Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Out of all the names that God could call Himself, He calls Himself these two names in Exodus chapter 15, verse 3: "The LORD is a warrior. Yahweh is His name."
I don't know about you, but as I look at that verse, I needed to understand it more. As I look at the context, as Moses is writing, he just gets done writing in chapter 14 about how the Israelites were delivered from the Egyptians as they walked through the Red Sea.
Remember the story. Moses is leading the people and Pharaoh is upset. He's going after the Israelites. The Israelites get right up to the back end, if you will, of the Red Sea. God tells Moses, lift up your staff, and God Himself parts the Red Sea. The Israelites walk through the Red Sea on dry ground. Think about this for a minute. You're walking on dry ground and the Red Sea is like walls of water beside you. They walk all the way through and God sends the Egyptians—the Bible says, in a panic—He tosses them into the Red Sea, and they die. The warrior God wins.
Two Important Names
As you look at this verse, two really important names emerge that we're encouraged by. The first one is the Lord is a warrior. Why? Because of the story we just got done looking at. It says that the Lord is a warrior because God fought for His people. He is amazingly powerful, parting the Red Sea.
Secondly, I love this, Moses says God is not only a warrior, but God personally says, "Yahweh is His name." This is the fancy word Tetragrammaton. In other words, it's a word that talks about the personal nature of the self-existent, eternal, forever infinite God who is eternal but is also personal. Here you have this powerful story in Exodus chapter 14. Here in chapter 15, verse 3, He says, "The LORD is a warrior, and Yahweh is His name." After the story, the Bible says in Exodus chapter 14, verse 31, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him.
What This Means for You
As you look at this text, there are a few truths that emerge out of it that you and I can apply to our lives. Number one, God fights for you. God fought for the Israelites back then and He fights for you and me now. Romans chapter 8 says God is for us. He's for you and me.
Secondly, coming out of the text, God is the one who fought for you. God forgives you. That's really the ultimate fight. The ultimate fight is that you and I are locked up in sin. The only one who can save us and free us is the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life and died and was buried for you and for me. He fights for us. He forgave us.
Finally, we can trust Him in our battles. Friend, when you do that—when you understand that He fights for you just like He fought for the Israelites, then you're free to trust Him and throw yourself into this life because God is your defender.
A God Who Works Throughout History
In this particular story in Exodus chapter 15 and Exodus chapter 14, the phraseology in the song is echoed all the way over in the book of Revelation because as God worked in history, He works in your life here and now, and He's in control and will work in our lives in the future. The Lord's a warrior, and He's also Yahweh. He's powerful and He's personal in your life and mine.
Let's go ahead and live our lives this way so that we can truly serve this One who's a warrior and personal and loving, and He's the eternal One.