Ecclesiastes 3:1: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. . .3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. . .8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Life is full of conflict and struggles. The Lord sets the day of adversity over against the day of prosperity (Ecclesiastes 7:14), and just as there is a blessed time of peace, there are necessary times of war. Regrettably, war has ravaged the history of mankind––there is a loud and persistent noise of battle in the history books. As the end times approaches, Christ informs us to expect more and more of it (Matthew 24:6/Mark 13:7/Luke 21:9). War is naturally unbecoming of us. God refused to allow David to build a temple for the Lord on the basis that he had “shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars” (I Chronicles 22:8; 28:3).
The Bible extols the virtue of being a peaceable person, as it is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). When conflict arises, sinful human nature tends toward stirring up strife (see Proverbs 15:18; 29:22), escalating the problem and making a mountain out of a molehill. Strife is a manifestation of the pride (Proverbs 13:10; 28:25) and wrath (Proverbs 10:12) of man, which works not the righteousness of God (James 1:19-20). Jesus famously preached in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Our behavior should be marked with a determination to be peaceful (Romans 14:19; Ephesians 4:3; see Mark 9:50), to “seek peace, and ensue it” (I Peter 3:11; cf. Psalm 34:14), to diffuse angry persons and tame proud ones. Gideon, unlike Jephthah, handled the men of Ephraim’s dispute with him with tact and peaceable intentions, and thereby (again, unlike Jephthah) averted civil war and unnecessary bloodshed (Gideon, Judges 8:1-3; Jephthah, Judges 12:1-6).
Romans 12:18: If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
While the Bible does outline principles for warfare and fighting, it is essential that the New Testament Christian not get caught up in a physical battle. This was the mistake of Peter, who at Christ’s betrayal and arrest used his sword in a politically-charged move of attempting to prevent Jesus from fulfilling his spiritual mission (Matthew 26:51/Mark 14:47/Luke 22:49-51/John 18:10-11; see also Matthew 16:21-23). Jesus rebuked him: “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matthew 26:52). Though Jesus spoke of bringing a “sword” rather than peace (Matthew 10:34), he made it abundantly clear that his was not a political or militaristic fight (John 18:36). There is a similarity between the Christian claim to earthly rule and the Christian freedom from governmental taxes––we shouldn’t have to pay taxes (Matthew 17:24-27), but we do so to avoid a political battle and carry on with our spiritual mission. Though the earth belongs to the righteous (Psalm 37:29, 34; Matthew 5:5), and eventually we will inherit all things with Christ (Romans 8:17), yet we should not live our lives attempting to establish a kingdom on the earth. Though various false religions (e.g., Islam) and false Christian churches (e.g., the Catholic church) have preoccupied themselves with a global domination strategy, as those who adhere to the truth, we should be different. We should do all in our power to stay out of a political/physical squabble, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (I Timothy 2:2).
Ephesians 6:12: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Self-Defense
Self-defense is the idea that we have a moral right (and, perhaps, a moral duty) to defending ourselves against unjustified attacks on our person, or on those under our care/protection. Attacks against us could range in kind and degree, from being merely verbal, to political, to even being physical in nature. It is obvious from scripture that God is committed to upholding justice and fairness (e.g., Deuteronomy 32:4), and also that he expects us to do the same (e.g., Proverbs 21:3; Jeremiah 22:15). God has given to us the institution of human government to see to it that justice is indeed served (see Romans 13:1-4; I Peter 2:14). However, what should we do if we or someone around us is put in immediate danger, and it is in our power to help ourselves/them? Are we permitted, are we obligated, to defend ourselves and others?
First, God’s law and other scriptures make room for the use of self-defense.
In Exodus 22:1-4, a law concerning theft is enumerated, which sets forth a hypothetical scenario in which a thief comes to steal someone’s property. If the criminal’s goal of just stealing was uncertain (e.g., it was at night), the owner would not be guilty of murder (“there shall no blood be shed for him”) if he smote the man, to his death, in defense. In Deuteronomy 22:25-27, a law against rape, God seems to assume that, if the woman was in a populated area during the criminal’s perpetration of the rape, she would yell out, and someone would have saved her (obviously, using force to stop the rapist).
