The Lord, a Man of War

Introduction

If you were asked to describe God by his character, how would you describe Him? God’s attributes are what He is, for example, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, while His character refers to his actions e.g. justice, mercy, etc.

Most of you, in describing God, would go with compassionate, loving, merciful, just, etc. It is understandable that many of us would go with these attributes.

They are what are usually put at the forefront in our services.

They are true. God has been merciful to us and indeed we are greatful to Him for His mercy.

Many of us fear to imagine wha God would be other than those things. If is fearful to think of God’s wrath.

It is indeed wonderful to think of God in these terms. We rejoice at the mercy that He has shown us, the love that He has poured out on us, and the faithfulness he daily displays towards us, even in our sins. How can one not think of God being gracious and rejoice at that.

The problem, though, is that this is not all that God is, and as Christians, we not only miss out on the richness of HIs relevation to us through His Scripture, but our view of God is also often skewed towards one view of God.

These views ultimately form how we live our lives, how we relate with others, how we live in obedience to Him, especially when it comes to the Great Commission, and ultimately how we worship Him.

The world hates a God who is just and wrathful, so we avoid mentioning God’s justice and wrath when we are preaching because we fear offending those whose lives, marked by sin and all profane things, are an offense to God.

In many ways, we have walked into some form of idolatry, only holding a view that appeals to our emotions while either intentionally or subconsiously pushing away the one about God that we do not like.

I have come across people who believe that God will not let people burn in hell for eternity because He is love and loves people too much. They said they don’t believe those passages that speak about His wrath.

Many of you don’t go to such extremes in holding onto an idol of God as these people do, and yours may not be idolatrous, yet we all hold to skewed view of God, albeit in a lesser extent.

But God does not shy away from revealing Himself in ways that offend our sensibilities. In fact, His work in salvation often reveals with clarity the characters of God that we are shy and often ashamed to speak about to unbelievers.

Exodus 15:1-21 is one such passage. It is the first recorded Psalm in the Bible and it is the first time we see the nation of Israel worship God. It wasn’t a planned, but spontaneous worship from the people of Israel towards God for His salvation.

Depending on which commentary you read, the Psalm is split into two, three, four, or five stanzas. Regardless of how you split it, the themes of the hymn do not change. It is a Psalm about God and His dealings with His creatures.

The Israelites have just witnessed the salvation of God against an enemy they could not defend themselves against and who had enslaved them for 400 years.

Their response? Spontaneous worship of God. And in this spontaneous worship, we see a character of God, a man of War in verse 3.

And so today, with the Israelites over 3000 years ago, we meet the LORD, a Man of War

But what does it mean that God is a man of War? We shall look at it in three The Lord is a man of War.

The Lord defeats His enemies in battle

First, it means that the LORD defeats his enemies in battle.

Verse 3 of chapter 15, Exodus 15:3 “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.” is not just a line like those we find in our love songs, where the poetry is an exageration of feelings, like, “How can I breathe without you..” It is not those love letters some of you wrote in high school telling your crush that you will love them untill the sun stops shinning or River Nile runs dry.

It is a biblical truth that the children of Israel came to see in reality on the shores of the Red Sea. Chapter 14 ends with the people fearing the LORD and believing Him. This fear and belief translates into a song, a Psalm, that they sing in chapter 15.

The Lord, being a man of war, means that He goes to war. He goes to war with his enemies. No one goes to war with his/her friends. The first 12 verrses show us in a poetic way who this enemy was and how God defeated this enemy.

This was no ordinary battle. This was not a battle between Israel and Egypt. It was not a battle between Moses and Pharaoh. It was not a battle between two nations.

This was battle between the most powerful nation on earth at the time and the most powerful being in all the universe. This was a battle between the most powerful man, who thought He was a god, and the LORD, who had revealed Himself previously to be the creator of all things and sovereign over all things in creation. It was a battle between the creature and its creator.

Yet, despite all his power, all his chariots, all his horsemen, all his military might, this was the biggest mismatch in the history of war. It was not even a contest, as the Psalm reveals to us.

verse 1, The horse and rider he has thrown into the sea

verse 4, Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he has cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk into the Red Sea.

verse 5, the floods covered them; they went down into the dephts of the sea like a stone.

verse 7, you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

verse 10, you blew the with your wind ; the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Pharaoh and the Egyptians stood no chance. The most powerful army did not even have the opportunity to shoot one arrow. They did not even draw their swords. In verse 9 they came to destroy, yet, before they could even put a hand to their swords, they were drowned.

