“The Lord is a warrior…”

It’s not news that our world is tainted.  Actually that may be a gross understatement, given how bad things really are in spite of how smoothly some things run.  But let’s give an example or put a face to this tainted world, and it comes from Hollywood, the film capital of the world.  Hollywood, you ask?  That’s a given: everyone knows how tainted Hollywood is.  I know that too, but I’m only using one of their many examples.  Take the soldier, the warrior, the hero who risks life and limb, and puts himself in harm’s way for a noble cause.  Think of the major stars down through the decades of Hollywood moviedom that have “graced” the big screen: Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky and  Rambo) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator) suffice.  All of these characters were warriors to one degree or another, fighting against not only incredible odds, but also the bad guy(s), trying to save at least part of civilization and/or bring justice to the guilty.  And we all root and cheer for their success and are relieved when it finally comes.  But let’s face it, each of these “heroes” is flawed, and deeply so.  As the genre goes, these warriors are strong on the outside, but they have issues on the inside.  They’re moody, quiet, insensitive, frequently private about themselves and their past, and hardly know what to do with themselves after the mission is accomplished.  We see older boys and young men who flock to such films wanting to emulate what they see.  “That’s the way to be!” they conclude.  Tough…cool…aloof…buff.  And boy, can they kill, and kill a lot!

So when we read in Exodus 15:3 that “The Lord is a warrior,” some might come away with some misconceptions thanks to Hollywood’s influence.  The context for this description found nowhere else in Scripture — although the idea of God fighting for his people is found in numerous other places — is the celebration of Moses and the Israelites after the defeat of Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea.  Can you see Moses and the Jews lifting up their voices in praise and thanksgiving as they sing of the power of the Lord?  Not exactly Hollywood, is it?  No bravado, no bragging, no flexing biceps at fawning young ladies.  No, the tough talk came from Pharaoh’s army: “The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them, I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them.  I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them’” (v. 9).  And then the Lord moved on them: “But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters” (v. 10).  Done, finished, kaput.  A knock-out punch.  Fight’s over.

The round began one chapter back, where Moses said, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still” (14:14).  Well, that was the easy part, trapped as they were between the approaching army and the sea.  They couldn’t move!  And that was the point: they had to be trapped to see how helpless they were and how utterly unable they were to fight God-sized battles.  No, let the Warrior handle this one!

So significant was this event that numerous writers speak of God as a fighter. Moses reminded the new generation of Jews who would enter the Promised Land (Deut. 1:30, 3:22, 20:4) as did Joshua (23:10).  Both the writer of 2 Chronicles (20:29) and Nehemiah (4:20) also appealed to this fact.  We find at the end of time Jesus returns on a white horse.  Ready “with justice he judges and makes war” (Revelation 19:11).

In what was undoubtedly Jesus’ biggest battle, he was a warrior without weapons, at least those “weapons of the world” (2 Corinthians 10:4).  That’s why we’re not supposed to use them too.  Consider when Judas, the soldiers and officials confronted Jesus in the garden (John 18:3).  What weapon of war did Jesus have?  None.  The only one available, which Peter used on Malchus’ ear, Jesus said to “put away” (v. 11).  So, what other weapons did Jesus have?  Well, his holiness.  And righteousness.  And glory, which, fortunately for them, was sufficiently veiled lest they instantly die on the spot.  He also had his word, which he speaks by his breath or Spirit.  Notice what happened to the whole arresting company when Jesus responded to their question that they wanted Jesus of Nazareth.  After saying, “I am” (he is not in the original), “they drew back and fell to the ground” (v. 6).  Knocked ‘em all down!  In 2 Thessalonians 2:8 Paul says of the lawless one at the end of time, “the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth.”  Hmm, both examples look a lot like the Warrior at work the Red Sea.  What a weapon, his word!

The Warrior’s weapons are not of this world. Are you being still so the Warrior will fight for you?