God’s Creative Battle Plans – Great Sound Effects

God’s Creative Battle Plans – Great Sound Effects.

Yahweh is a warrior! Yahweh is His Name! (Exodus 15:3).

Moses and Miriam in their famous Song at the Red Sea, were the first ones to describe the Lord as a warrior. And throughout Scripture, God was identified as a warrior ever since. The Hebrew word for warrior in this passage is “ish milhamah,” which means man of war, warrior, champion, hero, fighter, mighty man. God’s stature as a fighter was taken up by the prophets, like David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zephaniah.

The Fierce Warrior with a Vivid Imagination. Lord Yahweh, as we would expect, was not just any common fighter. He was a warrior with the divine imagination that created completely unpredictable battle plans for every conflict between an enemy of God and His Chosen People. In Scripture, the Warrior-King was the master of unconventional warfare, unexpected schemes that would leave people scratching their heads in surprise or shaking their heads in amazement. God’s strategies were so diverse that they might appear to be random, but of course they were divinely orchestrated. His battle strategies to victory were well outside the human imagination, in such a way that the faith of His fighters on the ground was tested.  It became obvious to His fighting men, though, that God was going about this battle in a completely different way than they would, and they were wise when they trusted in Him.

“So at twilight the four lepers set out for the camp of Arameans for food during the famine. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there! For the Lord Yahweh had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. ‘The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!’ they cried to one another. So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else as they fled for their lives.” (2 Kings 7:5-7).

Here we find those nasty Arameans once again raiding the Israelites with their superior army and weapons of destruction. It appears that the Lord has a sense of humor as to some of his battle plans, because He somehow manufactured all the intimidating sounds of an enormous army to be heard by the Arameans before they could even attack. The enemy panicked and fled and left everything they owned to be plundered and taken away.

The Lord had to be smiling to Himself when He saw the Arameans retreat in fear for their lives when there was absolutely no one there. God is able to use sound effects to protect His people from their enemies. God really does have an awesome imagination.

“Lord Yahweh goes forth like a warrior; like a fighter He will stir His zeal. With a shout He will raise a battle cry; like a hero, He charges upon His enemies and will triumph over them.” (Isaiah 42:13).

Terror and Dread. God sent terror, fear, and confusion on the enemies often enough that it becomes a familiar battle plan as we keep reading the Hebrew Bible. We don’t know what that looked like, or how God did that, but it appears God is able to directly or indirectly inflict a group panic attack to achieve His purposes whenever He wants. In the ‘Song of the Sea,’ Moses and Miriam celebrated their Warrior-God by pointing out this strategy in particular: “The peoples have heard, and they tremble; anguish takes hold of those living in ; the chiefs of Edom are dismayed; trepidation seizes the heads of Moab; all those living in Canaan are melted away. Terror and dread fall on them, and by the might of your arm they are still as stone…” (Ex. 15:13-16). This terror tactic was confirmed in the case of Jericho and other Canaanite cities, and certainly was used in the case of Jehoshaphat, when, “A panic from the Lord seized all the kingdoms in the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not make war against King Jehoshaphat.” (2 Chronicles 17:10). Time and again, Lord Yahweh sent panic and terror to the enemies of His people, and it remains a bit of a mystery on how that actually happened. But happen it did.

“The Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior, a warrior who brings triumph. He will rejoice over you, taking delight in you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love, renewing you, soothing you, and calming your fears. He will exult over you, dancing with joyful songs as in the day of festival.”  (Zephaniah 3:17).

“The Lord Yahweh is with me like a dread champion, a violent warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed because they have not acted wisely.” (Jeremiah 20:11).