The Promised Land was not taken without a fight. And, it was lost because the fighting stopped.
Repeatedly, throughout the book of Judges, you read where the Israelites would defeat their enemies as they gained strength. But, they refused to completely annihilate them as God had said. Instead, they would enslave the conquered people who would now serve Israelites. Bad idea.
Eventually, the now enslaved made slaves of their captors. This was done, not through fighting, but through compromise. They stopped fighting and started following the idols of their captives. The Israelites exchanged the victory giving God for the gods of the losers.
Scripture says that “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Jesus defeated our enemies. We are free, but not from fighting! Galatians 5:1 goes onto say that we are to fight from going backwards into slavery.
Lasting freedom from all our stupid choices with their negative consequences, has been given to us. This freedom, though, is maintained by continuing to fight by faith with the truths Jesus gives you in His Word. We are to wipe out our enemy…entirely! Compromise leads to slavery, just like it did with the Israelites.
In our current culture, fighting is becoming a by-word and compromise the vogue thing to do. Not when it comes to your freedom in Christ! Compromise in any area of your life will only have disastrous results. Just ask the Israelites of old.