God of War
Exodus 14
Martin Luther wrote in his Reformation hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, “Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing.” Who is this “Man” God chose to be by our side, to give us strength for the spiritual battle?
Luther goes on to tell us: “Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth His name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.” It is Jesus. Jesus did not just die to pay for the punishment of sin. He defeated Satan and death to provide the power over sin and death!"
To put it another way, Jesus is our Sacrificial Lamb but He is also our Conquering Warrior. Make no mistake about it. We are in a spiritual war. Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
This invisible war can only be won by the One greater than Satan, “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). The Book of Exodus records very real events but also foreshadows Jesus Christ. The defeat of Egypt in today’s passage should also remind us of the defeat of Satan. Because of the resurrection, we fight from victory not for victory.
In today’s passage we see the people’s part and God’s part in battle. For the people, it meant Moses using his staff to direct the sea. For each of the Jews, it meant stepping out by faith and walking through the Red Sea with “the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left” (Exodus 12:21).
We see God’s part in vs. 19-20. “Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.”
The angel of God literally stood between His people and the Egyptians to protect them. While there is some debate, I believe this is a description of the pre-incarnate Christ. He took on a physical form in this moment to fight for His people. What a great visual for us all. By the way, Moses goes on to describe God this way in Exodus 15:3. “The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.”
Live fearlessly today. The Lord is a “man of war” fighting for us. Not to mention all the angels who are ministering warriors on our behalf. Let us stand firm today in gospel confidence. We are on the winning team.
Exodus 14
Martin Luther wrote in his Reformation hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, “Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing.” Who is this “Man” God chose to be by our side, to give us strength for the spiritual battle?
Luther goes on to tell us: “Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth His name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.” It is Jesus. Jesus did not just die to pay for the punishment of sin. He defeated Satan and death to provide the power over sin and death!"
To put it another way, Jesus is our Sacrificial Lamb but He is also our Conquering Warrior. Make no mistake about it. We are in a spiritual war. Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
This invisible war can only be won by the One greater than Satan, “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). The Book of Exodus records very real events but also foreshadows Jesus Christ. The defeat of Egypt in today’s passage should also remind us of the defeat of Satan. Because of the resurrection, we fight from victory not for victory.
In today’s passage we see the people’s part and God’s part in battle. For the people, it meant Moses using his staff to direct the sea. For each of the Jews, it meant stepping out by faith and walking through the Red Sea with “the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left” (Exodus 12:21).
We see God’s part in vs. 19-20. “Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.”
The angel of God literally stood between His people and the Egyptians to protect them. While there is some debate, I believe this is a description of the pre-incarnate Christ. He took on a physical form in this moment to fight for His people. What a great visual for us all. By the way, Moses goes on to describe God this way in Exodus 15:3. “The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.”
Live fearlessly today. The Lord is a “man of war” fighting for us. Not to mention all the angels who are ministering warriors on our behalf. Let us stand firm today in gospel confidence. We are on the winning team.
Posted in Journey of Hope