We are in chapter fifteen of Exodus with our word for today which is a phrase used for the first time in the Bible. אִ֣ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה man of war. It is used 43 times in the Old Testament. We find our phrase used to describe men who make up an army or fighting soldiers. Numbers 31:28, 49 From the אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep…and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the אַנְשֵׁ֥י הַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us. Joshua 6:3 You shall march around the city, all the אַנְשֵׁ֣י הַמִּלְחָמָ֔ה men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Judges 20:17 And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were אִ֥ישׁ מִלְחָמָֽה men of war. David who would later become king is described in this way. 1 Samuel 16:18 One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a וְאִ֧ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֛ה warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him. And Goliath also is described with our phrase. 1 Samuel 17:33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a אִ֥ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֖ה warrior from his youth.”
God himself is called by our phrase. Isaiah 42:13 The Lord will march out like a champion, like a כְּאִ֥ישׁ מִלְחָמ֖וֹת warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. This is how our phrase is used in our chapter today. Exodus 15:3 The Lord is a אִ֣ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה man of war; the Lord is his name. If we think about this LORD again is YWHW the ever existing one or the eternal one, I AM or my favorite reality. So Reality is a man of war; reality is his name. That has a different sound to it. YWHW or the LORD is reality because whatever God decides to do is reality. This makes the name man of war even more intimidating. God is to be respected and feared in a healthy way. Like Jesus said once we know who to fear God himself the only that has real reality power. Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. That is real power. The good news is that once we know to fear God there is nothing anyone else can really do to us. Because they may try to scare us pretending to be the true reality it’s all pretend because only God is the great I Am reality man of war. The good news gets even better because right after Jesus words he reminds us of how valuable we are to God in the next few verses. Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. So we can’t lose being in Christ being connected to God through Christ. We have God’s unlimited power and love for us on our side to benefit us in every way.
