- Who has ascended into heaven and descended?
- Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
- Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth?
- What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know! (Proverbs 30:4)
- “YHVH is a warrior; YHVH is His name!” (Exodus 15:3)
Post-WWII. Post-Vietnam. Post-Desert Storms. Post-Operation Enduring Freedom. Today many in the West are cynical about supporting any war. Rioting demonstrators in Europe and in woke North America are willing to attack police and National Guard in the name of championing anti-war causes. The recent Israeli interdiction of Shi’ite Iranian nuclear weapons and ballistic missile arsenals have torn away the sheets covering American defenders of jihad and attackers of Israel. Some of these cloak their nefarious strategies in pseudo-Christian language; others masquerade as super-patriots. But their common goal is laid out in Psalm 83:
- “For behold, Your enemies make an uproar,
- and those who hate You have exalted themselves.
They make shrewd plans against Your people, - and conspire together against Your treasured ones.
They have said, ‘Come, and let’s wipe them out as a nation, - so that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.’
For they have conspired together with one mind; They make a covenant against You!” (Psalm 83:2-5)
These enemies of the Jewish people and the Jewish state are on public display for all who are watching. Behind the ‘nationalistic’ veneer of some anti-Semitic media personalities and politicians lies a staggering ignorance of the Bible – of God’s covenant-heart and love for Israel, and of the God of Jacob’s Last Days strategies for sifting and crushing the nations, based on their attitudes and actions toward the state of Israel and Israel’s seed.
There is a pressing need at this time to remember who is YHVH our God, the Lord of armies. What is His perspective regarding war and how He responds to those who attempt to annihilate the sons and daughters of Jacob? And how is this related to the ‘mighty army much much’ of Ezekiel 37:8-10? Here are some highly pertinent biblical guidelines and principles for consideration.
The God of Jacob actually sometimes makes war
- “YHVH your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior” (Zephaniah 3:17)
- “YHVH will go out like a warrior! He will stir His zeal like a man of war. He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies” (Isaiah 42:13)
- Who is this Who comes from Edom, with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah – this One who is majestic in His apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, the One who speaks in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the wine press? “I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no one with Me. I also trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath. And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, and I stained all My clothes. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and My year of redemption has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, and I was astonished and there was no one to uphold! So My own arm brought salvation to Me, and My wrath upheld Me. I trampled down the peoples in My anger and made them drunk with My wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth” (Isaiah 63:1-6)
- “It is said in the Book of the Wars of YHVH” (Numbers 21:14)
- “Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and . . . He said, . . . ‘I am Captain of the Army of YHVH’” (Joshua 5:13-14)
All this should not surprise us, for Solomon lets us in on a divine secret:
- “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven . . . A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8)
The God of Jacob has an arsenal of war machines
According to the Holy Scriptures, YHVH the Warrior uses natural disasters as weapons of war – in the past against the Egyptians (Exodus 9:18), the Canaanites (Joshua 10:11), the Assyrians (Isaiah 30:30), and the false prophets of Israel (Ezekiel 13:11-13); and in the future against all mankind at the time of the seventh angelic bowl judgment (Revelation 16:21).
