Genesis 12

Abram appears on the scene at the end of chapter 11 and in v. 3 of this chapter we see that Abram is already 75 years old.  Abram and later Abraham is one of the most significant characters in Scripture yet we know very little about him before the age of 75.  We do know that… “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:6-7.  If Abraham is the father of all who are of faith in God, then his significance can not be overstated.  The covenant God established with Abraham is eternal and we in Christ benefit from the relationship God enjoyed with Abraham.

I would also like to introduce The Ancient Book of Jasher, it  is one of 13 ancient books referenced in Scripture.  It is referenced in Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18; and 2 Timothy 3:8.  The book was never considered to be inspired by God, it is simply an accurate history book.  The word “Jasher” is a Hebrew word ישר yashar,  meaning “upright” If we believe the text itself, this book was written over 3,500 years ago corresponding to Genesis and Exodus.  It can be used to corroborate scripture or provide some key insight, but is not considered equal with scripture in any way. There is an extensive pre-Haran biography of Abram in Jasher.    The book of Jasher provides details to some of the questions that arise when reading Genesis. 

There are some apparent discrepancies with Genesis that will be evident to the reader, but just like all ancient books translated to a modern language, there are mistranslations that the reader should always keep in mind, even when reading canonical scripture.

As this study is on the book of Genesis, we will not spend too much time in Jasher, but students of God’s Word should make note of its existence and perhaps read it.

I.                Abram’s Call (Genesis 12:1-3)

A.    Genesis 12:1 – Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

1.     the Lord - יהוה Yĕhovah, God of the Covenant

2.     Abram - אברם 'Abram, "exalted father", from אָב, 'ab, meaning father and רוּם, ruwm meaning to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted

3.     What country was Abram instructed to leave? Haran, confusing because Haran was also the name of Abram’s brother who lived in Ur, the land of the Chaldees.  In Chapter 11 Abram and his brother Nahor left Ur After Haran dies they relocate to Haran.  The question then is was the location of Haran named after Abram’s brother as a memorial to him or was it already named Haran before they arrived?  Regardless, Abram is leaving Nahor and the rest of his family behind.

a.      Genesis 24:4 - But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

·        Abraham sends his servant back to his family

·        Considers Haran to be “my country”

b.      Genesis 25:20 – And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

·        Betheul was Nahor’s son

·        Syrian was a geographical reference only, like we are Ohioans

4.     Haran - חרן Charan, "mountaineer"

-        The city to which Abraham migrated when he left Ur of the Chaldees and where he stayed until his father died before leaving for the promised land; located in Mesopotamia in Padan-aram at the foot of Mount Masius between the Khabour and the Euphrates. Located Northeast of Damascus in Assyria

-        Acts 7:2-4 – And he said, “Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran (Haran), and said unto him, ‘Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.’  Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, He removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.”

-        The call in Genesis 12:1 is the 2^nd call as we see at the end of Chapter 11 that they came into the Haran and dwelt there, this would have been in response to this call mentioned here in Acts 7:2-4.

-        Corresponds to the Book of Jasher 

B.     Genesis 12:2 – And (1) I will make of thee a great nation, and (2) I will bless thee, and (3) make thy name great; and (4) thou shalt be a blessing:

C.    Genesis 12:3 - And (5) I will bless them that bless thee, and (6) curse him that curseth thee: and (7) in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

1.     Why does God promise to bless Abram? At this point there is very little documentation of him doing much of anything, we can assume from what we read going forward the he was a man of great faith and obedient to God.

a.      Hebrews 11:8 - By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

·        Here we can see that Abraham went out:

o       By faith

o       In obedience

2.     God already knows that Abram will be a blessing in the future, has he?

a.      Yes! Christ the Messiah is the eventual blessing to “all families of the earth”

3.     What has Abram done to gain such favor with God? Faith, Obedience

4.     Sevenfold promise here in Genesis  12:2-3 corresponds with sevenfold blessing of Exodus 6:6-8

5.     Exodus 6:4-8 – And I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein thy were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, who the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered My covenant.  Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and (1) I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and (2) I will rid you out of their bondage, and (3) I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And (4) I will take you to me for a people, and (5) I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  (6) And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; (7) and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord.”

