Does God fight our battles?

One of the most popular Christian songs of recent years has a line about God ‘roaring with power’ and ‘fighting our battles’. But does God really fight our battles? If God fought for Israel, why did they lose to the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4? In this passage we see what changed for the Israelites, and what that has to teach us about how God does (and does not) fight our battles.Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Understand the Bible at utbible.substack.com/subscribe