Foundations for Christian Mission, Student Workbook, SW04

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F O U N D A T I O N S F O R C H R I S T I A N M I S S I O N

The God of the Promise Is also a God of War

This lesson deals with two of the single most important motifs in all of Scripture, and not merely in relationship to the issue of mission. The motif of Mission as the Romance of the Ages and Mission as the War of the Spheres touch upon truly significant themes that hold great significance for our understanding of the work of Messiah and of the Church. It could easily be argued that grasping these themes are the central notions for grasping the meaning of not only mission, but the very identity and work of the Church. Therefore, review these concepts carefully, and ensure that you can support them with an appeal to Scripture. The divine romance between God and his people is one of the major motifs of mission in Scripture, that is, God’s determination to draw out of the world a people for his own possession, a possession fulfilled and completed in Jesus’ love for his Church. When God appears as the divine warrior in the OT, he most often comes to save his people from their enemies. This happens from the time of the crossing of the Red Sea until late in the history of Israel. The divine warrior theme is closely connected to the idea of covenant in the OT. God reveals himself as king through covenant-treaty and then promises to protect his subject people from danger threatened by their enemies. We can see this in the blessings that flow if the law of the covenant is obeyed. In Deuteronomy 28.7 God the king promises that if Israel obeys him, “The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven” (NIV). He does this many times in the history of Israel, appearing in a variety of forms and using different means to win the battle. God often uses forces of nature, his own creation, as his weapons. At the crossing of the Red Sea when Israel is saved and Egypt judged, God uses the winds to push back the waters of the Sea to allow Israel safe access to the other side and then collapses the waters to kill the Egyptians (Exod. 14 and 15). Later when Joshua fights against a coalition of southern Canaanite kings, God uses large hailstones to kill the enemy and causes the sun to stop in the sky so there would be more daylight in which to finish the battle (Josh 10.1–15). On other occasions God uses his heavenly army to fight Israel’s enemies. ~ Leland Ryken. The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery . (electronic ed.) Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000. p. 211.

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Summary of Key Concepts