Good morning and welcome. This is pastor lucy painter with your daily insight. It's a new week and we continue with our series, The battle's frontline, wow, there are military terms. We're talking about barrels and we're talking about the art of war and today we continue with the series and there are several well known classical maneuvers used in warfare which have proven effective for hundreds of years. We can talk about several of them. There is penetration of the center attacking from a defensive position, feigning retreat in direct approach is single and development among others. Today are more interested in the last maneuver that I have mentioned, the single envelopment tactic and we'll see why when we start reading to these scriptures.

This maneuver was used in the famous Battle of Wroclaw. Oy I'm calling it famous but maybe it's not that famous because until I read about it and that's when I heard about it, you know you might be hearing about it today. Okay, so this maneuver uses a strong force to attack the opponent from the side. The attacking force uses what is called a holding attack and a holding attack is meant to hold the enemy on one position because they cannot tell where the main attack is going to come from. This means that they cannot reinforce the troops repelling the main attack because they don't even know which attack is the main one and which attack is meant to distract them. When they reinforced they end up committing their reserves prematurely and to the wrong location and this is how the Battle of Rock Ploy was one. So let me tell you a little bit about cloy.

So, Rock lawyer was a fortified city and the Spaniard called it the gate of Champagne. It was one of the best fortresses in France, an attractive target for the Spaniards. So on May, on the 19th May nine, that is in 1643, the Spaniard besieged the city after several I failed attempts by the french army to stop the Spaniards, louis, the Prince of court ordered a huge calvary and sacrament and ran a sweeping attack behind the spanish army who was still trying to fight the reserves from the side. So the Spaniards were defeated and they fled, leaving their weapons behind. And this victory is considered to be the turning point of the perceived invisibility of the spanish war tactics. So that's how they lost. You know that envelopment.

Alright, so let's go to our reading because the bible tells us of a similar attack that was launched against the Israelites by the um Alex. After they had crossed the Red Sea Exodus 17 8 to 16 says. Now um alec came and fought with Israel in refugee and moses said to Joshua choose as some men and go out. Fight with a man like tomorrow, I will stand on the top of the hill with the Rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as moses said to him and fought with um alec and moses are on a whole, went up to the top of the hill. And so it was when moses held up his head that Israel prevailed and when he laid down his head um ella prevailed but most as hands became heavy so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it and Aaron and whole supported his hands on one side and the other on the other side and his hands was td until the going down of the sand.

So Joshua defeated al Malik and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the Lord said to moses write this for a memorial in the book and recounted in the hearing of to Joshua and that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of a Matlock from under the sun and moses built an altar and called its name The Lord is my banner for he said because the Lord has soon the Lord will have war with a Matlock from generation to generation wow. So let's dig a little bit about this And it is important to understand at this point that um alec was the grandson of Esau, the brother to Jacob and these were relatives. And if you read the rest of the old testament, you realize that the um Malek was their permanent enemy and given their common access ancestry.

I believe these people knew that these lands had been promised by God to the descendants of Jacob and it's no wonder that they are moving through these lands without any military formation because they didn't expect any attack from their king who already knew they were coming to claim their inheritance and imagine the Children of Israel, they are breathing a sign of relief after coming from bondage and finally being at home and they thought the battle was over and the moment they relaxed the um Alaa kites descending on them with this unprovoked attack. They attacked them in the most despicable and treacherous manner. They attacked them from the rear where women Children, they aged the sick and those who carried their luggage work and they smooth them. They killed them and took their spoil.

You know the astronomy 25 17-18 says remember what I did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your real ranks all the strugglers at your rear. When you are tired and weary, he did not fear God. So that's where I got that information. You know. This was their fast experience of real mira. Italy battle. Even when they were slaves, God had fought their battles for them. He had defeated the Egyptians for them. He had avoided putting them in direct confrontation with their enemies. But here they were now faced with an enemy they had to engage directly with but moses had seen what the Lord could do. He remembered the Lord who had called him and he told Joshua go fight the America. I will stand on the top of the hill with the Rod of God in my hand.

