Running Strong

Many people think the theme of war ends with the Old Testament.

Not at all. Jesus says,

“I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).

The birth of Christ was an act of war, an invasion. The Enemy knew it and tried to kill him as a baby (Matt 2:13). No pale-faced altar boy, the whole life of Christ is marked by battle and confrontation.

He kicks out demons with a stern command. He rebukes a fever, and it leaves Peter’s mother-in-law. He rebukes a storm and it subsides. He confronts the Pharisees time and again to set God’s people free from legalism. In a loud voice he wakes Lazarus from the dead. He descends to hell, wrestles the keys of hell and death from Satan, and leads a train of captives free (Ephesians 4:8-9; Revelation 1:18).

And when he returns, I might point out, Jesus will come mounted on a steed of war, with his robe dipped in blood, armed for battle (Revelation 19:11-15).

War is not just one among many themes in the Bible. It is the backdrop for the whole Story, the context for everything else.

God is at war.

He is trampling out the vineyards where the grapes of wrath are stored. And what is he fighting for? Our freedom and restoration. The glory of God is man fully. In the meantime, Paul says, arm yourselves, and the first piece of equipment he urges us to don is the belt of truth (Ephesians 6:10-18).

We arm ourselves by getting a good, solid grip on our situation, by getting some clarity on the battle over our lives. God’s intentions toward us are life. Those intensions are opposed. Forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes.

(Waking the Dead by John Eldredge, p.15 )

I think even a quick read of the Old Testament would be enough to convince you that war is a central theme of God’s activity.

There is the Exodus. We see God go to war to set his captive people free. Blood. Hail. Locusts. Darkness. Death. Plague after plague descends on Egypt like a boxer’s one-two punch, like the blows of some great ax. Pharaoh releases his grip, but only for a moment. The fleeing slaves are pinned against the Red Sea when Egypt makes a last charge, hurtling down on them in chariots. God drowns those soldiers in the sea, every last one of them. Standing in shock and joy on the opposite shore, the Hebrews proclaim, “The LORD is a warrior!” (Ex. 15:3). Yahweh is a warrior.

Then it’s war to get to the Promised Land. Moses and company have to do battle against the Amalekites; again God comes through, and Moses shouts, “The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation” (Ex.17:16). Yahweh will be at war. Indeed. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Then it’s war to get into the Promised Land. Joshua had to fight the battle of Jericho, and all that. You remember the story, right? Marching and blowing trumpets day after day. Then, finally, those walls begin to crumble and collapse. Victory for Israel, again. Check out Joshua 5-6.

It’s ongoing war after war to keep the Promised Land. Once the Jews get into the Promised Land, Israel battles the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Midianites, the Egyptians again, the Babylonians—and on and on it goes. Deborah goes to war; Gideon goes to war; King David goes to war. Elijah wars against the prophets of Baal; Jehoshaphat battles the Edomites.

Are you getting the picture?

(Waking the Dead by John Eldredge, p. 14–15)