Blessed be the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.
Psalm 144:1 NKJV
God has taught me that there are different ways of fighting in spiritual warfare, as well as other weapons we can use when we face spiritual battles. He teaches us how to use these spiritual weapons which He has given us, because we won’t always fight the enemy using a sword (the sword of the Spirit).
The bible actually shows us examples of this:
Gideon and his men used trumpets in battle which led to the defeat of the Midianite army, David used a sling and a stone to kill Goliath, and Samson used his bare hands to defeat a lion.
1 Corinthians 10:11 tells us that the Old Testament writings were written for our learning and instruction, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (or instruction).” Likewise, these examples I have mentioned were also written for us, so that when we understand the hidden spiritual meaning behind each allegory, we too can learn how to use these spiritual weapons to defeat the enemy.
I would like to share my understanding of these allegories with you, based on what I believe the Holy Spirit has taught me. Having said that, I also understand that there can be more than one interpretation of an allegory, because the Lord uses Scripture to speak to His people, and give them a message that He knows they will understand. Therefore, I understand that He can use parables or allegories to convey a specific message to someone, in order to help them overcome something they may be struggling with.
- Spiritual weapon example 1 – Gideon used a trumpet to defeat the Midianite army
Kindly refer to previous blog post: Praising God using His written word – Preparing the bride of Christ
- Spiritual weapon example 2 – Samson used his bare hands to defeat a lion
Scripture tells us that Samson fought a lion with his bare hands, and he was able to kill the lion because the Holy Spirit had come upon him mightily. Therefore, we understand that God gave him the victory by giving him the strength he needed to defeat the lion.
So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
Judges 14:5-6 NKJV
There is a wonderful allegory contained within this passage of Scripture (Judges 14:5-18) for our learning and instruction. The Lord opens our eyes to these hidden meanings in His word, so that we can put into practice what He is teaching us. For me personally, it meant learning new ways of overcoming the enemy in spiritual warfare.
Understanding this allegory:
In Scripture, Satan is depicted as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour).
This passage of Scripture tells us that a young lion that came roaring against Samson. I believe this speaks of spiritual attacks from the enemy which can come to us in any form. But, just as the Holy Spirit came mightily upon Samson, the Holy Spirit too will strengthen our hands and help us when we encounter spiritual warfare with the enemy. We give praise and thanks to our great God, because we are not fighting the enemy in our own strength, but in the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within every born-again believer of Jesus Christ. The Lord fights for us because He loves us, and He has already secured our victory in Christ. Thank You Lord!
The Scripture tells us that Samson tore the lion apart with his bare hands. God taught me that we won’t always fight the enemy using the sword of the Spirit, or another weapon, but we too can defeat the enemy using our bare hands. Perhaps you might be wondering what that even means, and how would we do that. Well, God helped me understand that using our hands to defeat the enemy means that we put into practice what God has taught us. We act in obedience. We apply our learning to the situation. It’s more about what we do than what we say.
I’d like to show you some examples of what this could look like, based upon my own experiences. Please kindly keep in mind that our instructions from the Lord and our experiences may differ, because the Lord knows the different battles we face, and He alone knows how to give us the victory. God is such a good Father and He goes before us to prepare us, train us, and equip us for every battle we face. Having said that, the understanding of this allegory is the same for all of us – what we do in obedience to God’s instructions will give us victory over the enemy.
A few years ago, the Holy Spirit led me to some teachings from Derek Prince where he was explaining how we can fight the enemy in the opposite spirit of the attack. Soon after I understood this concept, these kinds of spiritual attacks came my way and I had to put into practice what I had learned. The Lord warned me that an attack was coming, and He also gave me the understanding that I needed to respond in the opposite spirit of the attack.
I was then attacked with irritation and aggression towards other people, and I knew that in order to get the victory in this battle, I would have to resist the enemy and show love to these people instead. Because I don’t normally struggle with irritation or aggression, it was easy for me to identify these emotions as a spiritual attack from the enemy. Any time we feel negative emotions or have negative thoughts, we should immediately ask the Lord if it is an attack, or our old fleshly nature trying to resurface. Either way, our response will always be the same – responding in the opposite spirit of the attack. What does that mean? To keep it simple, it means applying the good fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience and self-control) to the situation, and wearing the full armor of God (applying hope, faith, peace, love and truth as spiritual armor of protection).
Let me offer some more examples:
- If we feel frustrated – fight against the attack by walking in peace and practicing patience in the situation.
- If we feel despair or despondency – fight against the attack with joy and hope.
- Heaviness or depression – fight by applying joy and praise. (God says in Isaiah 61:3 that He gives us a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness)
- Anger – fight against the attack by applying gentleness and self-control. (Proverbs 15:1 – A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger)
- Offense – fight against the enemy by applying forgiveness and love
- Compulsion – respond by exercising self-control.
You can see in all these cases, the battle is won by doing the will of God, and not necessarily by picking up our spiritual sword. That is how we can use our bare hands to defeat and overcome the enemy.
An excellent example of fighting in the opposite spirit of the attack is found in 1 Corinthians 4:12-13, where Paul says the following:
“Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat (exhort or encourage).”
The Lord tells us in His word that we overcome evil with good:
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21 NKJV
Coming back to the passage of Scripture about Samson and the lion, Scripture tells us that after Samson had killed the lion, he returned to Timnah to get the woman that he loved, and on the way he saw the carcass of the lion which he had killed. Within the carcass was a swarm of bees and honey. He then ate the honey, and posed this riddle to the Philistines:
Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.
Judges 14:14 NKJV
So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?”
Judges 14:18 NKJV
My understanding of this is as follows:
The eater in this riddle is the enemy, and he is strong like a lion. (But not stronger than God, The Lord is so much stronger.)
Out of the strong came something sweet – Honey in Scripture represents either the Word of God, or the victory He gives us when we act in obedience to what the word of God says. We know that Samson defeated the lion and he therefore won the victory.
Just as the Holy Spirit came upon Samson to strengthen him, thereby securing his victory, the Holy Spirit will also strengthen us for the spiritual battles we face. The Lord prepares us, trains us and equips us so that we too can experience sweet victory over our enemies. Perhaps you may be in a battle where your faith needs to be strengthened – that is when the Holy Spirit will strengthen you by giving you the faith you need. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Perhaps you may be feeling tired or weary from constant battles – the Holy Spirit will help you by strengthening you with His perfect strength. Isaiah 40:29 says, “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” And 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
The Lord knows what we are facing, and He knows how to help us. Perhaps you are needing strength for the spiritual battle you are currently facing. May I encourage you to seek the Lord’s face in prayer and ask Him to strengthen you. Then be very sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, because He will show you what you need to do in order to defeat the enemy. It will mean putting your faith into action, and choosing to trust Him fully to bring you through the battle so that you can experience the victory Jesus has already secured for you.