The magnitute and totality of God’s victory over Pharaoh is revealed to us. It didn’t matter how strong Pharaoh’s army was, God had at his disposal all of creation.

The sea was the battle ground, yet became the weapon of desctruction.

The wind which created a way in verse 8 also became a desctrucive force in verse 10.

The earth on which they dwelt became their grave in verse 12.

Who can compete with that? Who can fight against such a mighty one? He has triumphed gloriously. The enemy was utterly destroyed that the children of Israel did not have to worry about them ever again.

And all this was done by God’s right hand. It is God’s right hand that shattered this enemy. There have been references to God’s hand of power before this in Exodus.

In 3:19, God tells Moses that Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go except with a mighty hand.

In 6:1, God promises that Moses will see what He will do to Pharaoh with a mighty hand.

In 7:4-5, God says that He is going to lay His hand on Egypt.

In 8:19, the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”

In 9:3 the hand of the LORD will bring a terrible plague upon the livestock.

In chapter 13, there are many references to the stong arm of the LORD.

The reference to God’s right hand is a metaphor symbolizing God’s power, authority, honour, and divine strength. Pharaoh was not fighting anyone. He was fighting the His divine creator of all things in the universe and he was utterly destroyed, him and his army.

Yet verses 6-7 do not speak only of the past. They convey a meaning that extends beyong a singular current event to future events. God’s enemies were not just Pharaoh and the Egyptian army. Verses 6-7 reveal a timeless action that continues to this day and will continue till the return of Jesus.

HIs right hand shatters the enemy. In the greatness of His majesty, God overthrows his adverseries.

Application

There are many today who are living as enemies of God. There are the agnostics and especially the atheists who not only deny the existence of God, but they mock and blaspheme His name. Many of them wear their atheism as a badge of honour, as though they have been liberated from some primitive thinking.

The Bible in Romans 1 calls these ‘haters of God’ because ‘although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him. So they have become futile in their thinking. They are not liberated; they are enslaved to the god of this age, Satan. They have become enemies of God and unless they repent, they will likewise perish.

We also have those who worship other gods. We have plenty of them in our country that many who claim to be Christians are so afraid of them, as though these small gods, which are no gods at all, are more powerful than God.

These ones also, according to Romans 1:24-25, have exchanged the truth about God for alie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. They have rejected God and they are also haters of God. They are enemies of God, like the agnostics and atheists and theywill likewise perish.

Lastly, we also have those who claim to be Christian yet live as enemies of God. These are the majority around us, since we are in a country that prides itself as being 82% Christian, according to the 2024 Census. They claim to be His children yet their actions are contrary to His word and their lives are marked by a love for and pursuit of sin.

All who are in rebellion to God are enemies of God. All who live contrary to God’s word are enemies of God. All who deny God, either in their words or actions - how they live their lives regardless of their profession, are enemies of God and God’s wrath is upon them as John 3:18 says.

You shall know them by their fruits, not their words. You can sing the “I am a Christian” song all your life but if your life is contrary to biblical teaching, you are not a Christian. You are simply deceived. You are in a religious club that is no different from someone in a cult.

In fact, many of you or many out there are in cults, being deceived by deceived men and women who are encouraging you to pursue the things that God says in His word are idolatrous. Love for this world is enmity with God (James 4:4, 1 John 2:15), yet many of your are seeking to build treasure here where thieves steal and moth destroys, instead of heaven where there are no thieves to steal or moth to destroy.

The word Christian refers to those who are disciples of Jesus Christ - those who follow his teachings and submit to His lordship. It was first used of Christians in Antioch in Acts 11. and it refers to those who are born again, not those who are born in so-called Christian families.

Being born to Christian parents does not mean you’re a Christian. Being baptised as a baby and being named after an apostle or a biblical figure does not mean you’re a Christian. Being called Josiah Peter, John Paul will not save you from God’s wrath that is due to his enemies if your life is marked by rebellion to God.

