42And the LORD said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight,for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’
As Israel was busy preparing for war, the Lord reversed the original command for Israel to go up and fight, for he was not in their midst. There is hardly any proclamation more awful to a nation whose future lay in their covenant God's hands.
42 And the LORD said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’