How to Deal With Violence in the Bible and How It Relates To Our Spiritual Battles

We see a lot of violence and bloodshed in the Old Testament. Does it contradict the New Testament? Here's how to deal with violence in the Bible. #Biblestudy #Joshua #WomensBibleStudy #GoodMorningGirls

I have received a few comments and questions regarding the violence found in the book of Joshua.

Today I’m addressing this issue and explaining how it relates to our spiritual battles.  So if the violence is bothering you this video is for you:


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In this week’s reading in Joshua 17, we read this story:

14 Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?” 15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” 16 The people of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”17 Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only,18 but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”

The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were given their portion of land…but….it had a forest that needed to be cleared…and…enemies with iron chariots, who had to be driven out of the land.

This meant they had a lot of work to do before they could dwell peacefully in their homes.

What is your home like today?

Is there a lot of work to be done there – both physically and spiritually?

We cannot be passive assuming that our homes will be peaceful places if we have not done the work needed there or if we have allowed the enemy to have a foothold in our homes.  He must be driven out.

Worldly ways can creep into our homes and through ungodly friendships, the television, internet, video games, iTunes, iPads and iPhones.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
~1 Peter 5:8

It is interesting to note that Ephraim and Manasseh did not have enough faith to drive the Canaanites out and they eventually made a treaty with them.  They reaped bitter consequences caused by sharing the land with their enemies, for many more years to come.

Do not make a treaty with the devil!!!

While the spiritual battle to remove the enemy is exhausting – this is a battle we cannot afford to NOT fight. It is worth every ounce of energy we put in to pushing the enemy out of our homes.

Do you need more encouragement in this area? Join me every Wednesday through the month of October for our 7th Annual Making Your Home A Haven Series.  You don’t want to miss this! 

Making Your Home a Haven 7th Annual Fall Challenge

Also, this weekend I’ll be releasing our next study.

It is one chapter a day through the book of Judges!
Watch for more information coming soon!

The journal is available now on Amazon!

judges-girls-spine

Walk with the King,

Courtney

**Chime In**

Are you in a spiritual battle today? How has your reading in the book of Joshua encouraged you?

Are you joining us for the Making Your Home a Haven Challenges or for the Book of Judges? I sure hope so!

 

 

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25 Comments

  1. Thanks for addressing the violence issue, Courtney. Our group also talked about this.
    And you are right: there should be no stigma to seeing a counselor or therapist, or just seeking help in general. Hope it is making a difference. x

  2. This was wonderful and helpful. Thank you! The enemy can’t be avoided but he can be confronted and drove out! We have to preserve our possessions in the power of God! Definitely no shame in seeking counseling. I am sure your honesty encourages others, thank you for sharing that. I am a licensed professional counselor and I have received counseling myself for a battles I have gone through. I’m so thankful God allows me to help others and has used counseling to help me. Let’s keep pressing and possessing on as we walk with the King!

  3. Courtney as always you are such an inspiration and share much wisdom. Thank you for sharing your heart and for your transparency and may God be with you and wrap His loving arms around you as you walk through this forest of giants in your life. Praying for you!

    Much love
    Lisa

  4. Thank you for sharing Courtney, this video helped me so much! God has blessed you to be able to discern His word and share with other women. I have needed this additional assistance to be able to apply God’s word to my life and this particular week has really rung true in the battles my family are facing. The enemy has stolen the joy out of my family and my marriage. The strong love I felt for my husband has waned because of the enemy getting in and causing us to have quarrels and we have gone to our iPads or televisions to block it out. I’m afraid our heads have been in the sand and we have sadly made a treaty with the enemy. What a beautiful picture that if we drive Him out we can have peace and the life God would have us to. I too am seeing a counselor and I would really like my husband to see a marriage counselor as well so please pray he will be open to seeing one and see the need so we can fight to get our joy back. I appreciate you being open with us sometimes we do need some Godly advice and counsel to help us get back on track.

  5. Courtney, this was so encouraging to me today. I have not been looking my enemy in the face and dealing with it and it for sure has been stealing my joy. Thank you so much for sharing. I will be praying for you!

  6. In talking about the events here in Joshua that were violent, God -our Holy God – cannot exist with sin. The peoples that He deemed death and destruction were far from holy. They were great deterrents to His word. Those people who worshipped idols and did every vile and evil thing could not coexist with His chosen people. Those people would ‘contaminate’ the Israelites and intermarriage would bring sin and pagan ritual.into their lives.
    Reading through the Bible from Genesis to Joshua, chapter by chapter, has given me a beautiful understanding of why these things are needed.
    Our world today is contaminated for this very reason! God will be working His plans and this rampant evil cannot continue.
    To God be the glory – great things He has to done and will do!

  7. Your video was a reminder to me to pray for you and the other leaders that have and are touching my life. For who better to attack than those who are making a huge difference in the Kingdom of God. As an older woman who has suffered many losses and deaths of those I love, your video was a wake up call to me. God is holy and honors those who honor Him. I’ve seen SEVERAL counselors over my lifetime and probably would not be here today if I hadn’t. Just know I support you and am writing your name down now on my prayer list. You can do this!

