By Jan Willem van der Hoeven

Most people shy away from confronting evil and the fierce resistance the Enemy brings against them and the biblical positions they hold. This is not the biblical way.

God said to Joshua BEFORE he went in to conquer the land He had sworn to give to the people of Israel: “Only be you strong and of great courage.” That was the Lord’s advice to Israel’s commander! Even so God spoke to Gideon: “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”  (Judges 6:14)

When it concerns a definite promise made by the Lord, holy aggressiveness is more the answer than timid defense. Of course, sin has to be dealt with as we see in the story of Achan who hid the forbidden gold and silver into his tent. But if this is done both on the personal as well as on the national level by confession and repentance then, and only then, is holy boldness required to possess the promises of the Lord, as is evidenced throughout biblical history.

Only be strong and very courageous.

Go in this thy might – the Lord is with you.

This, however, is not the way employed by most leaders to stop the ever-encroaching inroads of evil and enmity that their increasingly threatened nations face. The opposite is true: instead of a courageous stand and strong conviction, careful and often timid political maneuvering is the order of the day.

When President Ronald Reagan delivered his famous speech at the Berlin Wall, telling Gorbachev, “If you want peace come break down this wall,” he did so against the express advice of his own state department and CIA! He did it because he was a man of courage. And he succeeded in seeing this wall brought down.

In relation to His servants, be they political leaders or spiritual leaders, God places the emphasis on holy boldness, as we have seen in these already quoted scriptures. To Jeremiah He even says the following:

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”   (Jeremiah 1:7-10)

The aggressiveness of evil men and women is so vicious and dominant that, unless it is confronted with a strong and very courageous stand, it will not retreat. As Paul says, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His Might. If you so resist the Devil, he will flee. But often, today, it is the opposite we see: national and religious leaders try rather to appease, even accommodate evil, and evil men and women, than to confront them in the power and authority of the Lord. So far has this gone that we now live in a time when Evil dictates how it wants to be respected and treated. The aggressiveness of the ever-growing homosexual communities is just one example. The unrestrained aggression of many women feminists concerning the “right” to abort their own babies has won the day for them in many countries, making it legal to abort or murder these most innocent of all: the unborn. The violence and continual terror of Islamists has often, out of fear of wider and even more brutal repercussions, been accommodated, explained and even excused in many lands.

It is the opposite of what God tells us in His Word that He expects of His servants, be they political or just spiritual leaders!

Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director
International Christian Zionist Center

© Israel My Beloved