Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, I do want to thank You so much for gathering us together to look at You, to consider You this morning.
Lord, we must confess there is so much we have not experienced and known of You, and we are always in awe and wonder when we come to know more of You and see more of You. So, Lord, I pray that that would be so this morning.
Amen.
I must admit, at the beginning of the week, this message, which had been on my heart for about four months, I was beginning to wonder if I should speak it. I said, “Lord, this message is way too militant. This message is harsh. It’s—I don’t know. I don’t think I should share it.”
Then Brother Kenny, Wednesday night, talked about midweek prayer. It’s not about prayer, but the message I have is about the Lord. Then this morning, we sang a song, “Rejoice, the Lord Is King,” and verse four says:
He sits at God’s right hand,
Till all His foes submit,
And bow to His command,
And fall beneath His feet.
Lift up your voice, lift up your heart;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice.
Then Bobby spoke this morning about the Lord setting His face like flint. That was so encouraging. It is really neat to see how the Lord gives you little encouraging signs along the way: “Yes, it’s okay.” I heard the bird out there saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay,” the whole time, so I was encouraged. It does not take much to get encouraged sometimes.
Hey, you use it when you need it. That’s for sure.
In Isaiah 12:2, it says:
Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
He also has become my salvation.
I think just about everyone has sensed the growing surge, the wave, against God’s people—against us. Isaiah says, “What time I am afraid.” So Isaiah had times in his life too where fear was there—the situation was getting pretty rough. This is a prophet who knew the Lord, one of the greatest prophets that has ever been. He said, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in the Lord.”
This verse is almost a direct quote from the section that we will be looking at this morning. This morning, we will be considering the Song of Moses.
The Song of Moses is the first song recorded in God’s Word. It is also mentioned in the last song recorded in God’s Word, in Revelation 15. Exodus 15 and Revelation 15 both record these songs, and Moses’ name is mentioned in the last song:
They sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.
The theme sung in Revelation 15 was first sung in Exodus 15, right after the great triumph of the Lord at the Red Sea.
There are some similarities in both of these songs. Both were sung by huge choirs, both were sung with harps, and both are sung about the Lord Jesus. There are eternal themes in the song.
There are a lot of first mentions in the Song of Moses, and we will consider one of those this morning.
I want you to know this morning will be short, brief, and to the point, so you can get out of here. I know it is hard in the masks. I will be reading a lot of Scriptures unapologetically. You can look them up and read along with me, or just listen, as you will.
Turn to Exodus 14. We will look at a few verses first.
Exodus 14:4:
Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.
Exodus 14:14:
The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.
You know the story. They were in bondage for about 430 years, and the Lord delivered them. He redeemed them with His own blood. Now they are on the way to the promised land, but the Lord had a plan and a purpose.
He said, “I am going to show and honor My name. I am going to show the world, the nations around, how powerful and mighty I am, so that My name may be exalted.”
They were right by the Red Sea. Pharaoh heard about it, and his army was roused up. The Lord said He hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that Pharaoh would come and attack God’s people. The Lord said, “So that My name will be honored and glorified, I am going to let this happen to you. I am going to let them come.”
The people started complaining: “Why is this happening? This is not good.” Complain, complain. And the Lord said, “Be quiet. Be silent. Just watch Me. I am going to fight for you.”
There are just a few lessons, before we get started, that I found so encouraging. Many things that happen in our lives are not about us. It is about the Lord exalting His name—whether it is in our own personal lives, the life of the church, or situations in the world. It is all about Him and His name.
A brother mentioned it Wednesday night: “Lord, I do not know what else to say except it is about Your name, that Your name be exalted.” That is the way we are today.
So many times, in our prayers and in our concerns about a situation, I believe the Lord would have us simply be silent. Sit back, watch, and see what He is going to do. I was really encouraged with that.
Let us turn to the next chapter and read Exodus 15:1-21. Pay special attention to verses 3, 6, and 9. That is what we will be sharing on today.
Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said:
“I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”
The Lord is a warrior;
The Lord is His name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
The deeps cover them;
They went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power;
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You;
You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.
At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up,
The flowing waters stood up like a heap;
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be gratified against them;
I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.”
You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?
You stretched out Your right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.
The peoples have heard, they tremble;
Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
Terror and dread fall upon them;
By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone;
Until Your people pass over, O Lord,
Until the people pass over whom You have purchased.
