Study Focus:Gen. 15:16; Lev. 18:24–30; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Exod. 23:28–30; Deut. 20:10, 15–18; Isa. 9:6.
As mentioned last week, the issue of divine war in the Old Testament is perplexing. Dealing with this issue involves understanding the cosmic-conflict worldview and analyzing biblical data properly. The interpreter should consider at least four aspects when reviewing the biblical record.
First, modern readers often impose their contemporary view of war on Scripture. Religious war in the Old Testament theocracy is unique and must be interpreted accordingly.
Second, it also is necessary to understand the historical context of Canaan and its religion to grasp why its inhabitants were being expelled from the land.
Third, it never was God’s intention to obliterate the inhabitants of the land; He had better plans for them. However, because of their persistence in continuing the route of destruction, God exerted His role as Judge. His loving nature cannot allow evil to go unchecked.
Finally, when reading any problematic part of the Old Testament, it is imperative to note the trajectory of God’s intentions for His people and humanity.
War, with all its terrifying sequels, never was part of God’s plan for this world. He is working to restore everlasting peace in our world and in the universe. Yet, to do that, He needs to eliminate evil once and for all, not only in a powerful way but also in a wise way.
Part II: Commentary
The Biblical Concept of Holy War
In his commentary on Exodus, Douglas K. Stuart offers an insightful characterization of divine war in the biblical sense. This kind of war, usually expressed by the Hebrew verb haram, or the noun herem, involves destroying human life on a large scale and sometimes property and animal life. Because of its pertinence, Stuart’s list is reproduced here with some adjustments (adapted from Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus: The New American Commentary [Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2006], vol. 2, pp. 395–397).
In the unique landscape of ancient Israel, no professional army was permitted. The battles were fought by amateurs and volunteers, a stark contrast with the professionalized military structures in antiquity and those we are familiar with today.
Soldiers were not paid. They obeyed God’s commands in the covenant context and were not to fight for personal gain. In many cases, this meant they were prohibited from taking spoil or plunder.
Divine or holy war could be fought only for the conquest or defense of the Promised Land in that particular historical conjunction. After the conquest, any war of aggression was strictly prohibited. Israel was called to fight for the Promised Land in a specific geographic and historical context. Once they had conquered the land and consolidated their territory, the Israelites were not supposed to expand the borders of the Promised Land through war. God had not called His people to become an expansionist military empire.
The initiation of holy war, considered a divine act, was solely in God’s hands, carried out through His chosen prophets, such as Moses and Joshua. This underscores that war should never be a human initiative but rather a sacred duty.
God’s involvement in holy war required spiritual preparation, which included fasting, abstinence from sex, or other forms of self-denial. The ceremony of circumcision (Josh. 5:1–9) and the celebration of the Passover (Josh. 5:10–12), in the context of the covenant renewal, were part of this preparation.
An Israelite who violated any of these rules of holy war would become an enemy. As the violation was punishable by death, the defiant person would become a herem, namely, devoted to destruction.
Finally, God’s direct involvement led to decisive and rapid victories in the context of faithful holy war. Examples of this include many battles during the conquest (Josh. 6:16–21, Josh. 10:1–15) and occasions when Israel or Judah was defending its territory, with God’s help, from powerful invading forces (2 Sam. 5:22–25). Conversely, there are negative examples in which God’s lack of involvement resulted in defeat (1 Sam. 31:1–7), such as when the Israelites faced the Amalekites without divine permission and were defeated near Hormah (Num. 14:39–45) or when they were defeated by the insignificant army of Ai (Josh. 7:2–4).
With the end of the theocratic nation, the application of these rules was no longer feasible, and for this reason holy war became obsolete. Unfortunately, religious discourse has been used to justify wars even today. However, in light of Scripture, such a use represents a distortion of the biblical text, a fact that should make us all the more critical, and discerning, of the rhetoric used to justify wars nowadays.
