“The LORD is a man of war” (Exodus 15:3).

During the holiday season when the strains of Handel’s Messiah are commonly heard as part of the traditional Christmas music we also listened to the records of the same composer’s much less familiar oratorio, Israel in Egypt. In a style similar to that of the Messiah, using the King James version of the Bible, the music first recalls the history of the Lord’s deliverance of His people from Egyptian bondage through the ten plagues and then through their crossing of the Red Sea. Much of the latter part of the work is an arrangement of the Song of Moses with which he and Israel celebrated the latter event. At one point two men in a rugged, martial bass duet make t he words reverberate, “The LORD is a man of war . . . Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea . . . .”

These words were again called to mind by the leading article in the January 10, 1983 issue of the new Christian Renewal magazine entitled, “Is Yahweh a Man of War?” In it John Bolt calls attention to the important message which the words and events of the Exodus account bring to Christians in our time when Christians and churches are being deluged by a wave of “peace” propaganda.

The article begins by referring to a Presbyterian minister’s suggestion in a recent book that the notion of God as a warrior in the Old Testament has been eclipsed by the revelation in Jesus Christ that God is a “man of peace.” Mr. Bolt especially on the basis of studying· and teaching the books of Joshua and Judges is “not in the least convinced that Yahweh is no longer a warrior or that christian, New Testament revelation inevitably leads to pacifism.” He takes up two related matters, (I) “God’s ‘Holy War’ as instrument of His judgment of sin” and (2) ”the problem of trusting in the Lord while at the same time maintaining a state of military preparedness. ” “The military campaigns of Israel are God’s judgment upon sin.” “Israel . . . was chosen to be a holy people in a holy land, the first fruits of Yahweh’s intended sanctification of the whole earth” which was involved in a revolt against His Kingship. “Israel’s wars of conquest are Yahweh’s judgment upon the wickedness of the Canaanites” from which Israel as God’s holy people must be and remain separated. “The conquest of Canaan is Yahweh’s war, not Israel’s.”

“Why does this warfare present a problem for many, and . . . why do Yahweh’s holy wars cease after the Old Testament? Is holy war eclipsed by God’s final revelation in the Man of peace, Jesus Christ?” “In the New Testament, holy wars, in which one nation (Israel) is the primary instrument of God’s judgment cease,” for “the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile is broken down in Christ” (Ephesians 2). Christians are commanded to overcome evil by the sword of the Spirit and through the power of the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:10–17). To the extent that dispensationalist fellow-Christians fail to see this as they cheer on present Israeli conquests as “signs of the un folding of God’s Kingdom” they err.

Rev. Mr. Bolt also suggests that present liberal protestant’s criticism of Old Testament holy wars “sterns in part from their unwillingness to accept the reality of God’s judgment on human sin.” “God’s ‘last word’ is not simply ‘Jesus the man of peace,’” but Jesus who is corning again to judge (Rev. 21, 22).

Regarding the alleged need to “trust in the Lord” instead of maintaining a military defense, the article appropriately points out that these were not alternatives but were both enjoined by God. “On the one hand, Yahweh is Israel’s defense. Israel is not to rely or boast in its horses and chariots. On the other hand, Israel is to be militarily prepared to defend herself. Confessing trust in Yahweh’s defense while passively failing to prepare militarily is to court disaster. Relying on military preparation apart from trusting Yahweh is idolatry.” The article closes by recalling the Puritan principle, “Fear God and keep the gunpowder dry.”

Dealing with the same subject on a more academic level is an article in the Fall 1982 Westminster Theological Journal entitled, “The Divine Warrior: The New Testament Use of an Old Testament Motif.” Mr. Tremper Longman III notes the considerable amount of study and writing that has been done around this subject, all of it since the beginning of this century. He observes the prominence of the “holy war” theme in the New Testament, notable in the book of Revelation, especially Chapter 19. Revelation uses the “Divine Warrior” motif “to describe the warring activity and ultimate victory of the Lamb in the last days.” The writer devotes some attention to “the new song” celebrating His victory.

All this emphasizes the fact, overlooked or ignored by today’s prevailing pacifist propaganda in the churches, that “The Lord is a man of war” is not a theme superceded by the corning of Christ as the Prince of Peace. It is rather a prophecy of the program He would come to fulfill, as psalms 2, 110 and others and their New Testament quotations (1 Cor. 15:25, Rev. 12:4; 19:15, for example) make clear. The heavenly song of the redeemed which is still ahead of today’s Christians and towards which the confusing history of our times is moving us turns out to be “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:3). If we are going to properly understand the gospel and its meaning for our time we must keep those two together in the way that the Bible does.

*Note: Christian Renewal is published in Canada. Its Canadian office is P. 0 . Box 777 Jordan Station, Ontario LOR ISO; the US office is P. O. Box 770, Lewiston, NY 14092; The subscription price is $15 per year for 22 issues.