It’s been said, ‘War is hell!’ Yet human history is filled with wars. But should Christians participate in military wars? In this Part 1, we’ll survey war from the Old Testament (OT), and look to identify a right or just war. Can a war be justified? Are there times when it would be wrong or remiss not to war?
Paul wrote in Ro.12:18-19, “If possible, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.” Peace is best! Vengeance belongs to God. Man isn’t to take personal vengeance or revenge. In passages such as Ge.9:5-6 & De.17:8-11, we read where God authorized law courts and government (govt). Govt should maintain law & order within society, and carry out God’s vengeance as needed. see “Governmental Loyalty for Christians”.
God is the giver of life. As the giver of life, God also has the right to take life. Ja.4:12 “There is one Lawgiver and Judge, who is able to save and to destroy.” Is.33:22 the Lord is Judge, Lawgiver, King. God is at the top of three functions of govt: judicial, legislative, executive. The Lord is the Highest Authority. Only God is completely just. His laws & principles are the standard for implementing true justice. Christians are to first obey God and His moral principles, Ac.5:29.
There’s a difference between killing and murder. The Lord said in Ex.20:13, “You shall not murder”. Murder is immoral, a crime. An individual, of his own volition, doesn’t have the right to take the life of another. Yet God authorized law courts. Ge.9:5-6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed.” Also the Lord said to Israel in Ex.21:12, “He who strikes a man so that he dies, shall surely be put to death”. Law courts duly exercise God’s vengeance via God’s principles, prescribing capital punishment even. That’s killing, but it isn’t murder. (Lesser crimes exact lesser punishments.)
What causes wars? Ja.4:1 “From where come wars and fightings among you? Don’t they come from cravings that war within you?” War can result from wrong coveting, wanting land & goods that others have. Coveting violates the 10th Commandment, De.5:21. (see the topic “Coveting – Wrong and Right Desire”.) Wars of aggression to control or steal from others are most often sin. Killings (especially of civilians) by such aggressors are akin to murder.
War may also be a means of defense to protect a people from an aggressor nation or government bent on getting for itself (not giving or serving) or imperialism.
People who advocate nonviolence see war as immoral, that God doesn’t justify war. Similar is pacifism, which sees the disadvantages of warfare as greater than the advantages. Just War Theory says war is justified if it’s done in self-defense or ‘to end gross violations of human rights’, cruel oppression. Waging a ‘just war’ kills, but it isn’t murder.
The account of the first war in the Bible is in Ge.14. King Chedorláomer had conquered and exacted tribute from the kings of five city-states. It seems he wanted to take from them, but without providing commensurate benefits for them. The five rebelled from his yoke. So Chedorlaomer, with three allied kings, made war against the five. One of those attacked was the king of Sodom. Abrám’s nephew Lot lived in Sodom, and was taken captive with others. v.14-16 Abram assisted the five-king coalition. He led 318 of his fighting men to defeat the four invading kings and rescued Lot. People were killed. We might say that the five city-states (with Abram) engaged in a just war to stop unjust oppression.
Later in Ex.1–14, God miraculously delivered the ancient Israelites from bondage in Egypt. His plagues killed numerous Egyptians. But it wasn’t murder. It’s God’s right to judge and take life as He sees fit. Ex.14:14-31 “The Lord will fight for you; you shall hold your peace.” He led them through the Sea.
Ex.17:8-16 after the Israelites departed Egypt, the descendants of Amalék (Esau’s grandson) made an unprovoked attack on weak Israelite stragglers (De.25:17-19). In self-defense, Joshua/Israel fought and defeated the Amalekites. God also said for their memory to be blotted out, as just retribution.
Christ, the Rock of Israel (e.g. De.32:4, 18, 1Co.10:4), brought the Israelites to the Promised Land. Ex.15:3 “The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is His name.” Ps.24:8 “The Lord is mighty in battle.” Christ was as a man in His just war, to carry-out His judgment against evildoers, as He determined.
God wanted wicked inhabitants of the Land destroyed (Ex.23:23). How? De.7:1-4 Israel’s army became Christ’s agent, administering His judgment genocide upon the corrupt “nations” who inhabited Canaan. God determined that inhabitants of the 7 nations were so depraved, they would corrupt others.
Before they entered the Promised Land, the Israelites had wanted to pass through the land of Edom via the King’s Highway trade route (Nu.20:14-21). The Edomite army blocked them. The Moabites wanted Balaám to curse Israel (Nu.22:1-ff); they fought with Israel (Jsh.24:9). The Philistines and Ammonites attacked Israel (Jg.10:7-9). In self-defense, Israel later repelled the Ammonites (1Sa.11:1-11). King Saul would war against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the Philistines (1Sa.14:47).
De.20 contains laws of warfare. Christ allowed His people to fight in self-defense against enemies. v.1-4 the Lord would fight for them. v.5-8 classifies the men exempt from military service: he who has built a house but not yet occupied it; he who has planted but not yet eaten the fruit (not until the 5th year, Le.19:23-25); he who is engaged but hasn’t yet married her; he who is afraid (fear can spread to others).
De.20:9-14 Israel was to first offer terms of peace. War should be a last resort. If the enemy accepts terms of peace, it may pay annual tribute to Israel (and learn about the true God as a side benefit). But if terms of peace are refused and the enemy chooses to make war, then Israel was to strike the men. Israel was to take civilian women & children, animals, and other booty as spoils.