The present rules demonstrate the unique character of divine war in the Bible. The practice of war by Israel reflects a divine accommodation of the human condition. However, in a culture in which war, brutality, and violence were the norm, we learn through these rules three essential aspects of holy war that should be kept in mind when modern readers deal with these perplexing biblical passages: (1) war was limited to specific situations; (2) righteous wars were defined by God, who alone knows the human heart and the future; and (3) war, ultimately, represented a deviation from God’s trajectory of peace.
The Good News About God’s Wrath
Divine war is a concrete manifestation of God’s wrath, not only toward the Canaanites and other nations but also toward His own people in biblical times. The observations above may explain the nature of divine war, but they do not explain how to harmonize these apparent contradictory dimensions of God’s personality: love and anger. In fact, God’s wrath is not a popular topic today. The famous Protestant theologian C. H. Dodd considered the wrath of God to be “an archaic phrase.”—Dodd, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans: The Moffatt New Testament Commentary (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1932), p. 20. Despite being a less popular topic today, God’s wrath cannot be overlooked, as it is mentioned 580 times in the Old Testament and 100 times in the New Testament. Divine wrath is rooted in four immutable aspects of God’s character.
First, God is holy. Israel is called to be holy because the Lord is holy (Lev. 11:44). Throughout the book of Isaiah, God is referred to as the “Holy One of Israel” 27 times (see Isa. 1:4, Isa. 60:14). The angels declare “Holy, holy, holy” (Rev. 4:8, Isa. 6:3) in God’s presence. His holiness sets Him apart from sinful human beings, who cannot even endure a glimpse of His physical presence without falling as if dead on the ground (Dan. 10:8, 9; Rev. 1:17). God’s holiness is incompatible with evil, which is why He abhors sin, based on this intrinsic aspect of His nature. In his dialogue with God, the prophet Habakkuk exclaims: “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness” (Hab. 1:13, NKJV).
Second, God is righteous. David affirms: “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright” (Ps. 11:7, NKJV). Even in the human sphere, we hope justice is served. It is interesting to see how people rightly demand justice when faced with injustice at the human level, but struggle with the idea of God, as the ultimate Judge, administering justice by condemning evil and those who embrace it. In the vivid image of the souls of the martyrs under the altar, they cry out, “ ‘How long, holy and true Lord, will you not judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?’ ” (Rev. 6:10, LEB). They expect justice, for God is just.
Third, God creates beings with free will. God did not program His creatures to love and obey Him. Precisely for this reason, they can make bad choices that go against His holy will and trigger bad consequences. This prerogative is evident in the concept of the covenant, which implies an agreement between two parts. Reflecting on this aspect of the covenant, Joshua testifies to Israel, “ ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’ ” (Josh. 24:15, NKJV).
Finally, God is love. Some may find it puzzling how God’s wrath can reveal His love. In essence, God is also love (1 John 4:8). He declares His love to Israel in compassionate terms: “ ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love’ ” (Jer. 31:3, NKJV). Indifference, not wrath, is the opposite of love. Thus, an indifferent God can be worthy of fear but never devotion. He is anything but apathetic. In human terms, parents hate, and react accordingly to, what makes their children suffer. Why would we expect less from God?
Of course, a perfect God does not experience wrath as we do. In a mysterious sense, His wrath is perfect and holy. Such a mystery is present at the cross of Jesus, where love and anger, mercy and judgment, and life and death are powerfully intertwined. The outpouring of the Divine wrath is genuine and concrete. Still, for those who trust in Christ, humbly surrendering all self-confidence and pride at the foot of His cross, there is no reason for fear because “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18, NKJV). Furthermore, Jesus experienced God’s wrath in our place.
Part III: Life Application
Holy War Today?
Consider how religious discourse has been used to justify and advance war since antiquity. In the Christian context, the Crusades are a good example. In this military campaign, sanctioned by the Roman Church, the Crusaders believed they were on a spiritual mission to free the Holy Land from the Islamic invaders.