And the word of the Lord says that when the battle began and moses raised his hands, the Israelites prevailed when Joshua was physically engaged in battle moses supported the battle. Behind the scenes, the fate of this battle depended on his intercession. You know, raised hands. The raised hands was Israelites posture during prayer and the word of the Lord says as long as his hands were raised, the Israel had the upper hand and when he lowered his hands, the carmela kites head the upper head. And this right here signifies the nature of prayers, passion, commitment and consistence moses had to start praying for them to win.

He had to keep praying for them to keep winning. You know, this was the same moses who had to engage the Egyptians in the physical confrontation. You know, the miracles, the drowning of the Egyptians in the red sea. The same moses who had to strike a rock for it to produce water. The same moses who saw a real burning bush and here he was doing something totally out of habit. A man who had gotten used to a God who had preordained plants, a God who had declared declared that Israel would come out of bondage and they did. A God who had declared that he would take them to the promised land and he did moses could have chosen to ride the wave of disaster until God's plan was fulfilled. Besides God was going to deliver them to cannon anyway. But he reconciled the God he knew with the current situation he prayed, he persisted in prayers like everything depended on it and this is something I want us to adopt as we talk about warfare and battles frontline.

You know sometimes we can figure out how prayers are supposed to interact with God for your date plans. Sometimes we can't tell what prayers are going to change in the situations we are in but that doesn't mean that we should stop praying. That doesn't mean that we should go back to the strategies we've been used to when situations calls for prayers pray like it matters because it does. The times when the only way to win a battle is to fight and there are times when we have to fight and still pray for victory. Times when you have to go to rehab and still pray. Times when you have to get that lawyer and still pray. Times when you have to talk to that teenage child and still pray, time when you have to work for your college free and study late into the night and still pray.

You know sometimes we think that those fight we are talking about are the difficult part but the bible says that moses hands became heavy and Aaron and who had to find a stone for him to sit on and as they helped lift his hands up and it's true that sometimes prayer is sweet and easy. Sometimes you pray and feel refreshed. Sometimes you pray and your strength is restored. But time, oh let me say this. But sometimes praying can be as difficult as whatever else you have to do to help your situation. It can be exhausting to the point of needing help. And this is why Aaron and who were there at the top of the hill with mosses to hold his hands up to stand by his side, to strengthen him in prayer to suffer with him for Israel to partner with him in intercession. And the battle was won this way with prayer and available instrument.

So pray as you do pray reverently but do not lay aside. The practical means that can promote the end you seek in prayer. The word of the Lord say that when the battle was over and moses built an altar and called its name. The Lord is my burner. He knew that it was. It wasn't only because of their military might that they had won. He knew the battle had been worn by God's power and their effort, he named that place least. They forgot what they had learned in that place. At least they forgot how the victory came about. But we see God promising that this war with the family kites was not over. They were probably going to attack them again. But the Lord promised him forever they would forever be at war with him. I prayed that you do not forget to be vigilant even at times of peace because that's when the enemy attacks pray that even when things are going well for you, pray even when you have means to fight on your own pray, even when you think you have a solution at hand and even as you pray have somebody that can stand by your side, have somebody who can hold you up in prayer when your strength wins, someone who can suffer with you in prayer.

Someone who can partner with you in intercession because we are in battle. A battle with a treacherous enemy, an enemy who won't mind using every despicable weapon and strategy at his disposal. So pray without season and use the resources the Lord has put at your disposal to And I pray that the Lord may give you the design mint to know what tactic the enemy is using against. You may he help you to know where the enemy attack is from so that you may know how to respond so that you do not commit your resources where the they will not help in jesus mighty name Shalom. This is pastor Lucy painter with your daily insight and this is battles frontline day six