Conquered But Not Converted

“O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.” (Mic 1:13 AV)

 Lachish was one of the first cities conquered by Joshua.  The king of Lachish conspired against Gebiah because they allied with Israel.  The king of Lachish conspired with four other pagan city-kings in the hope of conquering Israel and punishing their brother, Gebiah.  However, the LORD gave Joshua and Israel a great deliverance.  The other four kings fell in a day.  Lachish took two days.  But, the LORD gave the city unto Israel.  Lachish lays in the northernmost territory of Judah and the city fell to Judah as an inheritance.  The people and city were destroyed and the city rebuilt as a fortified city for the protection of Jerusalem.  However, being a border city, they were very near Samaria and the sins of Jeroboam in the form of idol worship made their way into the city of Lachish.  From Lachish, this evil would infect the entire southern kingdom of Judah and Benjamin.  God gave Israel a warning.  He told them He was not about to completely remove all the enemies of Israel or their influence all by His own might.  He left some there for a purpose.  In the book of Judges we read, “I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.” (Jud 2:21-22 AV)  That didn’t mean the LORD would leave Israel alone to be tempted of their neighbors.  What it did mean was the LORD wished to use their enemies as a means to mature them into a spiritual nation.

My father did not keep a safety net around us to keep us from all harm or temptation.  He allowed us a certain amount of liberty balanced with severe accountability.  In his parenting philosophy, he was building children into adults who would know what to avoid and have the strength to avoid it.  If he was constantly around us keeping us from every conceivable harm, we would not be able to live without him and emotionally and spiritually, we would not have grown.  One of those areas was friends.  My father provided the necessary structure for his children to build proper friendships with their peers without hovering over them.  He involved us in Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts.  The kids who joined these groups tended to be the more squared away types.  They were not perfect, but they were not trouble-makers either.  My parents also built relationships with other families who had children our age.  These families were socially responsible and usually, religious in nature.  Our parents did not force friendships upon us, but rather, fostered the right set of circumstances that created good friendships.

However, as hard as they tried, there were on occasion, bad influences.  Each of my siblings and I had them.  We did not always have the best of choices.  My father was aware and did not directly and immediately intervene.  He gave us enough rope to hang ourselves.  I don’t know if it happened to all of my siblings, but I know it happened to me and a few others.  We started relationships that were not the best.  In one case, the law got involved.  Not serious.  But enough to learn associations matter.  My father, in his wisdom, allowed us to fight our way through wisdom.  Wisdom does not come naturally.  It must be exercised and gained.  Hardships over some of the choices we made resulted in better choices down the road.  If my father had not allowed us to struggle through some of these hard choices, we would never have matured as we did.  Hardships, even if Father can keep us from them, are necessary to be changed into the person God meant us to be.

Jesus said to Peter, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” (Lu 22:32 AV)  Lachish was a conquered city.  Its pagan influence was destroyed.  However, over time, the children of Judah allowed those influences to come back in.  It was a conquered city.  But it was not a converted city.  This is the reality of the Christian life.  We are more than conquerors through Christ.  By His blood, we have overcome the world, the devil, and the flesh.  But to make the mistake that salvation fixes all things completely is the mistake Judah made with Lachish.  We may be conquerers, but are we converted?  Do we continue in the things of the LORD and safeguard against any and all return of the enemy?  It is possible to live high in victory and ignore the enemy that is still without the gates.  This is the challenge this morning.  Have we conquered without being completely converted?