Although most of us agree that any nation has the right to defend itself against aggressors, why should the religious rhetoric of the holy war not be used today? (In the formulation of your answer, remember the biblical concept of holy war.)
Victory by Love
Jesus won the war between good and evil in an unexpected and unconventional way. Reflect with your class on the following thought:
“So rather than fight and ‘win,’ Jesus chose to ‘lose.’ Or better, he chose to lose by kingdom-of-the-world standards so that he might win by kingdom-of-God standards. His trust was not in the power of the sword but in the power of radical, self-sacrificial love, and so he let himself be crucified. Three days later, God vindicated his trust in the power of sacrificial love. He had carried out God’s will and, by his sacrifice, defeated death and the forces of evil that hold this world in bondage (Col. 2:13–15).”—Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), p. 39.
How can you apply the example of sacrificial love, set by Jesus, as you fight spiritual warfare today?
Notes
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Key Text: Joshua 10:42
Study Focus: Gen. 15:16; Lev. 18:24–30; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Exod. 23:28–30; Deut. 20:10, 15–18; Isa. 9:6.
As mentioned last week, the issue of divine war in the Old Testament is perplexing. Dealing with this issue involves understanding the cosmic-conflict worldview and analyzing biblical data properly. The interpreter should consider at least four aspects when reviewing the biblical record.
First, modern readers often impose their contemporary view of war on Scripture. Religious war in the Old Testament theocracy is unique and must be interpreted accordingly.
Second, it also is necessary to understand the historical context of Canaan and its religion to grasp why its inhabitants were being expelled from the land.
Third, it never was God’s intention to obliterate the inhabitants of the land; He had better plans for them. However, because of their persistence in continuing the route of destruction, God exerted His role as Judge. His loving nature cannot allow evil to go unchecked.
Finally, when reading any problematic part of the Old Testament, it is imperative to note the trajectory of God’s intentions for His people and humanity.
War, with all its terrifying sequels, never was part of God’s plan for this world. He is working to restore everlasting peace in our world and in the universe. Yet, to do that, He needs to eliminate evil once and for all, not only in a powerful way but also in a wise way.
Part II: Commentary
The Biblical Concept of Holy War
In his commentary on Exodus, Douglas K. Stuart offers an insightful characterization of divine war in the biblical sense. This kind of war, usually expressed by the Hebrew verb haram, or the noun herem, involves destroying human life on a large scale and sometimes property and animal life. Because of its pertinence, Stuart’s list is reproduced here with some adjustments (adapted from Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus: The New American Commentary [Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2006], vol. 2, pp. 395–397).
With the end of the theocratic nation, the application of these rules was no longer feasible, and for this reason holy war became obsolete. Unfortunately, religious discourse has been used to justify wars even today. However, in light of Scripture, such a use represents a distortion of the biblical text, a fact that should make us all the more critical, and discerning, of the rhetoric used to justify wars nowadays.
The present rules demonstrate the unique character of divine war in the Bible. The practice of war by Israel reflects a divine accommodation of the human condition. However, in a culture in which war, brutality, and violence were the norm, we learn through these rules three essential aspects of holy war that should be kept in mind when modern readers deal with these perplexing biblical passages: (1) war was limited to specific situations; (2) righteous wars were defined by God, who alone knows the human heart and the future; and (3) war, ultimately, represented a deviation from God’s trajectory of peace.
The Good News About God’s Wrath
Divine war is a concrete manifestation of God’s wrath, not only toward the Canaanites and other nations but also toward His own people in biblical times. The observations above may explain the nature of divine war, but they do not explain how to harmonize these apparent contradictory dimensions of God’s personality: love and anger. In fact, God’s wrath is not a popular topic today. The famous Protestant theologian C. H. Dodd considered the wrath of God to be “an archaic phrase.”—Dodd, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans: The Moffatt New Testament Commentary (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1932), p. 20. Despite being a less popular topic today, God’s wrath cannot be overlooked, as it is mentioned 580 times in the Old Testament and 100 times in the New Testament. Divine wrath is rooted in four immutable aspects of God’s character.
