Jennifer Rothnie Supporter Housewife, Artist, Perpetually Curious

God is likened here to a fearsome archer. He does not just have his arrows in his quiver, but has reading the arrow on it's bowstring and aimed it at the enemy. This is a fearsome judgement that does not delay. The enemy, seeing the strung bow, has no time to ready it's own defense. The only options are flee or die, and to flee is futile. If one escapes the arrow to the face, one will receive the arrow to the back. The arrow prepped and ready to fire highlights that there will be no time to escape or change one's side. (I Thess 5:1-3) 

Overall, Psalm 21 seems to be prophetic, looking forward to the day believers are granted eternal life (Psalm 21:3-4, James 1:12, Rev 2:10), and also to the Day of the Lord (judgement upon the wicked).

Psalm 21:12 is in the portion about the Day of the Lord (Zeph 1:14-18, Amos 6:18-20). God is often likened to a warrior in passages about the Great Day of the Lord that is to come, or in passages about later days of the Lord (times of judgement) that have happened throughout history (such as Josh 10:9-14, Jer 20:11).

The purpose of presenting God as a warrior is several-fold:

- To show the wicked and the rebellious that though they may fight against God or reject Him, this does not mean they actually have the power to stand against God. God's victory will be swift and complete.

-To call the wicked and the rebellious to repentance. Though God is fearsome, perfect love casts out fear. God so loved the world that He gave His own son to die for us, and all we need to to escape our deserved judgement is accept that merciful sacrifice. (John 3:16, James 4:8)

- To encourage believers that oppression, wickedness, and tyranny will not always rein on the earth. We will not always suffer the pain, sin, and death of a fallen world. (Rom 8:18-21, Rev 21:1-8)

- To show that God takes an active role in the affairs of men - He is a God who is God both nearby and far off (Deut 4:7, Jer 23:16-24).

August 18 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

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