Skip to main content

Images of God (Warrior)


It seems that a day never passes without hearing some form of terrible news of war from a far country. We hear of bombings in Syria, Mali and many other war torn places. The grief never ends. The world is field with war and rumours of war. War affects all of us. It is a global reality. Last century over 150 million lives were lost to war and genocide. Some have said history is nothing more than the history of war. The bible chronicles war as a major recurring fact of human history. An outworking of the fallen nature of man! Since the days of Cain we have been at war.

But at the same time, it offers us an hopeful image of war – it often uses military imagery as a central metaphor to describe God’s character and his work in our world and in his people.  Not is war part of the salvation story, but God is a Warrior! In Exodus 15:3 after being delivered from Egypt, Israel sung, “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His name”. Throughout the Bible God wages war for His people to free them from their oppressors. When evil forces threatened them or held them captive, God fought on their behalf. In one of my favourite songs in scripture,  the Psamist declares, “ You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob. Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes” (Psalm 44:5-6).

Often when we feel overpowered by circumstances, we are prone to wonder – who will fight for us? Who will wage our battles? Who is the shining warrior who will ride to our rescue? Well the answer is that, "there is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty" (Deut 33:26). The wonderful good news is that the God of Jeshurun is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ for whom it is said in Revelation 19:11: “I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war”. I like that it puts it in the present tense (“judges”). It is a reminder that God in Christ is actively judging the world and he is working all things to his purpose! He is not asleep to the sinfulness and corruption of nations and peoples today. He is able to punish now! And he has also appointed a day when He is coming to conquer all who oppose him!

The good news is that in Jesus Christ, those who have repented are no longer counted as God’s enemies! As a result those who know Jesus can face this corrupt and evil culture with confidence! We know that God is at work and ultimately. as Obadiah reminds us, the Kingdom of this world, will be the Lord’s (Obadiah 21). It may not look it, but Jesus our Warrior King will ultimately conquer! Evil will be rolled back like a scroll! With this certain outcome, we must live faithful and confident in these evil times! Jesus our Warrior King is on throne! This is good news that the world needs to hear! We worship a God who conquers all before him – only in Jesus is true victory found! Not in man!

Related Posts:

Images of God (Sovereign)
Images of God (Shepherd)
Images of God (Potter)
Images of God (Whirlwind)
Images of God (Stronghold)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Dying By Rob Moll (A Review)

Death may not be an exciting topic but it is certainly an important, if often overlooked subject. Which is why Rob Moll's recent book The Art of Dying  is a welcome publication. The book has been written to address the question of the good way to die. Moll believes our culture does not know how to approach death because we have become so removed from experiencing it. This is a problem because we can't live well unless we are intimate with death and know how to die well. The Christian approach, Moll argues, is  that death is both evil and mercy wrapped in one. Therefore there are significant benefits from knowing how to die well. At the surface we should all be capable of dying well because people take longer to die than before which should offer plenty of preparation. The reality is exactly the opposite. For many Christians the allure of modern medicine has meant greater focus on self preservation and surviving at all costs than preparing well for death. Dying as a spiri...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

I am what I am by Gloria Gaynor

Beverly Knight closed the opening ceremony of the Paralympics with what has been dubbed the signature tune of the Paralympics. I had no idea Ms Knight is still in the singing business. And clearly going by the raving reviews she will continue to be around. One media source says her performance was so electric that "there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen as she sang the lyrics to the song and people even watching at home felt the passion in her words" . The song was Gloria Gaynor's I am what I am . Clearly not written by Gloria Gaynor but certainly musically owned and popularized by her. It opens triumphantly: I am what I am / I am my own special creation / So come take a look / Give me the hook or the ovation / It's my world that I want to have a little pride in / My world and it's not a place I have to hide in / Life's not worth a damn till you can say I am what I am The words “I am what I am” echo over ten times in the song. A bold declaration that she ...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

The Wound of Sin

Bless the Lord, O my soul, that when you were playing with the bait, unaware of the hook like so many others, He opened your eyes—allowing you to see your folly and danger so that you might flee from it. And now, be careful that you do not grasp at any of the devil's temptations, lest he ensnare you with his hook. For though you may be restored by grace, it will not be without a wound—just as a fish sometimes escapes the hook but swims away injured. That wound may bring sorrow and take long to heal. And you have already known this to be true. THOMAS BOSTON  ( Source : The Art of Man-Fishing) A sobering truth from Thomas Boston. Sin always damages. God always restores His children when we fall but it is never without the wounds. We often carry the scars of our sins. This is another m reason for us to avoid sin altogether. Sometimes in our presumption of His grace, we tend to be antinomian. Boston is warning that such an attitude is foolish since sin always damages. It always leaves ...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →