is like putting a bullet in the chamber, with the safety off, but not expecting the rifle to go off when we pull the trigger in our thinking! We fuel the fire and wonder how we got burnt, episode after episode, not to mention living with the compounding consequences. What is fueling or feeding our desires toward defeat? You got it by now – our thought life, stinking thinking! Keep in mind our data of evil thoughts was not erased when we got saved; the hard drive didn’t get cleaned selectively. So giving into these resurfacing impulses of the flesh could be a combination of arousing evil thoughts before and after salvation. 

The process is so rapid that I believe oftentimes we are defeated before we realize we were already defeated before our thoughts made it out of the gate in behavior (cf. Mt 5:28)! The pleasures of sin are temporary and quickly turn to agonizing sorrow over the transgression and its destructive consequences. When we make provisions or supply the body with wrong thinking, it’s going to prompt wrong behavior. Once we are drawn away by our own desires into that titillating sphere the outcome is predictable and certain. 

In Rom 12:2 we see the vital need for spiritual growth. We are commanded not to be conformed (fashioned or patterned) to the world (an outward expression contrary to the inward reality) but to be transformed (a complete outward change reflecting the inward reality of Christ) on a daily basis. Interestingly, transformed is the translation of the Greek word, metamorphousthe. It is where our English word metamorphosis is derived from. It is a complete change from inside out (2 Cor 3:18). Naturally, the key is for our mind to keep on being transformed (cf. Eph 4:22, 23); Keeping on is the problem with most believers and spiritual stagnation rather than transformation is taking place, a regression to the old way of thinking and seeing things.

This transformation can only happen as we allow the Holy Spirit to change our old way of thinking through a consistent study and meditation on Scripture. “The renewed mind is one saturated with and controlled by the Word of God” (The MacArthur Bible Commentary). It is only a renewed mind that is able to “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God,”  a godly alternative to being out of God’s will through bad choices sourced in evil thoughts. Victory begins in the mind because that is where the battlefield is located. Win in there; win out there! We cannot achieve victory unprepared; thus, there is the command to have a consistent practice of renewing the mind that has been corrupted by years of wrong and harmful thinking! As you know, if you have been a Christian for any length of time, transformation is not an overnight process; maturing in Christ-likeness is a lifelong process. We never stop growing.

The best way to fight the flesh is to never let our desires take us there (like a recovering alcoholic). Renewing the mind with the transforming power of God’s Word and avoiding that region of vulnerability and putting to death our fleshly nature by the power of the Holy Spirit are quintessential for victory over the fleshly impulses that undermine our spirituality. That is a choice God will not make for us.

We need to deliberately separate (the meaning of put to death) ourselves from our sinful desires and put on, like clothing, thoughts, and behaviors of the new man in the daily walk – “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ” Rom 13:14a). God does not tempt with evil so all of this rebellion is on us (Jas 1:13), our bad. Giving in to our fleshly desires will only lead us down a troubling road to no good. Nothing good comes from it but defeat and eventual death if it continues (God’s call). 

So why are we defeated? Would you prefer I cut to the chase? In my humble opinion, it is because we foolishly and unlovingly like the bait more than godliness (cf. Jn 14:15). Either that or we are lost as a goose (1 Cor 2:14)!  

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57). 

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” 1 Jn 5:4). 

David wrote,

“You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah” (Psa 60:4). When under pressure by the enemy to give into sin, look to the unfurled banner of Yahweh Nissi and His truth and rally there to take your stand against the flesh, the world system, and the devil. Truly, “… we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:37). Now, that’s a good thought to act upon! <><