Also, there is no such thing as a Christian who isn’t born again. You cannot be a Christian who is not born again. The word born again means ‘born from above’ and refers to all those who who have been saved by God and their lives are marked by obedience and submission to Jesus Christ and His teachings as revealed to us in an through only Scripture.

That word, born-again, is not a reference to another denomination like Anglican or Roman Catholic. It is unfortunate that in Uganda, we have come to see ‘born again/saved’ as another denomination along with Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, etc. If you’re a Christian, you are born again. If you are not born again, you’re not a Christian.

A Christian’s life is marked by a daily, conscious battle with sin. The battle against sin is real; it is daily. It is brutal, yet it is a fight that we do not fight alone.

The children of Israel sang in verse 2, “The Lord is my strength…” They didn’t sing the Lord has given me strength but the Lord is my strength. God is the strengthy by which His people overcome sin.

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We battle daily against sin because it is God who works in us both to will and to do, for His good pleasure. Are you daily fighting against sin? Be holy as he is holy. Is that what you strive for or a you busy binding the demon that has stopped your financial blessing?

Are you at war with your lust or are you happily pursuing it to satisfy your pleasure? Are you at war with your covetousness or are you actively dressin up as your miracle in pursuit of your dreams and desires? Are you at war with your tongue or are you gossipping about people, slandering people, mbu “guess what, I have hot tea for you?”

Is the Spirit of God at work in you, convicting you of your sin or are you comfortable paying bribes to get deals, bribing policemen to let you off the hook because, everyone is doing it and you cannot survive in Uganda doing honest business. How do the rest of us who do not pay bribes survive if no one can survive?

Is your life marked by a love for God and for His people. Are you pursuing God through His word, through prayer, and through communion with the saints?

If you are not in a daily fight with the sin, you are probably not a Christian. You are in some religioius club, not Christianity. You are an enemy of God and all that you will receive at the end of this life is utter destruction in the lake of fire.

You cannot spend Friday night in an overnight and saturday night at your boyfriends place fornicating, Sunday in church, lifting up holy hands, and then Monday bribing policemen who stop you for breaking the law, Tuesday asking for bribes to advance someone’s payment, Wednesday taking a brown evelope to an office to get a contract, Thursday flirting with someone who isn’t your husband and then claim to be a Christian.

No! You’re an enemy of God and you need to repent.

Is the Lord our strength? Has he become your salvation? Or is your salvation an excuse to indulge in your sin, claiming the grace of God is sufficient?

The Lord defeats His enemies in battle.

The Lord saves His people in battle

Secondly, the LORD saves His people in battle. God goes to war with His enemies because they have rebelled against Him. Yet, in going to war against his enemies, He saves His people. Verses 12-18 are all about the God, a man of war, saving His people from his enemies. God did not just go to war with Pharaoh just for just. He went to war to save His people.

One thing that people who are rebelling against God don’t realise is that they are not only enemies of God, they are also enemies of His people through their actions. Their sin, their lifestyle, their bribes, their persecution of Christians, their mocking, and whatever they do are all action committed against God and against His people.

The world is at emnity with God and hostile to God. The system of the world is hostile to the purposes of God.

John 15:18–19 ESV

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Therefore God goes to war with his enemies to save His people.

In Exodus 15, Pharaoh pursued the children of Israel with one purpose, to destroy them.

Exodus 15:9 ESV

The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’

The enemies of God, however nice, however endearing they may be, will ultimately lead to destruction all who follow them. But God leads His people in steadfast love, those whom he has redeemed.

Verse 16 refers to the children of Israel as as a people who were purchased by God. They belong to Him. They are his, not by their choise, but by God’s work.

He leads them in His steadfast love. This love is enduring. It never fails or runs out. If you look through the history of the children of Israel, even immediately they cross the Red Sea, you will realise that they rebelled against him almost immediately after He redeemed them.

Yet God’s love never fails. He delivered them to Canaan and protected them throgh their numerous rebellions against Him. His purposes towards them were grounded in His steadfast love and their existence to this day is a testament to that. No other nation has survived throughout history except the Jews.

They became His people, not by their choosing but by covenant. God made a covenant with their forefathers and He faithfully kept that covenant.

In the song, in verse 2, they all proclaimed using personal pronouns, “this is my God…my father’s God…I will exalt him.

In Genesis 12:1-3 God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. God renewed this covenant with Isaac, Abraham’s son in Genesis 26:3-4, and then with Jacob, Isaac’s son, in Genesis 28 and 35.

