Daily Devotional | God as Warrior

Throughout its history, Israel was in an almost constant state of warfare. During the events described in the Old Testament, they were attacked by the Egyptians, Philistines, Moabites, Assyrians, and Babylonians—to name just a few enemies. In such a dangerous world, warriors were both common and necessary.

In many places in Scripture, God is described as a warrior. In Exodus 15, Israel had achieved the unthinkable. They had escaped from Egypt, the most powerful nation on earth at the time. They did not escape because of their military prowess or their political savvy as negotiators. Instead, they were freed from slavery because God fought on their behalf. After the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea, Moses led Israel in a hymn of praise that proclaimed: “The LORD is a warrior, the LORD is his name” (v. 3). He silenced the prideful boasting of the Egyptian army (v. 9). God showed that He is unique. There is no one like Him. Egypt’s gods can’t compete (v. 11).

As warrior, God often used forces of nature on His behalf. He parted the Red Sea, so Israel could walk through, and had it collapse back on the Egyptians. In other events of the Old Testament, God used hailstones and made the sun stand still (Josh. 10:1– 15). Other times, God empowered Israel to defeat their enemies (2 Sam. 5:22–25). God did not simply side with Israel though. When Israel was unfaithful to God, He fought against them (Deut. 28:25–26).

In the New Testament, Paul uses warrior language to describe the victory Jesus accomplished on the cross (Col. 2:13–15). Our ultimate hope is that Jesus will return as a warrior and ultimately defeat Satan and the forces of evil (Rev. 19:11–16).