“…so the Ethiopians were overthrown and they could not recover for they were broken before the Lord and His army. And they carried away very much spoil. Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much spoil in them”
2 Chronicles 14:13,14
Because Asa and the children of Judah “relied on the Lord God of their fathers” God have them victory over what seemed to be an insurmountable enemy of one million men from Ethiopia. Asa pursued them and came away with great plunder.
In the New Testament understanding of things we are not after a physical
enemy, nor material plunder, but we fight a spiritual battle for the souls of
men. The Apostle Paul more clearly identifies the war we wage in 2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high things that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Strongholds are ways of thinking that keep men in bondage to lies. The overall acceptance of the village witchdoctor is a stronghold in the minds of Africans. They have grown up with witchdoctors as the norm. Everyone goes to them and it is therefore acceptable to get help from a witchdoctor.
The stronghold of witchcraft, Islam, and ancestral worship, and all other strongholds in the culture must be broken. These are deep-seated and difficult to drive out but, with God all things are possible. If you rely on the the Lord and not your own wisdom or power He will help you and show you how to break the strongholds found in your culture.
When the strongholds are broken the spoil is there for the taking. The ‘spoils’ amount to the ‘souls’ of men God will give us. The “mighty men of valor” of that day are today’s mighty men of faith—those who trust in God to take the kingdoms of this world for our Lord. Don’t settle for a life of peace and comfort. Pursue the darkness until the fear of God falls upon those before you—those spiritual beings, demon gods that come against you on every side. Stand and boldly declare that the Lord is your help and go forward against all strongholds you encounter.
Take a moment and identify some strongholds you face in your village or area and begin to pray that God will weaken them and drive them out.