You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance,
The place, O Lord, which You have made for Your dwelling,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
The Lord shall reign forever and ever.
Miriam answered them:
Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
This morning, I want you to consider this: the Lord is a warrior.
The Lord is a warrior. How does this sit with you? Do you like that?
When you think of that, that is quite a statement: the Lord is a warrior.
I do not know if it was when I was growing up or if I just saw it in church—maybe in Sunday school—but there was a picture of the Lord with nice flowing brown hair, soft eyes, and a really peaceful look. Growing up, that was the picture I had of the Lord.
Also, as a shepherd, He had a lamb—a really nice, kind person. Of course, we know the Lord is kind and gentle, but the Lord also is a warrior.
It should have been, I do not know, a much more militant face—the Lord with a sword and a spear, going out as a warrior.
What do you think of when you say someone is a warrior? Well, a warrior goes to war. A warrior fights. A warrior does not sit back. When the battle is raging, he goes out and fights.
A warrior uses weapons. We are going to read some Scriptures where I think you will see all of these things. Just in your mind, a warrior uses weapons. He is aggressive. He wants to win.
If you are meeting a warrior in battle, that warrior is not going to say, “Just go in peace.” It is either kill or be killed. It is a battle. It is waging war. A warrior wars.
It is all about defeating the enemy to a warrior. Killing and destruction are part of the warrior’s work. That is what he does. It is violence. It is battle. It is struggle. It is hardness. It is iron strength. It is a face like flint.
A warrior is not a coward; he is courageous. Honor, loyalty to the king, valor—those are words you associate with a warrior. A warrior is trained to know war. That is what he is about. A warrior fights to win victory.
Our Lord is a warrior.
I must say, I have found so much encouragement in that one phrase alone. It is almost as if, if the Lord could just put that on our hearts—what does it mean that the Lord is a warrior?—we could sit down and consider it.
But with all that is rising up in the world right now, I know the Lord wants me to know: “Your God, your Lord Jesus, is a warrior. He will fight for you.”
Let us look at some Scriptures.
Psalm 24:8:
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
Isaiah 66:15-16:
For behold, the Lord will come in fire
And His chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
For the Lord will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the Lord will be many.
Our Lord is a terrible warrior. By terrible, I mean terrifying.
Jeremiah 50:25:
The Lord has opened His armory
And has brought forth the weapons of His indignation.
Zechariah 14:3:
Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
Woe to the nation whom the Lord fights.
Psalm 7:12-13:
If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword;
He has bent His bow and made it ready.
He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows fiery shafts.
I would love for all of you to turn to Habakkuk 3. We will read Habakkuk 3:1-15.
Our Lord is a warrior. If nothing else this morning, get that.
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear.
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years,
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
God comes from Teman,
And the Holy One from Mount Paran.
His splendor covers the heavens,
And the earth is full of His praise.
His radiance is like the sunlight;
He has rays flashing from His hand,
And there is the hiding of His power.
Before Him goes pestilence,
And plague comes after Him.
He stood and surveyed the earth;
He looked and startled the nations.
Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered,
The ancient hills collapsed.
His ways are everlasting.
Was the Lord enraged against the rivers,
Or was Your anger against the rivers,
Or was Your wrath against the sea,
That You rode on Your horses,
On Your chariots of salvation?
Your bow was made bare,
The rods of chastisement were sworn.
You cleaved the earth with rivers.
The mountains saw You and quaked;
The downpour of waters swept by.
The deep uttered forth its voice,
It lifted high its hands.
Sun and moon stood in their places;
They went away at the light of Your arrows,
At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.
In indignation You marched through the earth;
In anger You trampled the nations.
You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For the salvation of Your anointed.
You struck the head of the house of evil
To lay him open from thigh to neck.
You pierced with his own spears
The head of his throngs.
They stormed in to scatter us;
Their exaltation was like those
Who devour the oppressed in secret.
You trampled on the sea with Your horses,
On the surge of many waters.
I think we could agree with Habakkuk: “Lord, I have heard the report about You, and I fear.”
One last reference, which I imagine is pretty much all of our favorites: Revelation 19:11-21. All this is to show us that the Lord is a warrior.
By the way, I do not know the chronology—how you look at Revelation—but this is right after the song is sung once again in Revelation 15, the Song of Moses. You can see the theme of the Lord as a warrior all through Scripture. I just hit a few of the verses, but all through Scripture the Lord is presented as a warrior.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
When you read it all together, it is pretty fearful. But this is our God, our Lord, who fights for us.