  8. Thank you Courtney, for being so open and real. I always love what you say and teach, but I loved what you said about God bring with us always, even when we are sleeping! God’s been showing me lately that everything we go through is a spiritual battle with the enemy trying to bring us down!
    I’m sorry you are going through a hard time right now, but you are still encouraging others, and that is such a gift!
    Praying for you! ❤️

  9. There is also something I need to fight for spiritually in my life so this is so timely.

    I have been praying for more strength, more power, more direction, more deliverance. But you are right, God has given me enough. He has given me the power of His Holy Spirit. He has taken out my old heart and given me a heart of flesh. He has written His laws on my heart and in my mind. He has broken the chains of bondage. I have everything I need. What I need to do, is use what He has already given me and fight. I need to push the enemy out of my land.

    I can’t tell you how much I needed to hear this now. As always, God is using you. Thank you in the middle of your trials for being faithful to use the gifts and abilities He has given you to work for the kingdom and to sow seeds in the hearts of so many others, many of whom you may never meet or never know about. I so appreciate you.

    Thank you for your transparency, I will add you to my prayer list.

  10. Thank you for sharing, Courtney. I totally agree and believe that one of the reasons that we are in this sinful season in our nation is that churches are only preaching the God of Love and not the God of Righteousness. Christianity is not all rainbows and unicorns. God demands that we turn from sin, for it leads to death, and He demands that we be Holy as He is.
    My prayers to you as you walk through this battle. You are not walking alone.
    Psalm 23

  11. Courtney, you are so amazing! Thank you for being an example of someone who lives in this sinful world and yet follows after Christ with her whole heart. Thank you for reminding me that the enemy is alive and well and I MUST FIGHT to keep the good things that God has given me.
    I’ll be praying for your struggle you mentioned in your video.

  12. I love this video and how honestly you told about your struggles, and realizing the need for a counselor. There is absolutely nothing wrong when seeking outside help, when things get too overwhelming. And sometimes there aren’t those people around that can be trusted to share all of what is happening in our lives. It really helps to share with someone, and also helps the others who would like to help, but aren’t sure how. Thank you for sharing!
    I also wanted to tell how this verse you shared in this blog spoke to me very strongly this week. It made me ask a question: “What is my forest?” What are the things I need to start clearing out from my life. In my case it is a house project, clearing and organizing to make our home a better place to everyone. This spoke to me in so practical ways; it is my forest that I will need to start clearing out tree by tree, stick by stick and one day see the rewarding results. It will make such a difference to take the space that is given to us and use it well. So even though it is very much a spiritual picture, it also works in very practical way!

  13. I’m amazed at how easy it is to think our battles are “just life”, thank you for reminding me that it is in fact the enemy. I had a very sweet alone time with the Lord this morning and a thought came into my mind that satan will come after me today and sure enough I had some challenges at work. It seems like when I am close to the Lord, satan is so bothersome. Thank you again for reminding me that devil has an agenda but that Jesus is always with me, even when I sleep (I love that!).

  14. Thank you for your ministry! I started reading your blog when I was dating my to-be husband and it helped encourage me to be a good wife and then encouraged me to be a good mom when I had babies and gave me courage to follow God’s calling to homeschool. Then God used you again to tell me about classical conversations which my oldest will start next year. This past year I’ve been battling several hard things too and your posts are always timely and this one is no different. Thank you for letting God use you and persevering on even during your own struggles. Much love!

    Jenny

  15. Very powerful message again Courtney, praying for you. Keep taking the Spiritual medicine & putting on the full armour of God. Resist the devil & he will flee from you. James 4:7. satan is DEFEATED!

    God’s Inspiring Word in Joshua tells us very clearly like you say that the Israelites couldn’t fight the battle on their own & that God had to do it for them. The battle is not yours but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15

    Like with us we can’t fight our own Spiritual battles, we can’t keep blaming the devil when it is our own sin of the flesh against a Holy God; only the Holy Spirit lived out through us can enable us to live the right way for Christ.

    The new nature has no power to live out the Christian life, it is Christ’s Holy Spirit living in us & through us…Christ in you the hope of glory Colossians 1:27 love this verse!

    Whenever I have to deal with satan’s lies & whispers in my ear I find it tremendously helps to banish him into silence by rebuking him in “Jesus name” & then he loses his power. Amen. We are in a Spiritual battle & we can’t get too comfortable in our little social club “picnic tea party” churches. The enemy is real & he is in our places of worship & around about us, we must stay on guard against him at all times.

  16. Bless Your Beautiful Heart! You have My Prayers and You have My Blessings! You have my Gratitude too because I SO look forward to your videos! Thank You! Bless You!

  17. Courtney,

    Thanks so much for allowing God to use you and being real with us and showing us how God’s word is alive and active and can help us through life’s battles.

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