“The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord.” (Prov. 21:31, NKJV)
Leading up to the climax of this great battle of the spiritual giants, we read of a long period the Baal prophets spent in spiritual warfare, with no discernible results. One can imagine their anxiety – under the watchful gaze of the prophet they are reciting incantations from unholy books, and absolutely nothing is happening in the spiritual realm.
Within this we find an important lesson for New Testament believers – true spiritual authority, by definition, halts all forms of spiritual opposition. Remember – till now Elijah has not been doing anything but standing in his position in Christ, watching the spectacle. People are often taught all kinds of un-Biblical spiritual manoeuvres for use in spiritual warfare, but these are often not much more than spiritual gimmicks. Elijah merely stands in his spiritual mantle, and the demons are helpless. This is a clear tendency throughout Scripture:
- “And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today …’” (Ex. 14:13)
- “for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you” (Deut. 20:4)
- “For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel.” (1 Sam. 19:5)
- “So the Lord preserved David wherever he went.” (2 Sam. 8:6)
- “But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.” (2 Sam. 23:12)
- “Now Naaman … was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria …” (2 Kings 5:1).
- “But they stationed themselves in the middle of that field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.” (1 Chr. 11:14)
- “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Chr. 20:17). But the most beautiful example is perhaps the following:
- “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord.” (Prov. 21:31)
Elijah already knows the outcome of this battle, as it is the case with all true prophets: “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7). He doesn’t have any reason to be concerned.
- Selah: Is Amos 3:7 also true of you?
- Read: 35; Matt. 13.
- Memorise: 13:12.
