9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle;
10 they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law. Psalm 78:9-10

We don’t know precisely what “the men of Ephraim” were involved in to have such a mention in this chapter, but it certainly wasn’t laudable (Spurgeon suggests it might have been about guarding and subsequent capture of the Ark of the Covenant ).

Whatever it is they did, these men turned tail and ran. What was it that caused this? Why were they fearful? They had weapons so why didn’t they use them? There was more to it than just being cowardly.

They were cowardly without the power of God to “back them up.” They didn’t have the power of God because they weren’t living right.

Fast forward 4000 years. We have weapons (Ephesians 5) and we don’t use them. The Holy Spirit of God wants to empower us to live holy and Godly lives (Titus 2:10-11 – For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age).

What’s your armor like today? What battles are you facing that you absolutely positively need the power of God to intervene?