Running From the Boogieman

There was no worse nightmare for me as a kid than getting chased by a boogieman or monster. In every dream, I tried to run, but my legs operated in slow motion and I could never get away. Fortunately, I always woke up before I got caught. Every once in while, as an adult, I will have one of these "getting chased" dreams. I'm always very happy when I wake up to find out that my legs really do work much better then in my dream.

I was reading this morning about the account of King David conquering the Jebusites and taking up residence in Jerusalem. It was eventually named the City of David. Shortly after that they tried to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and failed. About the same time, the Philistines decided to create some havoc. David inquires of the God, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The Lord answered, "Go, I will hand them over to you." God goes on to say "As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." The final verse of this says "..and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer."

As I thought about this, I wondered, when God intervened on Israel's behalf, and there are many accounts of this happening in the scriptures, what did it look like? What would cause seasoned warriors to turn on themselves or get so spooked that they ran for their lives? I wonder if these enemy armies ran into the ultimate Boogieman? There is a hint of what may have happened on this day in Psalm 18, a psalm of deliverance.
    The Lord thundered from heaven;
      the voice of the Most High resounded.
    He shot arrows and scattered the enemies,
      bolts of lightning and routed them.
    The valleys of the sea were exposed
      and the foundations of the earth laid bare
    at the rebuke of the Lord,
      at the blast of breath from his nostrils.

Now that sounds like a soldier's worst nightmare if you are fighting on the wrong side. I imagine legs got weak, screams of terror filled the air and everything was left behind as the enemy army ran away as fast as they could go. We've read the "end of the book." Anyone who fights Israel is going to have to fight the Boogieman, and He doesn't lose.