II.              Abram in Canaan (Genesis 12:4-9)

A.    Genesis 12:4 – So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

1.     75 years old, a time when most people are in their twilight years, Abram is just getting started.

2.     Important for our understanding the situation correctly is our knowledge of the age of Abram.  For if he is seventy-five years old, he is even according to the standards of that time a middle –aged man.  So decisive a step as his would hardly come so easily at his age as at an earlier period in his life. So the mention of Abram’s age helps us put a more correct estimate upon the heroic quality of this act of faith.  H.C Leupold; Exposition of Genesis

B.     Genesis 12:5 – And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 

1.     We can see here that this move is no small undertaking, and it becomes apparent that Abram is very rich

2.     Sarai – שרי Saray, princess

3.     Sarai is 65 years old, 10 years younger than Abram

4.     Lot – לוט Lowt, covering

5.     “Souls they had gotten …”

a.      Souls - נפש nephesh, soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion

b.      They had gotten - עשה `asah, to do, fashion, accomplish, make

c.      Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Genesis 12:5 – Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all the possessions which they had acquired, and all the persons whom they had converted in Haran, and they went forth to go to the land of Canaan.  When they came to the land of Canaan,

d.      Jasher 13:21 – And many of the people of Haran, about seventy-two men, followed Abram and Abram taught them the instruction of the Lord and His ways, and he taught them to know the Lord.

e.      It appears that Abram converted souls to Yĕhovah,

C.    Genesis 12:6 – And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite [was] then in the land.

1.     Sichem – The place of Abram’s 1^st altar and Christ’s 1^st mission

a.      John 4:5 – Then cometh He to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of the ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

2.     Moreh - מורה Mowreh, teacher

3.     Canaanite - כנעני Kĕna`aniy,

a.      descendant of inhabitant of Canaan

b.      a merchant, trader

4.     Why would God send Abram to a land already occupied?

-        As soon as it was made known that the Seed of the woman was to come through Abram, there could have been a 2^nd (yet smaller in scale) influx of Nephilim as recorded in Genesis 6:4 …and also after that…

-        The aim of the enemy was to occupy Canaan in advance of Abram in order to contest its occupation by his seed.  E.W. Bullinger

D.    Genesis 12:7 – And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

1.     In verse 1 the Lord spoke, but here the Lord actually appears. 

a.      How does the Lord appear?

b.      Was this a reward for Abram’s obedience?

c.      Altar - מזבח mizbeach, a masculine noun, derived from the verb זבח zebach meaning sacrifice or offering

2.     What does “thy seed” represent? Ultimately Israel, what about others such as Ishmael and those born of Keturah (Abraham’s 2^nd wife after Sarah died), Esau’s descendents, were they also part of “thy seed’?  The land of Canaan which God is referring was given to the tribes of Israel, therefore “thy seed” is not officially comprised of the others

a.      Genesis 21:12 - And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

3.     One thing to note here is that Isaac would be Sarah’s only son. Though the covenant is made with Abram, could the promise of Genesis 3:15 be partially fulfilled here with Sarah in order to isolate the seed of the woman, the seed of the woman in this instance being Isaac as well as the seed of Abraham?

E.     Genesis 12:8 – And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

1.     Bethel – בית–אל Beyth-'El, “house of God”, ancient place and seat of worship in Ephraim on border of Benjamin, identified with Luz (former name)

a.      Genesis 28:18-19 – And Jacob arose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.  And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of the city was called Luz at first.

b.      Proves that Moses is documenting history using present day geographical names for Beth-el wasn’t named until Jacob named it after his his dream of a ladder to heaven.