Deuteronomy 7:7–8 ESV

It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

God chose the children of Israel, not because of anything they had done, or anything they would do, or any goodness in them, or any merit on their part. They didn’t deserve His steadfast love. By grace, God set His steadfast love upon them.

And becasue of this steadfast love, He led the to His holy abode and planted them on His own mountain place. He protected them by instilling fear in their enemies.

But this was all a sign, pointing to what God was ultimately going to do to save His people . Just like the children of Israel were purchased, God has purchased a people for himself from every nation, tribe, and tongue.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 7:23 ESV

You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.

Acts 20:28 ESV

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

God once gain went to war to save His people. The story of Exodus was pointing to a greater work that God would do to redeem His chosen people.

In Genesis 3, God says to the serpent, “ He shall crush your head, you shall bruise his heel.” Crushing and bruising are not metaphors for besties or some lovers dance. It is a war. The serpent, Satan, through sinful men bruised the seed of the woman. Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, crushed the serpent’s head.

1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2:15 ESV

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Jesus went to war and defeated Satan and all powers and principalities. He victoriously redeems his people just like He did for the children of Israel.

It was finished upon the cross

In our NT passage, Revelation 15, the redeemed gather before a sea of glass, mimicking the scene in Exodus 15, to sing praises and worship God for His victory over satan and all God’s enemies. They sing because God has redeemed them. They sing because the Lamb of God is victorious over His enemies.

The structure of the song in Revelation is similar to that in Exodus 15. The psalm is sandwiched by God’s wrath. God’s wrath is about to be poured out on His enemies, then the redeemed sing, then God’s wrath is poured out. But those who have been victorious sing the song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb, rejoicing in His victory over His enemies, which is also their victory over the beast in the Lamb.

Just like the Israelites in Exodus 15, these also did not choose Him. They are God’s chosen people, His covenant people.

Christians are saved by God’s grace. They do not earn or merit God’s grace or salvation. Also, contrary to popular belief, we do not accept him or invite Him into our lives. God chooses people, against their inclination and against their will, regenerates them through the power of His Spirit, and works in their hearts both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

He doesn’t only choose them, He leads them to His Holy abode. (He leadeth me).

Romans 8:12–14 ESV

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

I always hear people talking about the Holy Spirit leading them to do certain things and this becomes the basis for their claim to be children of God or Christians. Yet many of the things they claim are unbiblical. When did the Holy Spirit start leading people contrary to His word?

God leads people from their sinfulness to holy living. He leads His chosen people to put to death the deeds of the flesh. Those things listed in Galatians 5:19–21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Idolatry is not a work of evil spirits, it is listed here as a work of the flesh…stop blaming evil spirits for your sorcery.

Christians are not perfect. Far from it. But they daily strive for the perfection they are called to with zeal and fervour, even as they know they will not attain that perfection this side of eternity. They do so becasue the LORD is their strengh and has become their salvation

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

We have been chosen and called out of darkness by God and chosen to proclaim the excellencies of God.

The gospel is not a call to be rich, to have a wonderful marriage, to get a great job, to have a nice house, or even to be healed. The gospel message is a call to repentance and faith. Repent and Believe (Mark 1:).

Jesus did not die on the cross to defeat Satan so that you may have a wonderful marriage, live in a nice house, drive a nice car, or live the rest of your life having never fallen sick again.

You were not chosen to be the best wherever you are, to be the head and not the tail, to rule over your peers, to have so much influence, to take over the 7 mountains, to command destinies, to break chains and generational curses,

You are chosen to proclaim the excellencies of God. 1 Peter 2:9

You are chosen that you may be holy and blameless, Colossians 1:21, 2 Peter 3:14, Philippians 1:10

You are chosen to be sanctified 2 Thes. 2:13

You are chosen to obey Christ.

You were chosen to be conformed to the image of Christ Romans 8:29 ,

And God, because of His steadfast love, will not only redeem His people, but He will also guide them to Himself. His work in those whom He has chosen will ensure that

He kills the love for the world in them because the love of the world is enmity with God (James 4:4, 1 John 2:15)

He will conform them to the image of His Son, who laid aside His diety to become man and humbled himself, even to death on the cross; Who learnt obedience from the things He suffered; who did not seek to do His Own will but His father's will.

