Destructive Power -"Jehovah Is a Manly Person of War" - Why the God of Peace Is Compelled to Fight

After praising God as "a manly person of war," Moses declared: "Who among the gods is like you, O Jehovah?  Who is like you, proving yourself mighty in holiness?  (Exodus 15:11) The prophet Habakkuk similarly wrote:"You are too pure in eyes to see what is bad; and to look  on trouble you are not able.:  (Habakkuk 1:13)  Although Jehovah is a God of love,  he is also a God of holiness, righteousness, and justice. At times, such qualities compel him to use his destructive power.  (Isaiah 59:15-19; Luke 18:7) So God does not blemish his holiness when he fights. Rather, he fights because he is holy. -Exodus 39:30.

Consider the situation that arose after the first human couple, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God.   (Genesis 3:1-6)  Had he tolerated their unrighteousness, Jehovah  would have undermined his own position as Universal Sovereign.  As a righteous God, he was obliged to sentence them to death.  (Romans 6:23) In the first Bible prophecy, he foretold that enmity would exist between his own servants the followers of the "serpent," Satan. (Revelation 12:9; Genesis 3:15) Ultimately, this enmity could only be resolved  by the crushing of Satan.  (Romans 16:20)  But that judgment act would result in great blessings for righteous mankind, ridding the earth of Satan's influence and opening the way to a global paradise.   (Matthew 19:28) Until then, those who sided with Satan would constitute an ongoing threat to the physical and spiritual well-being of God's people. On occasion, Jehovah would have to intervene.

Next time: Destructive Power-"Jehovah Is a Manly Person of War" -God Acts to Remove Wickedness

From the book: Draw Close to Jehovah