First, God is holy. Israel is called to be holy because the Lord is holy (Lev. 11:44). Throughout the book of Isaiah, God is referred to as the “Holy One of Israel” 27 times (see Isa. 1:4, Isa. 60:14). The angels declare “Holy, holy, holy” (Rev. 4:8, Isa. 6:3) in God’s presence. His holiness sets Him apart from sinful human beings, who cannot even endure a glimpse of His physical presence without falling as if dead on the ground (Dan. 10:8, 9; Rev. 1:17). God’s holiness is incompatible with evil, which is why He abhors sin, based on this intrinsic aspect of His nature. In his dialogue with God, the prophet Habakkuk exclaims: “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness” (Hab. 1:13, NKJV).
Second, God is righteous. David affirms: “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright” (Ps. 11:7, NKJV). Even in the human sphere, we hope justice is served. It is interesting to see how people rightly demand justice when faced with injustice at the human level, but struggle with the idea of God, as the ultimate Judge, administering justice by condemning evil and those who embrace it. In the vivid image of the souls of the martyrs under the altar, they cry out, “ ‘How long, holy and true Lord, will you not judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?’ ” (Rev. 6:10, LEB). They expect justice, for God is just.
Third, God creates beings with free will. God did not program His creatures to love and obey Him. Precisely for this reason, they can make bad choices that go against His holy will and trigger bad consequences. This prerogative is evident in the concept of the covenant, which implies an agreement between two parts. Reflecting on this aspect of the covenant, Joshua testifies to Israel, “ ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’ ” (Josh. 24:15, NKJV).
Finally, God is love. Some may find it puzzling how God’s wrath can reveal His love. In essence, God is also love (1 John 4:8). He declares His love to Israel in compassionate terms: “ ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love’ ” (Jer. 31:3, NKJV). Indifference, not wrath, is the opposite of love. Thus, an indifferent God can be worthy of fear but never devotion. He is anything but apathetic. In human terms, parents hate, and react accordingly to, what makes their children suffer. Why would we expect less from God?
Of course, a perfect God does not experience wrath as we do. In a mysterious sense, His wrath is perfect and holy. Such a mystery is present at the cross of Jesus, where love and anger, mercy and judgment, and life and death are powerfully intertwined. The outpouring of the Divine wrath is genuine and concrete. Still, for those who trust in Christ, humbly surrendering all self-confidence and pride at the foot of His cross, there is no reason for fear because “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18, NKJV). Furthermore, Jesus experienced God’s wrath in our place.
Part III: Life Application
Holy War Today?
Consider how religious discourse has been used to justify and advance war since antiquity. In the Christian context, the Crusades are a good example. In this military campaign, sanctioned by the Roman Church, the Crusaders believed they were on a spiritual mission to free the Holy Land from the Islamic invaders.
Although most of us agree that any nation has the right to defend itself against aggressors, why should the religious rhetoric of the holy war not be used today? (In the formulation of your answer, remember the biblical concept of holy war.)
Victory by Love
Jesus won the war between good and evil in an unexpected and unconventional way. Reflect with your class on the following thought:
“So rather than fight and ‘win,’ Jesus chose to ‘lose.’ Or better, he chose to lose by kingdom-of-the-world standards so that he might win by kingdom-of-God standards. His trust was not in the power of the sword but in the power of radical, self-sacrificial love, and so he let himself be crucified. Three days later, God vindicated his trust in the power of sacrificial love. He had carried out God’s will and, by his sacrifice, defeated death and the forces of evil that hold this world in bondage (Col. 2:13–15).”—Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), p. 39.
How can you apply the example of sacrificial love, set by Jesus, as you fight spiritual warfare today?
Notes