Isn’t that an amazing thing? When the Lord fights for us—for His church, for His people, for His redeemed—He does not give quarter. He is not about losing. He is about winning.
Mighty are His weapons. He can go against nations, against anything in this world—the spirit of Marxism, whatever puny things man will have raised up against Him. The Lord is strong and mighty and can deliver His people.
The Lord is a warrior.
Back in Exodus 15, I would have you turn and look at verse 6:
Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power;
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
The first phrase, “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power,” I believe comes from the position that the Lord occupies as King of kings and Lord of lords. His right hand is majestic in power.
Ephesians 1:20 says that when God raised Him from the dead, He seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
Hebrews 8 says that He has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.
And Jesus said of Himself, “You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power.”
The right hand of the Lord is majestic. It is kingly because He sits at the right hand of the Father. That is the One who fights for us.
I love this next one:
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
Well it might, from what we have just read about the power of the Lord. The right hand of the Lord shatters the enemy.
This shattering is like pottery that is lifted up and thrown against the ground, and it just bursts into a million pieces. It is a violent act of shattering.
The Lord blew with His nostrils and blew the waters up. The picture is that, when the enemy came through, the Lord crashed the waves down on them and shattered them, broke them.
It was a violent, warlike thing that our God did for His people, His redeemed ones. The Lord shatters the enemy.
As I was meditating on this, it seemed to me to be a really personal thing with our God, that He shatters the enemy. It is with His right hand. He blew with His nostrils. His wrath is there. His anger is there against those who would come against His people.
I believe the Lord is a warrior for us.
I have something I want to inquire of you about. What do you think of this? Do you like this militancy of our Lord?
The Lord is militant against His enemies, but for us, there is nothing but lovingkindness. For the enemies of God, there is nothing but warfare.
In Ephesians 6, I am beginning to think in a new light. This Lord, our Lord Jesus, is a warrior, and we are to be strong in His might. It is the might of a warrior. It is the might of a Lord who battles, who knows how to win.
We are to stand in His strength and His might.
If you think about all the armor that we have of the Lord to put on, this is the Lord’s armor. This is Christ Himself that we put on.
I had always thought about it as Christ the Shepherd, but I am beginning to think maybe it is Christ the Warrior—our Lord Jesus, who is a warrior. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. We wrestle with the life of Christ, the Warrior.
The Lord is a warrior.
We all know who the enemy is. The enemy is that which rises up against the Lord.
I want to conclude with the last verse. There are six things that the enemy says he wanted to do, which he did not accomplish. I want to read each one and say a little word about it.
When I say, “And the Lord says,” I would like for you to say:
The Lord is a warrior.
Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power.
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
Can you all do that with me? You got it? Thank you. Lead out. You got it—lead it out.
The enemy said, “I will pursue.”
There are many times you feel like you are being pursued by the enemy. It is almost like the children of Israel: you can see the army coming, and you can hear the horses and the chariots.
But we are to say:
The Lord is a warrior.
Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power.
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
The pursuit of the enemy will be shattered.
The second thing is, “I will overtake.” Is that what it says?
There is a fear that he who hates us will win, will overtake us, and will take possession. We know it is not true, but the fear can rise up: the situation is so bad, the enemy is going to overtake us.
When that happens, we are to say:
The Lord is a warrior.
Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power.
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
When the enemy tries to overtake, the Lord will shatter it.
The third thing the enemy plans is, “I will divide the spoil.” It is like the enemy says, “I am going to take all that you have. I am going to strip it from you. It will be spoil for me.”
All that you have in Christ, your family, all the good things God has done, will be taken away and stripped from you. That is what the enemy wants to do.
But when that feeling comes on you, I would have you say:
The Lord is a warrior.
Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power.
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
Not to give too much credit to the enemy, I will put the last three together. His desire, he says, will be gratified against them. He says, “I will draw out my sword, and my hand will destroy them.” He wants to destroy us.
But we should say:
The Lord is a warrior.
Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power.
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
Brothers and sisters, I say we rejoice in the Lord, our Warrior, today. No matter what comes in the next months and years, our Lord will fight for us. His right hand is majestic. His right hand shatters the enemy that comes against us.
Praise the Lord.
Lord, we just bless Your name this morning. We say, “Great is our God.”
The horse and rider You have hurled into the sea.
Amen.