YHVH Himself explains this war strategy to Job when He cross-examines him: “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, and have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for a time of distress, for a day of war and battle?” (Job 38:22-23)
The God of Jacob has chosen Israel to be His special war machine
- “The portion of Jacob is not like these, For [YHVH] is the Maker of everything, and of the tribe of His inheritance – YHVH of armies is His name. He says [to Israel], ‘You are My war-club, My weapon of war; And with you I shatter nations, and with you I destroy kingdoms’” (Jeremiah 51:19-20)
- “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you people of Israel! I will help you, declares YHVH, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges. You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them, and make the hills like chaff. You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the storm will scatter them. But you will rejoice in YHVH! You will boast in the Holy One of Israel!” (Isaiah 41:14-16)
- “Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion! For I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze – so that you may pulverize many peoples, and dedicate to YHVH their unjust profit, and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth (Micah 4:13)
- “And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight (Hebrews 11:32-34)
- “And they will be like warriors, trampling down the enemy in the mud of the streets in battle. And they will fight, because YHVH will be with them. And the riders on horses will be put to shame” (Zechariah 10:5)
The God of Jacob empowers Israel and trains them how to fight
- “Now these are the nations that YHVH left, to test Israel by them [that is] – all [the Israelites] who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan – only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war” (Judges 3:1-2)
- “For by You I can run at a troop of warriors! By my God I can leap over a wall” (2 Samuel 22:30; see also Psalm 18:29)
- “Blessed be YHVH, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1)
- “God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel. His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place also is in Zion. There He broke the flaming arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war Selah” (Psalm 76:1-3)
The God of Jacob passes secret intelligence on to Israel
- But YHVH said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, with its king and the valiant warriors. And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight ahead” (Joshua 6:2-6)
- Now the king of Aram was making war against Israel. And he consulted with his servants, saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, “Be careful that you do not pass this place, because the Arameans are coming down there.” And the king of Israel sent scouts to the place about which the man of God had told him. So he warned him, so that he was on his guard there, more than once or twice. Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this matter; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” One of his servants said, “No, my lord, the king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” So he said, “Go and see where he is, so that I may send men and take him.” And it was told to him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” So he sent horses and chariots and a substantial army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “This is hopeless, my master! What are we to do?” And he said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are greater than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “YHVH, please, open his eyes so that he may see.” And YHVH opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Kings 6:8-17)
Sometimes YVH calls upon Israel to destroy a region, and sometimes not
- “When you besiege a city for a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them. For you may eat from them, so you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a human, that it should be besieged by you? Only the trees that you know are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, so that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war against you until it falls (Deuteronomy 20:19-20)
- And Elisha said: “But now bring me a musician.” And it came about, when the musician played, that the hand of YHVH came upon him. And he said, “This is what YHVH says: ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’ For YHVH says this: ‘You will not see wind, nor will you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you will drink, you, your livestock, and your other animals. And this is an insignificant thing in the sight of YHVH; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and cut down every good tree and stop up all the springs of water, and spoil every good plot of land with stones.’ (2 Kings 3:15-19)
God fights against Israel’s enemies and curses them
After the amazing military defeat of the Canaanite in the Valley of Jezreel, the prophetess Deborah and the military commander Barak son of Avinoam sang a song of victory:
- “The kings came and fought. Then the kings of Canaan fought at Ta’anach near the waters of Megiddo. They took no plunder in silver. The stars [ed. angels] fought from heaven – from their paths they fought against Sisera. The torrent of Kishon swept them away – the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. My soul, march on with strength! Then the horses’ hoofs beat from the galloping, the galloping of his mighty stallions. ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the Angel of YHVH. ‘Utterly curse its inhabitants, because they did not come to the help of YHVH, to the help of YHVH against the warriors.’ (Judges 5:19-23)
- “I cried to YHVH in my trouble, and He answered me. Rescue my soul, YHVH, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. What will He give to you, and what more will He do to you, you deceitful tongue? Sharp arrows of the warrior, with the burning coals of the broom tree! Woe to me, for I reside in Meshech, for I have settled among the tents of Kedar! Too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war” (Psalm 120:1-7)
God sets up a divine hot-line for Israel
- “And when you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the [silver] trumpets, so that you will be remembered [see Psalm 106:4] by YHVH your God, and be saved from your enemies” (Numbers 10:9)
These promises and dynamics for Israel are irrevocable
As Israel clashes with the Shi’ite armies of Iran, it is helpful to remember as we pray: The gifts and calling of God on Israel are irrevocable and without repentance (Romans 11:29). Take advantage of these biblical principles which are still valid and which still apply to Israel, and pray these principles over Israel, as King David reminds us:
- “Then David said … ‘For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he has dared to defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26)
- Then the Philistine came and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he was contemptuous of him; for he was only a youth, and reddish, with a handsome appearance. So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals.” But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a saber, but I come to you in the name of YHVH of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day YHVH will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that this entire assembly may know that YHVH does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is YHVH’s, and He will hand you over to us!” (1 Samuel 17:41-47)
How shall we then pray?
- Pray that Iranian jihadi plans to destroy Israel and cause great casualties will be nullified
- Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s prophetic Jewish army throughout the earth
Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.
In Messiah Yeshua,
Avner Boskey
Donations can be sent to:
FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES
BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA
To donate online visit: https://www.davidstent.org/give
