We are in chapter twenty-three of Exodus with our word for today with both the verb and noun forms. The noun אֹיֵב enemy, be hostile too. It is used 282 times in the Old Testament. The verb אָיַב be hostile to, to be an enemy. It is used this one time in our chapter today. Let’s start with our chapter that has both the noun and verb form in it. Exodus 23:22 But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then וְאָֽיַבְתִּי֙ אֶת־אֹ֣יְבֶ֔יךָ I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. Most of the time it is used in a military sense like in our chapter. Here are some other examples. Leviticus 26:7-8 You will pursue אֹיְבֵיכֶ֑ם your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and אֹיְבֵיכֶ֛ם your enemies will fall by the sword before you. Notice that these promises for God to defeat his people’s enemies are conditional to them obeying God. But if they disobeyed God then this would happen to them. Leviticus 26:14-17, 25, 36-37 But if you ... violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because אֹיְבֵיכֶֽם your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by אֹיְבֵיכֶ֑ם your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you … but continue to be hostile toward me ... I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into אוֹיֵֽב enemy hands … I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of אֹיְבֵיהֶ֑ם their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before אֹיְבֵיכֶֽם your enemies. This makes obeying God so very important. He knows what is best for us. He is for us and wants to bless us. He loves and acts in our best interest. But he will not make us love him back by forcing us to obey him. We also find our word used of those who used to be on the same side with a close relationship that later became enemies. The best example of this is King Saul and David. 1 Samuel 18:28-29 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained אֹיֵ֥ב his enemy the rest of his days. Our word is used as a messianic prophecy. Psalm 41:7-9 All אוֹיְבַ֗י my enemies whisper together against me ... Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me. The Holy Spirit applies this verse to Jesus over a thousand years later. John 13:18, 21, 26-27 But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’ … After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” … “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas. It is interesting that even though Jesus knew the plan was to use Judas freewill choice to sin as part of how He was going to die for the sins of the world it was still hard. He was troubled in spirit. It is amazing that even though all of us made ourselves enemies of God who has done nothing but love us God found a way to save us and bring us back to himself. I’ll close with this great reminder. Romans 5:8-10 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
