Is God a God of War or Peace?

Supposed contradiction and verses:

Is God a God of war or peace?
Exodus 15:3

The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

Romans 15:33

Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.


 

Answer:

   God is a God of peace, just as Romans 15:33 says. There is peace found in Him, and Him alone, so what does one do with a verse like Exodus 15:3? Read the context of the verse, something many people do not do. It is quite easy to go around picking verses and say they contradict when you don't take the time to understand what is going on. In Exodus 15:3, God is seen as a God of war, but the focus of that is the Egyptians. Why? They had God's chosen people, Israel, enslaved. God is a just God, and He is our protector, and deliverer. That being the case, He acted as such to bring them out of Egypt. Look at these verses…

Joel 3:9-10

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

   Joel was a prophet of God and in that, God gave him these words showing that there would be times to fight. Fight what? Evil. But one day all that will change. We see where the prophet Isaiah gives us God's words to tell us so. He, being a God of peace, will bring peace once and for all…

Isaiah 2:4

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

   God can certainly be a God who protects and wars against unrighteousness, but also be a God who loves peace. It's the same with you and me. We can be very peaceful and mild mannered, but if family or security is threatened, we fight back as well. No contradiction!