|
The
Question of War
There are numerous accounts of war within the
Bible. Most
of these are within the Old Testament. In the New Testament Jesus told us that we are to love our
enemies and to pray for them.
Does this mean that we are to be pacifists and
to always “turn the other cheek?”
As we look into this, I’ve divided the
summary of my thoughts into two sections.
First is war in the Old Testament, second is
the New Testament
War
begins early in the Bible and Genesis records Abraham
fighting kings around him to rescue Lot.
However, the Israelites are an even better
example of the ways that God uses war so I’ll jump
right to the book of Joshua.
When
the Israelites come across Jericho, we first see God
use war as a test of faith.
He calls for some strange things when the
Israelites approach the city of Jericho.
Obviously, it is very poor tactics when trying
to take over a city to march it around it for a week,
yelling and blowing trumpets.
However, this is what God asked His people to
do as an act of faith.
And because they did this, they conquered a
seemingly unconquerable city.
War
is used throughout the Old Testament by God to further
His purposes. He
uses war in at least three different ways in Israel.
One thing that is prevalent throughout Israel's
history is that God was involved in war as much as any
other facet of the nation of Israel.
As Joshua leads the Israelites into the
Promised Land, we see God using war as an act of
extermination, to prevent moral and spiritual
corruption from outsiders as Israel entered Canaan.
War
and destruction are acts of cleansing.
Joshua is commanded to destroy many of the
cities that the Israelites come across because they
are idolatrous and immoral.
We see how serious God is of His command when
we look at the punishment for “Achan’s sin” in
Joshua chapter 7.
God knows that his children will be tempted
more than they can bear if idolatrous people surround
them. For
this reason they need to be removed.
Thirdly, we see war used to cause Israel to
rely upon him. When Israel is
established in their land, we see that the wars don't
stop at that point.
Israel fought many battles with other nations
throughout its history.
Many of these are seen in the book of Judges.
Israel falls away from God and He sends another
nation into their land to punish them. But God also
raised up Judges during this time to show His
faithfulness. Gideon
is a great example of this.
It also once again shows how God uses war as a
test of obedience.
God said to Gideon in Judges 7:2, “‘You
have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their
hands.’” In
the end, we see God fighting for the nation and
proving to them that he is truly in control of it all.
When Israel is unfaithful, however, we see God
use war for another purpose, punishment. Because of
their sins, prophets announced how God was going to
judge Israel. But
the people continued to ignore God’s warnings and
His patience with the nation ran out. In 722, the Assyrians carried off the Northern Kingdom.
In 597 Nebuchadnezzar carried the royal family
of the Southern Kingdom and the Temple and palace
valuables to Babylon after besieging Jerusalem.
Some say that war is far more brutal today than
it was in Biblical times.
We have atomic weapons, biological warfare, and
other capabilities to destroy 50,000 or even half a
million people in the blink of an eye.
While our destructive capabilities may have
increased, this doesn’t necessarily mean that things
are more brutal today.
In
Genesis, we see total annihilation of enemies by
Simeon and Levi at Schechem.
Also in numerous instances when Israel
conquered a territory God commanded them to not leave
anyone alive. Because
of instances like these, we can not say that is more
horrific than it was in the Old Testament time period.
In some ways war is perhaps less brutal than it
used to be, in that today war is fought by armies of
people trained to fight and doesn't affect
"civilians" as much. In Israel's time, everyone was to be killed or taken captive.
The
New Testament brings fewer references to war
and a strong call for peace.
Jesus said that we are to love our enemies and
pray for them. Does
this mean that we are to no longer fight?
If another country were to invade our own,
Christians should pray for our enemies instead of
fighting against them.
This is really the heart of the matter and
where confusion starts.
There are a number of references to soldiers
and fighting found in the New Testament.
At the end of his life, Paul states that he has
“fought the good fight.”
In Ephesians he calls for Christians to put on
the whole armor of God.
Paul said in 2 Tim 2:3-4,
“Endure hardship
with us, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one
serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian
affairs- he wants to please his commanding officer.”
Many other places Paul makes reference to
soldiers. Not
once does he state that they are doing wrong by
fighting wars for the corrupt nation of Rome.
In fact, they are often the symbol of good
service and faithfulness, someone to model ourselves
after, rather than a person who breaks the commands of
God.
We are also told that we are to submit to
authority for God has placed those people where they
are at. If
a nation’s leader calls for us to go to war, unless
it is for a reason directly against God’s word, we
are to do so. But
obviously discernment must be used as well.
I
am unaware of any of our nations' leaders being
instructed by God to go war as the Israelites were
commanded, so obviously God isn't audibly instructing
any nation to go to war as he did the Israelites.
However, if we are faced with a situation where
we must discern if it is the Lord’s will, he will
answer if we ask.
If we are called to go to war and we aren’t
sure if it is God’s will, he will instruct us on
what we are to do.
A final thing to remember about war is that it
fulfills prophecy.
This makes in inevitable, whether it is good or
bad. The
gathering of the nation of Israel is a requirement of
the Last Days. After
WWII Israel became a nation once again.
Undoubtedly, Israel wouldn't have become a
nation at this time if not for the holocaust.
God used war, and all the horrific scenes from
the holocaust, to bring about his purpose.
We also see Jesus' prediction of the signs of
the end times in Matthew 24:7.
"Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom."
Also in the previous verse he said, "You
will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it
that you are not alarmed.
Such things must happen, but the end is still
to come." It
is quite apparent that war is a necessity and a tool
of God for His purposes.
The problem with war today as Christians is
that we do not know the will of God, as to whether or
not we should go to war.
While God uses war to achieve His own purposes,
this doesn't necessarily mean that war is good.
The brutality of war is certainly something
that must be a factor in how we look at war.
Looking back at the destruction of
Schechem,
Simeon and Levi brutally killed every man of the city.
This was not at the command of God.
"Jacob was alarmed and troubled at their
action."
Perhaps he found the bloodshed to be too great
and was distressed because of it.
Therefore I find that we should not rejoice in
the bloodshed, which is caused by war, but realize it
as a necessity at times.
Looking at war as a whole,
we, as Christians,
should realize that it is necessary in God's plan and
that such things are unavoidable.
While we should not necessarily condone the actions that take
place during war, we should not declare war evil or
ungodly. We
have no way of telling how God is using a war to serve
his purpose. For
instance, in 1940 people certainly couldn't have
understood God's plan to bring Jews back to Israel
because of the holocaust.
In the end we must simply remember that God is
sovereign and he can do as he pleases and can and will
use war as an instrument to achieve His purposes.
We certainly are no one to argue with God and
must accept war as something even if some bad things
come from it because God is working for good in the
end of it all.
To top of page |
