5.28.25 ~ The Key to Victory & Freedom

Good morning!

Can you see the finish line in sight? We're on day 46, the 7th week and 4th day of counting the omer. I've been in prayer for the past 6 days for unity and obedience in God's family in order to lead to victory and freedom.

On Friday night's zoom call, day 48, I will share with you the military strategy that God had the Israelites use to scatter their enemies. When we, as 21st century believers employ this strategy, the enemy will flee (Jam. 4:7; Deut. 28:7). Without it and just the opposite happens (Lev. 26:17, 36,37; Deut. 28:25; 32:30).

A few months ago, I spent some time with  a group of individuals and I gave them a promise from God and the challenge to unify under God's banner to scatter the enemy; personally and collectively (Lev. 26:7,8).

"You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred (5 groups of 20) will put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you." (Lev. 26:7,8)

There is always a process and standard that must be followed if we are to experience this type of victory. As the 2 1/2 tribes that settled on the East side of the Jordan went into the Land to fight the enemy, Joshua's narrative tells us that they were prepared for battle, just as Moses directed them (Josh. 4:12).

The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle/chamushaim, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them.
(Josh. 4:12)

At first blush, it looks like they just prepared for battle as Moses commanded,  but the literal translation of chamushim is 'by fifties'.  What does that mean?

The root of the word is the Hebrew for the number five/chamush.  In this case, it is plural fives, 10 x 5, or fifty.  When Israel went to battle each and every time, they divided into groups of fifty armed men, each group with a leader.  These regiments were the cohesive fighting forces.  The Hebrew text uses this designation, assuming that we will understand the significance of “by fifties/hamushaim” and giving us a proven military strategy for victory and freedom.

Unfortunately, with modern translations, we lose the impact of this number 50 leading to our disarray, when it comes to battle. Consequently, we are completely lost, having little or no sense of timeless fighting tactics.  Therefore, the translations gloss “by fifties” as “armed warriors,” or “battle array,” or something similar...what does your translation say?  It might be what the text means, but it’s not what the text says.

But—do we really care?  What’s the big deal if we still get the gist?  Maybe that’s sufficient if all you are trying to do is entice readers to engage Scripture, but it’s a far cry from actually communicating what God revealed to us in His holy writ. The challenge that all of us face is battling (pun intended) the various translations that convert ancient cultural expressions into supposed modern equivalents.  So, “by fifties” becomes “dressed in full battle regalia" and we lose the emphasis on unity and how victory and freedom is won.

As I've shared with you over the past few days, it's good for me to remind myself that Scripture was not written to me. It was written to the people of that day, its imagery, metaphors, idioms, and social expressions were written for an ancient audience, but because it's God's Word, timeless and immutable (unchanging), a thorough study will lead us into the same blessing, victory and freedom (Prov. 25:2).

The depths of the text, the multiple layers of hints, intimations, and connections are completely lost when we convert “by fifties” into “full battle regalia,” or any number of other examples.

“By fifties” seems rather harmless, a trifling accommodation for the reader’s benefit, but then again...

Could you imagine if your fellowship, of any size, had 5 men who were on the same obedient page? Could you imagine if 100 were unified to submit to God's Word? Could you imagine one? Will you be the one?

Ever wonder why God chose 50 days between first fruits and Pentecost/50? Now you know one of the reasons why we've been counting: victory and freedom!

More on Friday night's zoom call, "Where did Napoleon get his brilliant military strategies"?

Shalom!

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