In Part 1 of 4 we observed where spiritual warfare originated and how it expanded from the heavens to the earth. The world became so wicked that God destroyed all that He had made with a great flood. What happened after the flood? Let’s continue the synopsis of major events, noting some very important factors about God, Satan and Man to help give us some insight to understanding the catalyst, what fuels the fire, and how to combat the Enemy by trusting in God.

Satan continued to tempt Man to become as knowledgeable as God, whereby they attempted to build the tower of Babel. Once again, God thwarted their plans by crumbling the tower and causing people to speak in different languages so they could no longer conspire to do such things.

Then we see the account of Job, a righteous man of God who lived by faith. Satan and his angels came before God to challenge the faith of Job. God allowed Satan to inflict all kinds of calamity on Job, yet Job remained faithful, resulting in God blessing him with more than what he lost. In this account, Satan even used religious people to accuse Job of sin and resulting “punishment” by God. Job’s endurance of this spiritual warfare is a true example to us even today!

About 400 years before God gave the Law to Moses, the “Father of Faith” is named as Abraham. Abraham’s faith was tested by God, in that God promised a son to him and his barren wife, Sarah. Sarah’s doubt caused Abraham to doubt, and thus he went into his maidservant Hagar and begat Ishmael. However, God was faithful to keep His promise and Sarah did give birth to a son, Isaac. The descendants of Isaac became the Jews. The descendants of Ishmael became the Arabs. Truly, the descendants of Ishmael war against the descendants of Isaac, even to this day; for it is written, "But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also."

Just years after Isaac was born, God told Abraham to sacrifice his son! Truly, this was the first picture of what Jesus Christ would one day do for us. He would one day be the sacrifice for the sin of fallen Man. Abraham was obedient to the point of lifting the knife to kill this son of promise, but God provided the ram to take his place! God made Abraham the father of many nations and blessed him!

Abraham had a nephew named Lot. Lot, his wife and daughters lived in Sodom. We can obviously see that Satan influenced the population of Sodom and Gomorrah to live in such a way that the wrath of God, once again had to be poured out to destroy mankind. Because Lot and his family were faithful to God, they were delivered by angels just prior to the wrath of God falling upon those two cities.

When it came time for Isaac to take a wife, God brought Rebecca to him. When she was pregnant with Isaac’s twin sons, Esau (born first) and Jacob, they were already at war in the womb. Later, we find out that because Jacob coveted the birthright, he deceived Esau and his father in obtaining the first-born inheritance by Isaac. It was prophesied that "the older would serve the younger", even before they were born! The Bible accounts of a major struggle between Jacob and God. Jacob obtained God's blessing and was renamed Israel. While Esau sought to KILL his brother, the nations of his grandson, Amalek, still seek to kill the Jews (Israel) today!

When the time came for Jacob to marry, he fell in love with Rachel. Satan used Rachel’s father to deceive Jacob, in that he ended up having to work seven years thinking he would be able to marry Rachel, and instead had to marry Leah first; he then had to work an additional seven years to marry Rachel. Jacob had ten sons with Leah and later, two sons with Rachel. Because Jacob was renamed Israel, his twelve sons are the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.

When Jacob finally had his first son named Joseph with Rachel, he was no doubt the favorite! Joseph’s brothers were intensely jealous and sold him as a slave to the Egyptians! Joseph remained faithful to God; thus, God raised him up to be a mighty ruler over Egypt and all the land. Joseph even forgave his brothers and this is a true picture of what the promised Messiah would do!

When the Pharaoh over Egypt died, the next Pharaoh feared that the Israelis would become more powerful than he, so Satan used that fear to oppress the people of God by making them slaves. In spite of the hard labor and oppression they continued to multiply, in which case Pharaoh’s fears were increased. The king ordered all infant sons born to Israeli families be killed upon birth! By the grace of God, the mother of Moses spared his life by placing him in a basket, later found by the Pharaoh’s daughter. Truly, God raised Moses up (by his mother who posed as a slave) to one day deliver His people from slavery!

(6.a.*) We know that when Moses and his brother Aaron came before Pharaoh, empowered to perform signs and wonders before him, Pharaoh also had his magicians and sorcerers (possibly Jannes and Jambres) who could perform the same things! By what power did each do these things? God and Satan. Truly, God poured out plagues upon Egypt, yet not one Israeli was harmed! Pharaoh finally feared God after God took his son. He let Israel go free! When his soldiers tried to go after them, God destroyed them by the closing up of the Red Sea.

I'd like to take a moment to tell you about the protection of Israel when God's wrath fell upon Egypt. Israel lived in Goshen and not one of the plagues affected them! In fact, when God knew He would take the first-born son of every Egyptian, including Pharaoh's, He directed the Israelis to wipe lamb's blood upon their doorposts. When the angel of death came to take the lives of the Egyptian sons, it "PASSED OVER" every house marked by the blood of the lamb! This is yet another picture of what Jesus Christ, the Messiah, would one day do for all who believe in Him. Jesus was later crucified ON PASSOVER. The children of God are protected from the wrath of God by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ!

(6.b.*) While Israel was in the desert at Rephidim, Amalek came to fight against them. Moses told Joshua to go fight the battle, while he stationed himself at the top of the hill with the staff of God in his hand. It turned out that while Moses had his hands in the air, Israel prevailed. When his hands dropped, Amalek prevailed. Moses’ brother Aaron and Hur held his hands in the air and Israel prevailed!

Because Israel continued to disobey God after their deliverance from slavery and even the victory against Amalek, God gave Moses the 10 Commandments to keep Israel righteous before God. The Bible tells of how God was the Husband of Israel and Israel continually broke that covenant with God, thus being called an “adulteress nation”. Nevertheless, God promised to give Israel her own land. Moses never got to enter the promised land, but the next generation did!

(6.c.*) After 40 years in the desert, time came for Israel to enter the promised land of Canaan. Amazingly, God’s direction to Joshua as to how to fight this battle was to sound loud trumpets and march around the walls of Jericho for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times, blowing one long trumpet sound and shouting, “The walls of Jericho will fall, the city will be ours!” Surely, the walls came down and Jericho was given into their hands.

*Correlates with Spiritual Warfare: Old Testament 4 of 4

To continue on with this study, please click on the link below:

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: OLD TESTAMENT 3 of 4

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: OLD TESTAMENT 1 of 4