God Teaches the Hands to War: Divine Qualification for Service

Psalm 18:34 declares, "He teacheth my hands to war." Elohim raises up men specially qualified to meet the exigencies of human society—the soldier, the statesman, the lawgiver, the teacher of religion, the ready writer, the eloquent speaker, and the cunning artificer. When God needed a warrior to accomplish His purposes, He qualified David for the work. So long as David prosecuted his wars free of ambition and malevolent feeling, desiring solely to accomplish the will of God, he served Adonai as acceptably in the field as he could have served Him in the temple. Provided his cause be just and he prosecute it with right motives, the patriot soldier is engaged in as holy a work as the priest at the altar.

God taught David the art of war so masterfully that "a bow of steel was broken by his arms." Ancient bows of steel required the use of both hands and feet to bend; David's supernatural strength broke one with his arms alone. This verse carries spiritual application: God can clothe all engaged in the good fight of faith with overcoming might, enabling them to overcome the strongest weapons with which they may be assailed—using but a moiety of their strength.