2.     Hai – עי `Ay, “heap of ruins”, a city lying east of Bethel and beside Bethaven near Jericho and the second city taken on the invasion of Canaan

3.     “called upon the name of the Lord” –

a.      קרא qara' - to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim

b.      שם shem - name

c.      יהוה Yĕhovah – “the existing one”, the proper name of the one true God

d.      Same phrase as in Genesis 4:26, but there the phrase is preceded by the word חלל chalal, meaning to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin

F.     Genesis 12:9 – And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

1.     Abram accepted the promise, thanked God, built an altar and moved on

2.     South toward the hill country

III.            Abram in Egypt and Foreshadowing of the Future Bondage of Israel (Genesis 12:10-20)

A.    Genesis 12:10 – And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine [was] grievous in the land.

1.     What brought about the famine God? Satan? Or the natural processes in place?

2.     Could this be another attempt by Satan to hinder God’s plan?

3.     Does Satan have the power to control climate?

4.     We will see the collective “seed” of Abraham facing many of these types of adversity, Scripture doesn’t specifically say that these adversities are from Satan, but there appears to be a trend.

5.     What was it that forced Israel to relocate to Egypt? a famine

a.      Genesis 42:5 - And the sons of Israel came to buy [corn] among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

B.     Genesis 12:11 – And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou [art] a fair woman to look upon:

1.     It just hit him that he had a beautiful wife

C.    Genesis 12:12 – Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This [is] his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

1.     Was this fear unfounded? Probably not

2.     Is Abram fearful because God did not instruct him to go into Egypt and Abram possibly believes he could be out of God's will by going to Egypt in response to the famine?

D.    Genesis 12:13 – Say, I pray thee, thou [art] my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

1.     Was Abram asking Sarai to lie?

a.      Genesis 20:12 – And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

b.      So it was a half truth in that Sarai truly was Abram’s sister, she was his half-sister, he neglected to mention she was his wife for fear of his life.

c.      Telling the truth with the intent to deceive renders it a lie

d.      Compared with Abram’s earlier and upcoming deeds of heroism and faith this appears out of character.

2.     This appears to reveal Abram’s humanity and lack of faith

3.     Does God choose to reveal this passage to us in order to show us the growth in Abram’s faith from the time he was called out of Haran to its climax with Isaac on Mt. Moriah?

E.     Genesis 12:14 – And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she [was] very fair.

1.     According to the Word it appears that Sarai was in fact a very pleasant looking 65 year old

F.     Genesis 12:15 – The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

1.     Pharaoh – official title for all kings of Egypt

2.     Commended - הלל halal, verb meaning to praise, boast, be boastful

3.     Sarai is representative of the upcoming nation of Israel in that they were also held in bondage by Egypt

G.    Genesis 12:16 – And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

1.     These possessions were not necessarily all gifts from Pharaoh as Abram to have had not that Pharaoh gave. 

2.     As evidenced by 14:22-23 where Abram refused gifts from the king of Sodom.  Abram is very particular of what he accepts and who he accepts it from.

3.     Corresponds to the Pharaoh blessing Israel when they first migrated to Egypt.

a.      Genesis 45:18-20 - And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.  Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.  Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

H.    Genesis 12:17 – And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.

1.     The Lord intervened

a.      Why was it necessary for God to intervene?

b.      God has permitted much worse throughout history, why intervene here?

·        To preserve the messianic seed line was of the utmost importance, Satan’s attempts of corruption had to be stopped

2.     A foreshadowing of the expulsion of Israel from Egypt due to the God’s plagues upon Egypt 

I.      Genesis 12:18 – And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What [is] this [that] thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she [was] thy wife?

1.     Scripture does not specify how Pharaoh found out that Sarai was Abram’s wife.  How did he find out?

2.     Pharaoh almost responds as if this was to be expected…take someone’s wife… receive plagues from God, natural consequence right?

