July 9, 2017 · God of War 2

Prince of Peace, God of War 2: Reluctant War God

“God's heart is a heart that weeps at the violence of humanity. He weeps at it. … I think it's because in his heart is shalom. He is a shalom at heart, God. He is actually an easy or a reluctant war God. … You got to read it in that spirit. Now, the war gods and nations around Israel were not reluctant at all. They were the slayers of their enemies, the pharaohs and the Syrian kings. They would actually worship their gods with violent imagery. So I want to point out, when we take a look at the Old Testament, when we read it, make sure we don't just only read it through our own lens. … Which, by the way, our lens, thankfully, is Jesus Christ, who is Prince of Peace, and we can go through Jesus, we realize, this is not what God wanted for humanity. This is not the story. He wants to bring them to this shalom. His heart is shalom. His heart is peace.”