“The Lord is my fort where I can enter and be safe; no one can follow me in and slay me. He is a rugged mountain where I hide; he is my Savior, a rock where none can reach me, and a tower of safety. He is my shield. He is like the strong horn of a mighty fighting bull.”
Psalm 18:2, Living Bible
Drama, spectacle, bold colors, life and death artistry … There is something stunning and simultaneously frightening about the ancient tradition of bullfighting, something about its playful interaction with danger that creates a delicious thrill for the audiences it draws. In its home countries of Spain and Portugal, nearly one million people attend these events every year, anxious to see who will conquer the bull with the greatest flair or be injured trying.[1] To be honest with you, I have yet to fully understand all the intricacies of the sport or its appeal to spectators, yet whenever I read Psalm 18:2, I think of bullfighting.
Our God is like the horn of a mighty fighting bull.
What does this really tell us about our God, though? What does it mean that He is like the horn of a mighty fighting bull? How can this help us understand more about who He is in our lives? First of all, it tells us that our God is MUCH BIGGER than any opponent. The average Spanish Fighting bull weighs between one and two thousand pounds. If the torero (bullfighter or matador) in the ring weighs between 100 and 200 pounds, the bull would still be ten times larger than they are. Similarly, in the midst of our struggles, in the midst of life’s challenges – God is still at least ten times bigger than our problems! No matter how tall the mountain seems in the moment, God is greater; God is bigger! He split the Red Sea, created the Universe, and delivered Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace, for goodness’ sake! Surely, He is greater than the inconveniences and troubles we face! We cannot afford to magnify the problem in our own eyes by dwelling on it, talking about it, worrying about it, instead of focusing on how great our God is; we cannot afford to make Him seem smaller by focusing on our problem instead of our God. In his book, Staying Full of God, Andrew Wommack writes, “Did you know that you can make God bigger? Technically speaking, you can’t affect His actual size and greatness. God is who He is, regardless of what you think. However, as far as your perception and experience of Him goes, you can make God bigger or smaller in your life. It all depends on how you think.”[2] Don’t make Him smaller! He’s like the horn of a mighty fighting bull on your behalf – allow Him to be victoriously larger than your foes! Celebrate His majesty and greatness, His ability to conquer over even the most trying of situations!
Our God is like the horn of a mighty fighting bull.
For further insight into what this means for our walk with God, let me ask you quite simply: what do bulls stereotypically chase? Things that are red, right? What color do we normally associate with the devil, hell, and anger? You got it – red. Our Bull, our Mighty God, has a special hatred and desire to stamp out the devil and all his works. Hebrews 2:14 in the Contemporary English Version tells us that Jesus became a human and “died to destroy the devil, who had power over death.” There is a holy fury in the heart of our God that will destroy all things that keep His people from Him, who will pursue and impale everything that keeps us from Him. He is mighty; He is powerful; He is dangerous. The devil has taken a great risk coming up against the Lord of Lords, thinking he can master the Almighty. Like a bullfighter in the ring, he forgot how dangerous his position is, how likely he is to be gored or trampled in the fight. It is said that Fighting Bulls are bred for a “certain combination of aggression, energy, strength, stamina, and intelligence: a bull intelligent enough to distinguish man from cape would be too dangerous.”[3] And I’d say that a God who can distinguish not only the difference between man and cape, but also the dividing point of the soul and spirit, the joints and the marrow, and the motives of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12, Proverbs 24:12), is too dangerous to be engaged in battle. Such a miscalculation of God’s strength cost the enemy everything, like miscalculating the strength of the bull has cost 52 bullfighters their very lives.[4]
Our God is like the horn of a mighty fighting bull.
Also, I have learned the fact that the verse specifies a “fighting bull” is significant. According to one source I read, a fighting bull’s horns are different than those of a regular bull. They are “curved forward, which would make their attacks very accurate and deadly on a full charge.”[5] You see, our God is not taking blind shots that may or may not wound the enemy. Our God is not a wimpy God. He is dangerously accurate as He targets the devil and the sin in our lives. He, by His very nature, is victorious, powerful, and, to the enemy at least, deadly. He will tolerate no competitors. He will leave no doubt as to His supremacy.
Perhaps what stood out to me the most, though, was the following statement: “The bullfight usually concludes with the killing of the bull by a single sword thrust which is called estocada.”[6] As I read this, as I thought about Hebrews 2:14, I was humbled and astonished to think that our Savior, our God, won the victory by allowing Himself to be pierced with a sword on the cross. Being pierced in the side, His saving blood flowed for you and me. Even though He was more powerful than the enemy, even though He could have called ten thousand angels to His aid, even though His was the power, He allowed himself to be crucified, to be pierced and wounded on our behalf. He won the battle, destroyed and impaled the enemy – by dying in our place … How remarkable. How powerful. How humbling …
Our God is like the strong horn of a mighty fighting bull …
Are you allowing Him to be victorious on your behalf?
[1] http://www.spain-info.com/Culture/bullfighting.htm
[2] P. 33
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Fighting_Bull
[4] http://iberianature.com/spain_culture/tag/how-many-bullfighters-have-been-killed/
[5] http://en.allexperts.com/q/Interspecies-Conflict-3754/2010/2/bull-1.htm
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfighting
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