3.     The Book of Jasher 15:16-27 – And the woman was then brought to Pharaoh’s house, and Abram grieved on account of his wife, and he prayed to the Lord to deliver her from the hands of Pharaoh.  And Sarai also prayed at that time and said, O Lord God thou didst tell my Lord Abram to go from his land and from his father’s house to the land of Canaan, and thou didst promise to do well with him if he would perform thy commands; now behold we have done that which thou didst command us, and we left our land and our families, and we went to a strange land and to a people whom we have not known before.  And we came to this land to avoid the famine, and this evil accident has befallen me; now therefore, O Lord God, deliver us and save us from the hand of this oppressor, and do well with me for the sake of thy mercy.  And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Sarai, and the Lord sent an angel to deliver Sarai from the power of Pharaoh.  And the king came and sat before Sarai and behold an angel of the Lord was standing over them, and he appeared to Sarai and said to her, Do not fear, for the Lord has hear thy prayer.  And the king approached Sarai and said to her, What is that man to thee who brought thee hither? And she said, he is my brother.  And the king said, it is incumbent upon us to make him great, to elevate him and to do unto him all the good which thou shalt command us; and at that time the king sent to Abram silver and gold and precious stones in abundance, together with cattle, men servants and maid servants; and the king ordered Abram to be brought, and he sat in the court of the king’s house, and the king greatly exalted Abram on that night.  And the king approached to speak to Sarai, and he reached out his hand to touch her, when the angel smote him heavily, and was terrified and he refrained from reaching to her.  And when the king came near to Sarai, the angel smote him to the ground, and acted thus to him the whole night, and the king was terrified.  And the angel on that night smote heavily all the servants of the king, and his whole household, on account of Sarai, and there was a great lamentation that night amongst the people of Pharaoh’s house.  And Pharaoh, seeing the evil that befell him, said, surely on account of this woman has this thing happened to me, and he removed himself at some distance from her and spoke pleasing words to her.  And the king said to Sarai, Tell me I pray thee concerning the man with whom thou camest here; and Sarai said, This man is my husband, and I said to thee that he was my brother for I was afraid, lest thou shouldest put him to death through wickedness.

J.      Genesis 12:19 – Why saidst thou, She [is] my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take [her], and go thy way.

1.     Notice Pharaoh does not give Abram an opportunity to respond, was Abraham justified in his actions? Would Pharaoh have likely killed Abram for Sarai?  Only God knows these what if questions.

K.    Genesis 12:20 - And Pharaoh commanded [his] men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

1.     Psalm 105:14-15 – He suffered no man to do them wrong: Yea, He reproved kings for their sakes; saying, “Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no harm.”

2.     Pharaoh, though he was not a follower of God, feared God and restored Abram and sent him on his way.

3.    Pharaoh took Abram so seriously that he provided him an escort out of the land, indicates that he recognizes that God is holding him personally accountable for Abram’s safe passage.

Combatting Deception

This is one last topical presentation before we jump back into Genesis next week.  We will be picking up beginning in Chapter 12 with the life and times of the "father of multitudes" otherwise known as Abraham.

As we grow more and more interconnected through all sorts of media, be it online social networks, cable news or talk radio, worldwide deception becomes more and more of a possibility.  Peer pressure influences what we can or can not say, for instance we live in an era where certain questions are considered off limits.  Not that the questions can’t be asked, but a person asking these questions are ridiculed, mocked and chastised into submission or exile.  Questions such as: Is Obama eligible to be President of the U.S.?, Was 9/11 an inside job? Is global warming a hoax?  If you ask these questions you are labeled a “birther” a “truther” or an “eco-terrorist”. 

Trusting the Word of God is difficult when deceptions are so prevalent.  What happened to the old adage that there is no such thing as a dumb question?  I don’t understand the latest strategy of belittling people who ask these questions other than to conceal truth; if what we are being told is true why not satisfy the curiosity of the questioner with a respectful answer?  If my children would ask me why does the sun come up every morning I wouldn’t laugh at them and make them feel inferior, I would give a respectful answer providing evidence to support that answer if needed. 

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.  Matthew 24:4

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9

And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. Revelation 18:23

If we believe the Bible, it’s very clear that Satan will deceive the whole world and the merchants of the earth are tools used to deceive.  Who would fall into the category of “merchants”? Lately, I would lump bankers, corporations and politicians into this category as they constantly exploit citizens.  Jesus tells us:

I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. John 12:46

And in his letter to the Romans Paul writes:

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2

In terms of conforming to the world, how is the Church doing?  My observations indicate that the Church, or I should say Churches are not doing so good in this area.  So if the Church is conformed to this world, as I believe it is, it would imply that the Church is deceived since according to Revelation 12:9 the “whole world” is deceived. 

