Topical Bible: Armies: Often Destroyed by Themselves Through Divine Intervention

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Throughout the biblical narrative, there are numerous instances where armies are destroyed not by the might of human forces, but through divine intervention, often resulting in the armies turning upon themselves. These events serve as powerful testimonies to the sovereignty and power of God, who delivers His people in miraculous ways.

1. The Midianites Defeated by Gideon (Judges 7): One of the most notable examples is the defeat of the Midianites by Gideon. God instructed Gideon to reduce his army to just 300 men to ensure that the victory would be attributed to divine intervention rather than human strength. During the night, Gideon's men surrounded the Midianite camp with trumpets and torches hidden in jars. At Gideon's signal, they broke the jars, blew the trumpets, and shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!" The LORD caused confusion among the Midianites, who turned their swords against each other. Judges 7:22 states, "When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD set the swords of every man in the camp against each other, and the army fled."

2. The Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites Against Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20): King Jehoshaphat faced a vast coalition of Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites. In response, Jehoshaphat sought the LORD through prayer and fasting. God assured him through a prophet that the battle belonged to Him. As the people of Judah began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the enemy, causing them to destroy one another. 2 Chronicles 20:22-23 records, "At the moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another."

3. The Assyrian Army Defeated (2 Kings 19; Isaiah 37): During the reign of King Hezekiah, the Assyrian army, led by Sennacherib, besieged Jerusalem. Hezekiah prayed to the LORD for deliverance. In response, God sent an angel who struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in their camp. The Assyrian army was decimated without a single sword being drawn by the Israelites. 2 Kings 19:35 states, "And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!"

4. The Philistines Turned Against Each Other (1 Samuel 14): During the reign of King Saul, his son Jonathan and his armor-bearer attacked a Philistine outpost, causing panic in the Philistine camp. The LORD sent a panic, and the Philistines turned their swords against each other. 1 Samuel 14:20 describes the scene: "Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and there the Philistines were in total confusion, striking each other with their swords."

These accounts highlight the recurring theme of divine intervention in the battles faced by the Israelites. The destruction of enemy armies through self-inflicted chaos underscores the belief that God is the ultimate protector and deliverer of His people, often working in ways that defy human understanding and capability.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Judges 7:22
And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, to Tabbath.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

1 Samuel 14:15,16
And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Chronicles 20:23
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Second Oration on Easter.
... And we observe that a thing which we often find to ... powers that were subject to it,
being destroyed as it ... which is now trodden under foot by armies, [4660] but ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xlv the second oration.htm

the Legendary History of Egypt
... It is often mentioned in ... Two Truths, living on the remains of sinners, gorging
themselves with their ... Truths, I bring unto you Truth, I have destroyed sins for ...
/.../chapter iii -the legendary history of.htm

The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
... all independent of each other, but often united under ... The Elamite armies were well
organized, and under a ... The rise of Babylon destroyed the last chance which ...
/.../chapter ithe first chaldaean empire.htm

The Iranian Conquest
... writers maintain that the Magi often cloaked monstrous ... Later on he perished through
the treachery of ... the great Median families who attached themselves to the ...
/.../chapter ithe iranian conquest.htm

Sennacherib (705-681 BC )
... testimony of this chronicle is so often marred by ... The buildings themselves suffered
a like fate to that of ... houses, from foundation to roof, I destroyed them, I ...
/.../chapter isennacherib 705-681 b c.htm

An Essay on the Scriptural Doctrine of Immortality.
... offered immediately after the world had been destroyed by the ... of those who in Scripture
are so often called "the ... 19:14, it is said that "the armies in heaven ...
/.../an essay on the scriptural.htm

The Assyrian Revival and the Struggle for Syria
... The name of his successor is destroyed in the Synchronous ... and also to the fact that
the armies of all ... broken Obelisk, from which I have often quoted, contains ...
/.../chapter ithe assyrian revival and.htm

The Temples and the Gods of Chaldaea
... the countries and men"who devote themselves to black ... their malice, and their crafty
attacks, often brought upon ... As he destroyed everything in his blind rage ...
/.../chapter iithe temples and the.htm

The Close of the Theban Empire
... the limit of their dominion, and they often crossed it ... The remainder was destroyed
by the fellahin, at the ... them of the care of commanding their armies; and as ...
/.../chapter iiithe close of the.htm

Period iv. The Age of the Consolidation of the Church: 200 to 324 ...
... man may make God satisfaction through the same ... of God, whose very gifts he resisted
and destroyed. ... false accusations against the prophets themselves and their ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period iv the age of.htm