Our mighty warrior

There is a story in Exodus of a battle fought between Joshua and the Amalekites, who had come up against the Israelites. As the battle waged on, Moses stood on a mountain with the staff of God raised.

As long as the staff was raised, Joshua and his army prevailed, but when Moses' strength began to fail and his hands lowered, the Amalekites began to win. So Aaron and Hur joined Moses and helped prop his arms up until the fight was won.

God was there giving the Israelites victory. But He was not physically present as a warrior.

Many years later, Zephaniah would prophecy of a time when God would once again bring victory. But this time it wasn't just in one battle for the people of Israel. And this time God would be in our midst as "a warrior who gives victory."

We now look back on this prophecy and understand that the warrior is Jesus, and that He did indeed come into our midst. He fought our war and won the victory. He restored the love relationship between God and humanity.

Advent is a time when we not only remember that Jesus came into the world and conquered death on our behalf, but we also await with joyous anticipation the return of our mighty warrior who will rejoice over His bride, the church.