SEARCH 166 – GOD MEETS OUR NEEDS

Key Verse

Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
— 2 Chronicles 20:15

Help Against Enemies

Joshua 6:1-20
  • Judges 7:1-25
  • Psalm 3:1-8

At the time of the taking of Jericho, the Children of Israel had learned a hard lesson. They had just finished wandering in the wilderness for forty years because they had disobeyed God. He had told them He would fight for them if they obeyed and trusted Him. As they marched around Jericho, they were obedient to God. The method was unorthodox, but God gave the victory! The people shouted with a great shout, and the walls fell down flat.

QUESTIONS

  1. Why were the inhabitants of Jericho so terrified of the Israelites that they wouldn’t come out of their city to fight against them? See Joshua 2:9-11.
  2. After the fall of Jericho, Joshua 7 records that the Children of Israel were badly defeated when they fought against the much smaller city of Ai. The Israelites had been told not to take any spoil from Jericho, but Achan disobeyed God’s command, and all the people suffered because of it. What principle does this lead us to understand regarding deliverance from our enemies?
  3. Several times in the Old Testament, God used the forces of nature to fight against Israel’s enemies. Look up the following Scriptures and describe what instrumentality God used in each instance.
    Joshua 10:11
    Joshua 10:12-14
    Joshua 24:12
    1 Samuel 14:15-16
  4. We likely won’t face the literal battles like Joshua and other Biblical characters did. What kind of personal enemy might we face in our day?
  5. We don’t expect the Lord to slay those who oppose us, but what kind of help and victory can we expect the Lord to provide?
  6. What does the Lord expect of us after He has delivered us from our enemies? What benefit will we receive by doing this? See Psalm 107:1-2 and Revelation 12:10-11.
  7. One of the keys to receiving victory is praise. Paul and Silas are a notable example of this (Acts 16:25). How can we praise God when we are facing an enemy? Why does this increase our faith to believe for victory over our enemies?
  8. Jesus told His disciples that He gave them power over all power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Yet He told them not to rejoice in this. In what were they to rejoice? See Luke 10:20.
THEME THOUGHTS
With his very first breath, the newborn infant begins to grope through the maze of existence, seeking to satisfy his need for warmth and food. Every sense seems to be one of desire. But as he grows, the average person soon realizes his complex nature requires more than gratification of physical needs. He becomes aware of a need for love, for security, for acceptance, for inner peace—the principal ingredients that bring fulfillment and direction in life. The search for the satisfaction of all these needs becomes a predominant drive, a quest with only one true solution. That solution is found in God—the only One who can and will meet all of these needs. It is this thought which provides the theme for this quarter. Each lesson should be centered on the fact that God cares for us in every detail of our lives. He has promised to provide our physical needs, but even more importantly, He is concerned with our spiritual needs. With this thought in mind, we begin the series by focusing on the fact that God has provided mercy, thus opening the way for a personal relationship between God and man. Once that relationship has been established through the experience of salvation, the way is open for God to supply the other needs of those who trust in Him. As you study the succeeding lessons, use the Scripture, “All things work together for good to them that love God” Romans 8:28). We must realize that God, in His infinite wisdom, knows what is best for us. What we see as a need may, in God’s sight, be something which would not prove to be for our good. Accepting that verse as the basis for the quarter will help us see that true happiness is based on God’s control of the circumstances of our lives. We will recognize that as our trust is in Him, our needs truly will be supplied in the manner He knows is best.

Resources