Chapter 12 of Joshua lists the victories of Moses on the East side of river Jordan River and then the victories of Joshua on the West side of the Jordan river. The list of Joshua’s victories inlcudes 31 kings and kingdoms. It’s pretty impressive.
The interesting thing about Joshua is that he never retreated. He always pressed forward in battle. He was always on the offensive.
The lesson might be for us to remain on the offensive. In Ephesians chapter 6, we learn about the warfare that you and I are in spiritually. It lists our armor. We have a shield, a helmet, a breastplate, but the only offensive weapon is the “sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God.” The Bible is our offensive weapon against our enemy. I like the way Robert Morgan says it; “Even in our modern age of technology, we’ll never face any temptation that isn’t addressed in the Bible. There are verses for every challenge we’ll ever face, and we need to find and memorize the verses we’re apt to need along the way.” This is how we train for warfare! We practice swinging God’s Words at our enemies.
Notice also that in the list of the armor of God there is no provision for protection for one’s back. It protects only the one who faces the enemy.