He will ensure that they suffer with Him so that they may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:17)

He will keep them from stumbling and present them blameless before Himself. Jude 1:24

He will discipine them so that they do not continue in their sin (Hebrews 12:5)

It is why Join the chorus of those who sing to God, O hard my Rock and My Redeemer

So that they may be Holy as He is Holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). God, because of His steadfast love for His people, does all these things.

You are not of this world, even though you are in the world. Therefore, stop acting like those who are in the world. You have been called out of this world. Therefore, live as one whose citizenship is in heaven, as one whose treasure is in heaven where there is no moth to destrory or thief to steal.

And those on whom God’s steadfast love rests upon, those who have been redeemed, have one appropriate response to what God has done.

His people worship Him in response to His salvation.

Exodus 15:1 ESV

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

The only appropriate response to God’s steadfast and redeeming love is the genuine, worship of His people. Then Moses and the people of Israel sang….

Their appropriate response to the destructio of their enemies is the worship of their saviour. And why do they sing?

I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously. They do not ground their worship in their salvation but in the triumph of God. That is because their salvatio is tied to the triumph of God. If God had not been triumphant, they would have perished at the hands of the Egyptians.

God’s enemy is their enemy, because they are His covenant people. Therefore, they rejoice in His triumph over his enemies.

All worship is a response to God’s saving work. Worship is not designed to initiate anything from God. It is a response. That is why I am disturbed by this Hallelujah challenge.

People think that they will dress up as their miracel and because of their faith - as if faith is displayed by dressing up as your miracle - God will be obligated to respond or that he will respond. That is not faith. That’s a transaction. I will do this and God, you will do this for me in return.

God I want this so I am going to do this to show you that I love you and worship you. In return for what I do, please do this for me. Poeople, do you think God is like your boyfriend or girlfriend to whom you respond with love or favours because they have bought you a nice iPhone or because she has done something?

This is the Holy God, who canno tbe brided. This is the God who knows the hearts of men and how wicked they are. This is the God who hardens and softens the hearts of men. This is the God who canno be lied to as Ananias and Saphira found out. This is the God who cannot be mocked.

In our NT passage, Revelation 15, God’s redeemed people, those who conquered the beast, standing before a sea of glass. They sand in worship, like the Israelites did on that day at the Red Sea. They sing the song of Moses, in praise and worship of God’s for his salvation.

They also sing the song of the Lamb. The redemption at the Red Sea was a pointing to a greater victory that the Lamb of God would win for His people. And His redeemed people sing the song of the Lamb in worship because of what God has done, not what He will do for them.

Worship is the appropriate response of God’s chosen people to God’s salvation. Worship is the appropriate response of God’s chosen people to the destruction of His enemies, because in their destruction, God saves His people.

We do not come here to worship God because want Him to do something for us. If you are here to worship God because you want something, you have not come to worship. You have come to transact. You have not come to church but to a bank or market.

That’s where exchanges happen, one thing for another. But we have not come to an exchange. We have to come to Church, to worship God.

Why do you worship?

When was the last time you worshipped God for triumphing over his enemies? When was the last time you were comforted in the biblical fact that God will destroy His enemies?

When was the last tine you exalted God becase He has chosen you and His steadfast love is leading you to turn from your worldliness?

When was the last time you found comfort that in the last day, God will destroy all His enemies?

When was the last time the destruction of HIs enemies spurred you to go out and proclaim his excellencies, so that those who are living as His enemies may repent, believe, and be saved from the wrath to come?Or are you too busy dressing up as your miracle?

The LORD, a man of War, will utterly defeat all His enemies. He will save His people, and His people will live forever with HIm in eternity, worshipping Him. Which one of these are you? Are you among His chosen or are you currently living as an enemy of God?

We shall walk out singing Christus Victor

If you are among covenant people, rejoice and worship God for His triumph that saved you. If you are not, repent. Cry out to the Lord of mercy for salvation. Call on His name and you will be saved.

He has promised in His word that whoever call on His name will be saved. Call in repentance to the Lord of mercy even now. And if you do not know how, talk to one of the elders present today, or even to your neighbour.

Ephesians 1:4 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love”

2 Timothy 1:8 “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,”

John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”