After two days of spiritual attacks that left me feeling the burn of frustration and chaos, I asked the Lord, ‘How do I frustrate the enemy’s camp?’ He led me to 2 Chronicles 20:22.
“As soon as they began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp“
2 Chronicles 20:22
Do we worship the Lord in full trust, knowing he has always got us despite what we walk through, or do we complain, agreeing with the lies of the enemy, that brings hopelessness and despair?
Gideon gathered 32,000 Israelites to fight the huge Midianite army of 135,000 men. The Lord commanded Gideon to reduce his army to only 300 men.
Mission Bible class
The Lord had him reduce his army. Those who were in fear of fighting against the Midianites were removed from the army. He continued to reduce the army so that the Israelites could not boast of their own strength; instead, God would get the Glory because this was impossible for man to do alone.
“Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled.“
Judges 7:20-21
Why did the Lord have Gideon’s Army blow their trumpets? Wouldn’t that alert the enemy camp? We see earlier in scripture that the Lord commanded the Israelites to blast their trumpets when they went to battle.
“Only the priests, Aaron’s descendants, are allowed to blow the trumpets. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation. When you arrive in your own land and go to war against your enemies who attack you, sound the alarm with the trumpets. Then the Lord your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies. Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind your God of his covenant with you. I am the Lord your God.”
Numbers 10:8-9
Trumpets sound the alarm to the enemy and put him on notice. They are a sound that God responds to. The Old Testament stories are often metaphors for us who live in the new covenant of how we should approach the spiritual realm. How do we make a trumpet blast in the spirit realm? Trumpets represent our mouths in the new covenant. We know this from these verses.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,
Revelations 1:10
“Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”
Revelation 4:1
“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins!
Isaiah 58:1
In Biblical times, only priests used trumpets made of silver. Many horns were used as trumpets and were made of ram’s horns or other animal horns. This is what the shofar is made of. They were both used in going to battle. The Holy Spirit made a connection for me and reminded me of when I read Daniel recently. I realized in Daniel’s vision a 4th beast had a horn that came up and started speaking “great things.” So from this connection in Daniel, the horn has a voice and is a mouth that speaks. The trumpet is our mouthpiece.
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.”
Daniel 7:7-8
So we see here that the horn is a mouth in Daniel, but this horn was speaking Satan’s agenda. Our mouth can be speaking for God or Satan. How can a Christian speak satan’s agenda? Any time we agree with a lie that does not line up with God’s word, we are agreeing with and speaking satan’s lie. It could be as simple as ‘I am so stupid!’ or ‘There’s no way I will be able to pay my bills this month!’
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Proverbs 18:21
“From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”
James 3:10
“Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”
James 3:4-6
One of satan’s tactics is to wear out God’s children and cause them to give up and speak satan’s lies over their lives.
“And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will wear out the holy ones of the Most High,”
Daniel 7:25
In these moments, God wants us to sound the trumpet so he can rescue us from our enemies.
How do we sound our trumpets?
- Praise
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”
Acts 16:25-26
2. Prayer
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Phillipians 4:4-7
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
1 Timothy 2:1-4
3. Resisting the devil and Speaking God’s word, the truth.
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”
Matthew 4:10-11
“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”
Ephesians 6:16
4. Share your testimony
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
Revelations 12:11
5. Silence and Trust
The Holy Spirit spoke to me that he wanted me to write about silence as well. I questioned him, saying silence is not a sound. He said, ‘Silence is a sound; it’s a sound that confuses the enemy.’ Let’s look at some biblical examples of silence.
Exodus 14:13-14
“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalms 46:10
“It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Lamentations 3:26
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”
Psalms 37:7
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17