De.20:15-18 the above conditions pertained to enemy peoples outside the Land of Canáan. (Israel was to destroy inhabitants of the evil 7 “nations” of the Land.) v.19-20 Israel wasn’t to cut down edible trees in enemy lands. They were food for Israel’s soldiers. Israel could construct siege works against enemy cities from inedible trees.
In Nu.31:25-47, the Lord gave instructions how spoils of war were to be divided (De.20:14). Israelite soldiers and non-soldiers were to receive two equal shares of the booty from the whole taken by them. The soldiers paid 0.2% (1/500) of their half to the Lord/priests. The non-soldiers paid 2.0% (1/50) of their half to the Levite non-priests. (Among the Levites, only the clan of Aaron were priests.) So the soldiers retained more residual spoils than did the non-soldiers. Soldiering can be high-risk! The priests received 10% of the amount the other Levites received. (also cf. Ge.14:18-20 where Abram gave Priest–King Melchisedek 10% of the war spoils.) But Israel’s high priest wasn’t authorized to receive any women as spoils…unlike other priests, he must marry only virgin Israelitesses (Le.21:1, 7, 10, 14).
After Moses, in the days of Joshua, the Lord still fought for Israel. Jsh.10:14, 25 “Joshua said, ‘Be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies.” Jsh.23:3, 10 “The Lord our God has been fighting for you, just as He promised.” But Israel didn’t really trust Christ to be with them and help fight their battles (De.1:26-36). They would want a king to lead them in battle and make conquests (1Sa.8:10-12, 18-22). So after the period of judges, God gave them King Saul. David succeeded Saul.
God taught David to war (Ps.144:1-2, 18:34, 44:4-7). He became a war hero (e.g. 1Sa.18:5-7). David subdued the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites (2Sa.8:1-14), Ammonites (2Sa.12:26-31). Those peoples were a clear and present danger. They’d tried to take Land portions within the borders of Israel.
There’s a time for war and a time for peace (Ec.3:8). A nation would be remiss if it failed to somehow try to defend its citizens from an attacking nation. Pr.24:6 “By wise counsel you shall wage war.”
2Sa.2:17-23 Saul’s cousin, general Abner, killed Ásahel, warrior brother of David’s general Joáb, in self-defense. 2Sa.3:26-30 but then Joab wrongly took vengeance by murdering Abner. Killing in self-defense differs from murder! Ex.22:1-3 even at the family level, an intruder breaking & entering a home at night might be killed by the residents acting in self-defense. The Hebrew term for murder (and manslaughter) is rawtsák, Strongs h7523.
Jg.19-20 Even a (lopsided) civil war in Israel was commanded against the obdurate tribe of Benjamin. The Benjamites had refused to turn over for prosecution the murderers from Gibeáh of Benjamin.
King David said in 1Sa.17:47, “The battle is the Lord’s”. Yet the Lord didn’t allow David to build God’s temple, because David had shed much blood (1Ch.22:7-9, 1Ki.5:3-5). David’s son Solomon, a man of peace, was allowed to build the temple. 2Sa.10:15-19 David expanded his kingdom into Syria, beyond the borders of Israel. De.17:15-17 Israel’s king wasn’t to have numerous horses, not for use as a conquering cavalry in wars of aggression. (Yet see 1Ch.18:3-4 regarding David’s expansionism.)
Later the united monarchy of Israel divided into the kingdom of Israel in the north and the kingdom of Judah in the south. During the monarchies of Israel and Judah, there was much needless war. 1Ki.14:30, 15:32 even war between Israel and Judah (continually). 2Ki.16:5-6 the first time the term “Jews” occurs in scripture, the Jews (the southern kingdom of Judah) are fighting against an alliance of Israel & Syria! 2Ch.16:1-14 King Asa of Judah would have wars, because he trusted in his own Syrian alliance, not God.
2Ch.17:1-2, 10 King Jehoshaphát fortified Judah for self-defense. Other nations feared to invade Judah. 2Ch.20:1-30 when an attack did come, praise-singing to God was ordered…not fighting. v.17 “You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord.” Judah’s ready army stood still. v.23 Judah’s attackers then destroyed each other!
Is.63:7-10 overall, Israel rebelled against God and vexed His Holy Spirit. So instead of fighting for them, Christ became their enemy and fought against them. Consequently, Israel was taken captive by Assyria (2Ki.17:23). The allies/”lovers” in whom Judah trusted spurned Judah. The Lord said in Je.30:12-14, “All your lovers have forsaken you, for I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, because your iniquity is great”. The Lord sent Judah into captivity to Babylon. Je.27:6-13 God gave Nebuchadnézzar a kingdom. Je.21:3-7 Judah and nations who resisted him would die via warfare & famine.
This ends our compacted survey of warfare in the OT. God, who brought the Israelites into the Promised Land by force of arms…in time, removed disobedient Israel and the Jews from the Land by force of enemy arms. Ex.15:6-7 “In the greatness of Your excellence, You overthrow those who rise up against Thee.”
War is a consequence of sin. Fast forwarding to today…in wars between peoples and nations, there are Christian brothers fighting each other! For example, in the present day Syria civil war, Christians are fighting Christians. Also Arab Christians in the Middle East fight Israeli Jewish Christians! What!?
We’ll look at war in the New Testament, and recently, in “War & Killing and the Bible Christian (2)”.
Bible Topic Exposition 