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders: insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matthew 24:24

How is it then that Jesus says that it isn’t possible for the elect to be deceived?  He says that the elect would be deceived IF IT WERE POSSIBLE, why is it not possible? 

If ye were of the world the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:19

Because the elect are not conformed to this world, they are not of this world, but chosen out of the world.  We must choose Christ over the world, when we know Him which is to know His Word, it is impossible to be deceived. 

Resisting deception is very important to Jesus.  Deception is what led us to the fallen state we are now in, and Christ came to provide us with an example of how to resist these deceptions.  A Greek word for deception is planaō, a verb used 39 times in 37 verses of the New Testament, translated in multiple ways.  It is translated as follows: deceive 24, err 6, go astray 5, seduce 2, wander 1, be out of the way 1.  Another Greek work for deception is exapataō, a verb meaning to deceive and is found in the New Testament 5 times, translated 4 times as to deceive and once as beguiled.

The one thing as Christians we need to understand is that God’s Word is true and that what He tells us in His Word will happen.  So should we be fighting against our government?  Paul writes this to the Ephesians:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. Ephesians 6:12

To me this would indicate that we are in a spiritual battle and not one that is in this physical world.  Is it possible for us to fight in the spiritual realms where these enemies fight against us?  Paul explains in this entire passage:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  Ephesians 6:10-18

So we wrestle against spiritual forces, but we are also given defenses and weapons to wage this war IN THE SPIRIT.  How do we “girt our loins” with truth? That is something we are working on daily to determine what is truth.  Truth is an absolute and the world does not like absolutes.  Truth says that God is all powerful and He has empowered us by the blood of His Son Christ Jesus.  We are also instructed to have on the “breastplate of righteousness” the breastplate protects your vital organs in your upper torso ie your heart and lungs.  Living righteously is therefore a protection of your vital spiritual organs, your heart.  How one does shod his feet in the gospel of peace?  

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  Matthew 5:39

Are the principles of Christ only applicable to individuals or do we worship a God with universal principles that not only apply to individuals they apply to governments as well? Does this sound like we should launch retaliatory wars with circumstantial evidence at best?  We as individuals have no control over the conduct of our nation, God’s Will is already set in motion and Satan thinking its his plan will be in for a surprise.  A shield is something that is moveable, one can use it to reinforce areas of the body already covered in armor based on where the enemy is attacking.  A shield is more important than any other piece of armor because its flexible, a skilled warrior could go into battle armed with only a shield, for a skilled warrior can also use a shield as a weapon in close quarter combat.  Faith is much like the shield in that it can be used to reinforce righteousness or truth or peace and if the enemy gets too close you can use your faith offensively to smack him in the face.  The helmet protects the vital organs in the skull ie the brain.  In the spirit, your mind is protected knowing that we have…

…an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:4-5

Knowing that God has reserved our salvation for us puts our minds at ease in that there is nothing that the enemy has in his arsenal that we should fear for he does not have the power to destroy our souls. 

We finally get to the offensive weaponry, the sword which is mainly for offense but also used in defense.  The Word of God is what we use to assault the kingdom of darkness.  Why do you think that our enemy tries to destroy the Word by either suppression or mistranslation.  He knows that the Word will destroy him.  Our other main offensive weapon is Prayer.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  James 5:16

When the armor is used in combination it is very effective.  We can pray the Word of God in faith while living righteously.  God has armed us to fight this battle, we can’t afford to be distracted by what is manifested in the physical, our battle is in the Spiritual and that is the dominion we are instructed to take. 

As we explore this concept of waging a spiritual war we can begin to understand Jesus when he said “…whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Unless we walk in the spirit, this makes no sense.  When we realize our battle is not against the flesh and blood of this physical world, but the powers of darkness in the spiritual dimension we shall be able to overcome the dragon by the blood of the Lamb.