It was very common for households in ancient Israel to possess weapons (see Deuteronomy 23:13; Exodus 32:27), and travelling in the ancient world without men of war or weapons was dangerous (e.g., Esau travelled with 400 men, Genesis 32:6; see also 33:15). As David fled from Saul, he was careful to obtain a sword (see I Samuel 21; see also II Samuel 23:7-8). In the Song of Solomon, the Bible passingly mentions people possessing swords girded to themselves “because of fear in the night” (Song of Solomon 3:8). When the nation of Judah was revolting from the wicked reign of queen Athaliah, they compassed the young king Josiah with many armed men (II Kings 11:8), clearly to protect him from any counter-attack. As those of the captivity which had returned to Judah were re-building the wall of Jerusalem, they were under constant threat of death by the heathen about them (Nehemiah 4:7-8, 11). Nehemiah responded by setting watchmen (Nehemiah 4:9), arming half of the people full time (Nehemiah 4:13), and half-arming the other half of the people (Nehemiah 4:16-18). And finally, when Jesus re-commissioned the disciples shortly before his crucifixion, he commanded them to ensure they had a sword or two for protection in what would soon be the rapidly-deteriorating, hostile environment they were to travel in (Luke 22:35-38).
Nehemiah 4:14: And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
Second, various godly people in the Bible defended themselves against unjust oppression.
When Jesus was being interrogated by the Jewish leaders, he made a statement that angered one of the Jewish officers to the point where he “struck Jesus with the palm of his hand” (John 18:22). Jesus responded to this uncalled for reaction by reproving the man with these words: “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?” (John 18:23). This is unusual behavior of Jesus on trial, who for the most part kept quiet at false accusations (see Matthew 27:12-14; cf. Isaiah 53:7), but it proves an important point: Jesus was being accused that what he had just then said was sinful by the officer’s action and scoff, but Jesus wanted to make it clear that there was no sin in what he had said (see also I Peter 2:22-23). Paul also verbally stood up for himself to dismiss lies against his person (Acts 24:10; 26:2), and to exercise his rights as a Roman citizen (Acts 16:36-39; 22:24-29). In the book of Esther, the plot of Haman to destroy the Jews was reversed by Esther and Mordecai, and they were instead permitted “to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them” (Esther 8:11). The permission to use self-defense is never denied to the Christian in the Bible, and is everywhere embraced. Those who use Matthew 5:38-39 to prove that self-defense is unbiblical are misinterpreting a passage which is intended to be applied in personal, non-serious disputes with others. Jesus often defended himself (albeit, verbally) when people tried to kill him (e.g., John 10:31-39) if it interfered with his spiritual mission. And the fact—if it be a fact—that we should permit ourselves to be harmed or adversely effected by others under certain circumstances (e.g., I Corinthians 6:7) does not prove we should do so under all circumstances.
Third, the Bible places upon us the obligation to do good and help others when we have the ability.
The Bible declares that “to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). For a Christian, it is not merely a sin to do something wrong, but also to not do something we ought to. The Parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates our duty to help those who are unable to help themselves (Luke 10:30-37). Human life is exceedingly precious (e.g., Psalm 8:5-6), and if it would be wrong to withhold monetary assistance to those to whom we could help (see Proverbs 2:27), then it would certainly be wrong to withhold physical help (in the form of defense) to those who are in danger’s way (Proverbs 24:11-12; see also Leviticus 20:1-5).
Psalm 82:3-4: Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
In the final analysis, though, we must be greatly cautious in how we exercise self-defense. Philosophers and lawyers have developed five useful principles which may help to guide our use of self-defense:
- Innocence: the person who defended themselves did not initiate the conflict, or was not initially responsible for the conflict.
- Imminence: the person who defended themselves was reacting to an imminent threat, rather than preemptively (Psalm 7:4; Proverbs 3:29-30) or revengefully (Romans 12:19).
- Proportionality: the person who defended themselves did so with a force proportional/equivalent to the perceived threat.
- Avoidance: the person who defended themselves was practically unable to avoid the conflict.
- Reasonableness: the person who defended themselves did so in a manner that any objective observer would deem as reasonable.
Ultimately, the believer’s decision on whether or not to retaliate to a potential threat is up to their discretion and conviction. Although “the horse is prepared against the day of battle,” yet still, “safety is of the LORD” (Proverbs 21:31). God has promised that he will protect us from both “the scourge of the tongue” (Job 5:21) and the “weapon that is formed against” us (Isaiah 54:17; see also Ezra 8:21-23, 31). Oftentimes, the best response to conflicts (even life-threatening ones) is non-violent pacifism (see Proverbs 16:14; 21:14; Ecclesiastes 10:4). If we are right with the Lord, he is able to make even our enemies to be at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7), and will even prepare us a table in their presence (Psalm 23:5).
