2 Chronicles 32:1-33:13 / Romans 15:23-16:9 / Psalm 25:16-22 / Proverbs 20:16-18
Thankfully, most of us do not have to engage in actual, physical battles as are fought in a war. Yes, we are engaged in a spiritual war that assaults our souls, but unless we have enlisted in the military, we will probably not have to use weapons such as guns against another human. That said, some military strategies are still useful for those of us who fight spiritual battles.
Our highlighted verses for today are 2 Chronicles 32:1-4. After Hezekiah had faithfully carried out this work, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified towns, giving orders for his army to break through their walls. When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also intended to attack Jerusalem, he consulted with his officials and military advisers, and they decided to stop the flow of the springs outside the city. They organized a huge work crew to stop the flow of the springs, cutting off the brook that ran through the fields. For they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find plenty of water?”
There is a current military term called “Scorched Earth Policy” the meaning of which is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communication sites, and industrial resources. However, anything useful to the advancing enemy may be targeted, including food stores and agricultural areas, water sources, and even the local people themselves, though the last has been banned under the 1977 Geneva Convention.
King Hezekiah was “going scorched earth” on the Assyrians by removing the water source that flowed outside the city. It’s interesting that this military strategy (though not called that in Bible times) has been used for thousands of years.
A few years ago, having never heard this term before, Holy Spirit spoke these words to me, asking me to look up the meaning. I’ve talked about this a little bit before but wanted to go into greater depth today. Holy Spirit was leading me through an intense time of forgiveness and emotional clearing (a class I’ll be teaching in the fall). He was ridding my soul of hinderances and anything that might cause bitterness to take root.
When He spoke these words, I know it was to help me understand that the difficulty I was walking through was necessary and for my own good. He also saw my future and knew I would require this type of concentrated soul work to answer God’s call, not only in the next season but for the rest of my days.
I’m thankful God started me on a journey of living with this policy in mind. As I clear my soul on a regular basis, I’m forbidding the enemy from grabbing hold of anything in my life and being allowed to cause destruction. That means “going scorched earth” on the devil is to my benefit! Keeping my soul as clear as possible has become as important as devotional time. As a matter of fact, it is part of my devotional time.
If you would like to learn about emotional clearing as part of your devotional life, please get in touch with me and I’ll inform you of our next class!
