The LORD Is a Man of War Yet Bears No Weapon

"The LORD is a man of war, the LORD is His name" (Exodus 15:3): Rabbi Yehudah says, This is a verse rich in many places. It tells that the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them with every weapon of war. He revealed Himself as a mighty man girded with a sword, as it is said, "Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O mighty one" (Psalms 45:4). He revealed Himself as a horseman, as it is said, "And He rode upon a cherub" (Psalms 18:11). He revealed Himself in armor and helmet, as it is said, "And He put on righteousness as a coat of mail" (Isaiah 59:17). He revealed Himself with a spear, as it is said, "At the shining of Your glittering spear" (Habakkuk 3:11), and it is written, "Draw out also the spear" (Psalms 35:3). He revealed Himself with bow and spear and arrows, as it is said, "Your bow is made quite bare" (Habakkuk 3:9), and it is written, "And He sent out His arrows and scattered them" (Psalms 18:15). He revealed Himself with buckler and shield, as it is said, "His truth is a shield and buckler" (Psalms 91:4), and it says, "Take hold of shield and buckler" (Psalms 35:2). Or I might hear that He needs one of these qualities; therefore Scripture says, "the LORD is His name": by His name He wages war, and He needs none of these qualities. And if so, why must Scripture detail each one by itself? Only that if Israel needs them, it teaches you that the Holy One, blessed be He, makes war for them. Woe to the nations of the world: what do they hear with their ears? That the One who spoke and the world came to be is destined to make war upon them. "The LORD is a man of war, the LORD is His name": Why is this said? Because He revealed Himself at the sea as a mighty man waging war, as it is said, "The LORD is a man of war." He revealed Himself at Sinai as an elder full of mercy, as it is said, "And they saw the God of Israel" (Exodus 24:10), and when they were redeemed what does it say, "And like the very heaven for clearness" (Exodus 24:10). And it says, "I beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit" (Daniel 7:9), so as not to give the nations of the world an opening to say there are two powers; rather, "The LORD is a man of war, the LORD is His name." He in Egypt is He at the sea; He in the past is He in the future to come; He in this world is He in the world to come, as it is said, "See now that I, even I, am He" (Deuteronomy 32:39). And it is written, "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last" (Isaiah 44:6), "and with the last I am He" (Isaiah 41:4). There is a mighty man in the province who has all the weapons of war upon him, yet he has neither strength nor might nor strategy nor warcraft. But the One who spoke and the world came to be is not so; rather He has strength and might, strategy and warcraft, as it is said, "For the battle is the LORD's" (1 Samuel 17:47), and it is written, "Of David: Blessed be the LORD my rock, who trains my hands for war" (Psalms 144:1). There is a mighty man in the province whose strength is upon him, but a man of forty is not like a man of sixty, and a man of sixty is not like a man of seventy; rather, the more he goes on, the more his strength diminishes. But the One who spoke and the world came to be is not so; rather, "I the LORD do not change" (Malachi 3:6). There is a mighty man in the province who, when jealousy and fury clothe him, strikes even his father, even his kinsman, and goes on in his wrath. But the One who spoke and the world came to be is not so; rather, "The LORD is a man of war," who waged war in Egypt; "the LORD is His name," who has mercy on His creatures, as it is said, "The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious" (Exodus 34:6). There is a mighty man in the province who, once the arrow leaves his hand, cannot bring it back, for it has already gone forth. But the One who spoke and the world came to be is not so; rather, when Israel does not do the will of the Omnipresent, as it were a decree goes forth from before Him, as it is said, "If I whet My glittering sword" (Deuteronomy 32:41); but if they repent, immediately He brings it back, as it is said, "And My hand takes hold on judgment" (Deuteronomy 32:41). I might hear that He brings it back empty; therefore Scripture says, "I will render vengeance to My adversaries" (Deuteronomy 32:41). Against whom does He bring it back? Against the nations of the world who deny the LORD, as it is said, "And I will recompense them that hate Me" (Deuteronomy 32:41). A king of flesh and blood goes out to war, and the nearby provinces come and ask their needs of him, and he says to them, "He is enraged, he is at war; when he returns and is victorious you may come and ask your needs of him." But the One who spoke and the world came to be is not so; rather, "The LORD is a man of war," who waged war in Egypt; "the LORD is His name," who hears the cry of all who come into the world, as it is said, "O You that hear prayer, to You does all flesh come" (Psalms 65:3). A king of flesh and blood standing in war cannot feed his troops nor provide them lodging. But the One who spoke and the world came to be is not so; rather, "The LORD is a man of war," who waged war in Egypt; "the LORD is His name," who feeds and sustains all His creatures, as it is said, "To Him who divided the Red Sea into parts" (Psalms 136:13), and it is written, "Who gives food to all flesh" (Psalms 136:25). "The LORD is a man of war": Is it possible to say so? Has it not already been said, "Do I not fill heaven and earth, says the LORD" (Jeremiah 23:24), and it is written, "And one called to another and said" (Isaiah 6:3), and it says, "And behold, the glory of the God of Israel" (Ezekiel 43:2)? Then what does Scripture mean by "a man of war"? Because of My love for you and because of My nearness to you, I will sanctify My name through you. "The LORD is His name": by His name He wages war and needs none of all these qualities. And so David says, "You come to me with a sword and a spear" (1 Samuel 17:45), and it is written, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses... they are brought down and fallen" (Psalms 20:8-9); what does it say, "O LORD, save" (Psalms 20:10). And so Asa says, "And Asa cried to the LORD" (2 Chronicles 14:10). The measure of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like the measure of flesh and blood. The measure of flesh and blood: when he goes out to war he goes out with many men, and when he goes out in peace he comes only with few men. But the One who spoke and the world came to be is not so; rather, when He goes out to war He goes out alone, as it is said, "The LORD is a man of war," and so it says, "And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the door of the tent" (Numbers 12:5); and when He comes in peace He comes with thousands and ten thousands, as it is said, "The chariots of God are twice ten thousand" (Psalms 68:18).