Psalm 4:8: I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Warfare
Though it would be preferable if we could have at all times peace on earth, the sinfulness of mankind prevents any such worldwide ceasefire. There is “a time of war.” The Lord himself is “a man of war” (Exodus 15:3; Isaiah 42:13), and others in the Bible are commended for their warrior occupation (e.g., David, I Samuel 16:18; II Samuel 17:8; see also Hebrews 11:34, “waxed valiant in fight”), or their skillfulness (I Chronicles 5:18; Psalm 18:34, cf. II Samuel 22:35) and expertise (I Chronicles 12:33, 35, 36) in war. When John the Baptist was giving advice to the various people that came to be baptized of him, he at one time addressed the soldiers (Luke 3:14); he did not tell them to leave the Roman military, but instead regulated how they should behave morally in that given occupation.
Psalm 144:1: Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.
Though Solomon was “a man of rest” and experienced “peace and quietness” from militaristic enemies for the greater part of his reign (I Chronicles 22:9), he still had a ready army (II Chronicles 8:9). Every nation, therefore, should have an apt and well-ordered militia to defend its citizens. When a country does not have proper militaristic defenses, they are susceptible to wicked oppressors. The Egyptians did their best in weakening the Israelites to prevent their exodus by enslaving them and killing their newborn male children (Exodus 1:9-22). The Philistines, when they had power over Israel in the days of Saul, took from them all of their weapons of war and smiths (I Samuel 13:19-22).
Consonant with common sentiment, God blesses righteous countries with peace (Leviticus 26:6-8), and curses those which go against his commandments with wars. God is able to make “wars to cease unto the end of the earth” (Psalm 46:9), and to bring us to a peaceful grave before our nation is ravaged by war (II Kings 22:20; see also Isaiah 57:1-2, cf. I Kings 14:12-13). In Jehoshaphat’s day, God put his fear on all kingdoms around Judah, that there was little to no war (II Chronicles 17:10). Asa, a king who did “that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God” (II Chronicles 14:2), experienced great rest from war during his reign which allowed him to build up his cities, walls, etc. (II Chronicles 14:6-7). However, when he turned aside to trusting in the heathen nation of Syria for help, God declared, “from henceforth thou shalt have wars” (II Chronicles 16:1-9). The Bible records that there was “sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul” (I Samuel 14:52), probably due in large part to the disobedience of king Saul. When Abimelech slaughtered all of his father Gideon’s children and set himself up as a king, the surviving son Jotham uttered a divine curse against him: “let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech” (Judges 9:20), which came to pass (Judges 9:56-57). Solomon had, after forsaking the Lord, various enemies that God stirred up against him that troubled his kingdom (I Kings 11:14, 23, 26).
Deuteronomy 32:29-30: O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
War Protocol
From God’s own nation of ancient Israel, we see a general pattern for other nations that would desire to follow in God’s righteous decrees. In Numbers 1:2-3, the two minimum requirements to be a soldier were that one be a male and above the age of 20. Other requirements they had to meet were that they must have had no pressing personal obligations (Deuteronomy 20:5-7), they were brave and fearless (Deuteronomy 20:8; Judges 7:3), and they were to be obedient (Joshua 5:6; 22:2; I Chronicles 12:33, 38, “which could keep rank”).
Conditions of Peace
Just as with interpersonal disputes, nations should not be quick to declare war. Oftentimes, an international dispute (or even a national one) can be resolved by peaceful negotiations. “Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good” (Ecclesiastes 9:18). When Joab and his men came at the command of David to besiege the city Abel of Beth-maachah in order to kill Sheba the son of Bichri, a wise woman of the city conducted a peace deal with Joab to prevent the unnecessary battle (see II Samuel 20:14-22, esp. v. 19). When Israel perceived that the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half-Manasseh (dwelling on the east of the Jordan river) were beginning a civil war, they first sent messengers to investigate, and, as a result, did not end up going to war against them (see Joshua 22). Again, our ultimate desire should be for peace, not war: “scatter thou the people that delight in war” (Psalm 68:30). Righteousness, more often than not, will give rise to peace (Isaiah 32:17; see also Proverbs 12:20), and wickedness to battles and bloodshed (Isaiah 59:3-8).
Psalm 120:6-7: My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.7 I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.
Conditions of War
There are times, however, where peace is not an option (see the story of Jehu, II Kings 9). Under some circumstances, war may not merely be permissible, but actually the best option, as long as it follows moral criteria. This idea has been developed by various Christian thinkers through the ages, and has been aptly called “Just War Theory.” Most wars are indeed begun and fought for sinful and foolish reasons (see James 4:1-2), like unreasonable power-grab or land-grab missions. Many battles that are fought are simply not of God (see Deuteronomy 1:42; II Chronicles 35:20-24). However, if “in righteousness” Jesus is able to “judge and make war” (Revelation 19:11), then it stands to reason that there are times where our own country may need to also wage a just war.
