We are in chapter fourteen of Exodus with our word for today which is actually a phrase. יְהוָ֖ה יִלָּחֵ֣ם LORD fights or YHWH fights. It is used 4 times in the Old Testament, 2 times in our chapter. Exodus 14:13-14 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. יְהוָ֖ה יִלָּחֵ֣ם The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Exodus 14:23-25 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for יְהוָ֖ה יִלָּחֵ֣ם the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Let’s look at the other uses. Joshua 10:12-14 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies…The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely יְהוָ֖ה יִלָּחֵ֣ם the Lord was fighting for Israel! Zechariah 14:2-3 Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then יְהוָ֖ה יִלָּחֵ֣ם the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. The great news about God’s character is that he not only loves us and saves us but he is also for us. He is on our side wanting the best for us. Ephesians 1:22-23 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Did you catch that. Christ is head over everything for the benefit of the church. God is on our side he is for us. Romans 8:31-32 If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? God is for us he is on our side. He fights for us. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is this very thing of God being for us on our side, fighting for us. All of this is happening as close as God can get to us as Jesus predicted and Paul speaks about after it becomes a reality in the church up to this present time. I’ll close with both of these passages. John 14:15-18 If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
