And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant— (Luke 1:69)

To non-Jewish ears, “Horn of Salvation” is an odd description of Christ. Interestingly, this phrase was uttered by the father of John the Baptist, who had been struck speechless during his wife’s pregnancy because of his unbelief (Luke 1:20). When his son was born, speech returned to him, and he used this descriptor of the coming Savior, of whom his son John would be the forerunner, the announcer.

A horn obviously comes from the bony protrusion from an animal’s head. Horns were used to fashion sound-making instruments for worship (2 Chron 15:14) and for signaling during war (Josh 6:5, 13). The altar in Jewish liturgy was made with protrusions at the four corners (Ex 27:2) on which the priests were to sprinkle blood (Lev 4:7). While the significance of this is unclear, we do see people taking hold of these horns for protection when accused of capital wrongdoings (1 King 1:50-51). One can possibly imagine the reference to Christ as the horn of salvation, referring to the call to repent, or the place where one can find refuge from the judgment of God:

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Ps 18:2)

However, the most prominent use of the word “horn” seems to symbolize power. Psalm 18 pictures the power of God being our shield—the believer finds confidence and security in the powerful fortress and shield of God, whose strength is likened to the power of an ox, symbolized by its horns. During the exodus, the Word says, “God brings them out of Egypt, He is for them like the horns of the wild ox” (Num 23:22). In the NT, the only other use of the word “horn” has to do with the powerful rulers in the end-time depicted in the book of the Revelation (envisioned as the ten horns of the beast in Rev 13:1, etc.).

Christ, then, is our Horn of Salvation, or as Paul writes about the good news of the gospel, “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). Christ is the announcement of the Gospel, He is the strong security of the Gospel and He is the power of the Gospel to all who believe. He is the Horn of our Salvation. We are secure in Him, our Horn!

Lord, I am overwhelmed to have heard Your call to salvation. Nothing can separate me from Your love. I rest in that truth and am secure in You.