When a nation deliberates about going to war, they must use great care and wisdom in so doing—“with good advice make war” (Proverbs 20:18; see also Proverbs 24:6). A cost-benefit analysis, a pros and cons evaluation, and an assessment of likelihood to succeed are essential to pre-war deliberations (see Luke 14:31). The greater good of the nation, as opposed to the greater good of the elite, should be in the mind of government leaders when choosing whether to engage in warfare. Israel’s wars were largely theologically-orchestrated (e.g., Numbers 31; Judges 21), and do not help much by way of an example for secular countries. Perhaps one good example of a just cause for war from the Biblical stories would be severe oppression by a foreign nation (see Numbers 10:9; also Deuteronomy 4:34; the battles in the book of Judges). However (again, for theological reasons), Jeremiah was convinced that the retaliatory fighting of Judah against the oppressive Babylonian empire was wrong (e.g., Jeremiah 27:12). There are many nuances to analyzing the justice of any given war.
The Wars of Canaan
A major event that the Pentateuch (Moses’ books) leads up to and which forms the setting for the rest of the Old Testament (and much of the New Testament) is the war against the Canaanites. The Canaanites (also collectively called the “Amorites”) were a medley of people groups who inhabited much of what came to be the land of Israel. They were an exceedingly wicked people (e.g., see Leviticus 18:24-25), rife, as just about every heathen country was in ancient times, with false religion and abominable practices.
Genesis 15:16: But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
God has acted and continues to act in history to effect what is just and right in the world. When a nation is given wholly over to sin, he devises means to destroy that nation (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19). One means he has used to do so was through the sword of another nation (e.g., Assyria was used to destroy Israel, II Kings 17; Babylon was used to destroy Tyre, Ezekiel 29:18). In decreeing the utter destruction of the Canaanites, God was able to accomplish multiple purposes: (a) punish and eradicate a cluster of practically reprobate nations; (b) stop the evil and abominable acts being perpetrated by the Canaanites; (c) fulfill his promise to Abraham to give him the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 15:18; 17:18).
Jeremiah 51:19-20: The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms.
Exodus 23:27-30: I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
Many have doubted the justice of God in this campaign against the Canaanites. They charge him with “genocide” and “terrorism,” “moral atrocities,” “infanticide,” and so on. However, the believer should always keep in mind the words of Abraham: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). It is true that God did command the destruction of the Canaanites, and was sweeping in his condemnation that they should “save alive nothing that breatheth” (see Deuteronomy 20:16-18), but there are various reasons why this is not a moral problem:
- God is the giver and taker of life. “I kill, and I make alive,” God says (Deuteronomy 32:39). Our life and breath are given to us as gifts by God (Job 33:4; Acts 17:25), and he is not under any obligation whatsoever to us, including in the giving to us of our next breath. If he so wishes, as the Almighty God, he has the power as well as the authority and right to take our lives from us for any reason he deems fit, and would not be unjust in the slightest for so doing—“Is it not lawful for me to what I will with mine own?” (Matthew 20:15).
- The Canaanites were very wicked. The wars of Canaan had absolutely nothing to do with the ethnicity of the Canaanites, but rather with their sin. If anything, the wars show us just how seriously God hates sin (e.g., Psalm 7:11).
- The Canaanites could have evaded the war. The Canaanites had full knowledge about the mightiness of the Israelites (Joshua 2:9-11), and they could have made peace with Israel and assimilated into their Hebrew culture (e.g., Rahab the harlot, Joshua 2:12-14), or they simply could have left the land. It is a sober reality, though, that the vast majority of Canaanites actively resisted the Israelite army (e.g., Joshua 9:1-2; 11:19).
- The wars of Canaan were temporally and locally unique. Nowhere in scripture does God use the Israelite conquest of Canaan as an example to be followed by other nations. Rather, the conquest was unique for that particular historical time period, and is not a pattern for future militaristic justification. Beyond this, the Israelites were not even successful in fulfilling God’s edict (Judges 1-2; 3:1-3).
The Christian’s War
The war the Christian should be engaged in is the war of the soul. Before someone’s salvation, they are enemies of God (Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21), and when they put their trust in Christ, they have raised the white flag of surrender. The “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), Jesus, “made peace through the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:20; see also Ephesians 2:14-15). In all of Paul’s letters, he writes a customary greeting, and always placed his issuance of “grace” before that of “peace” (e.g., Romans 1:7). This is because one cannot have true peace without the grace of God’s salvation. We are commissioned, by our union with Christ, in the Lord’s army, and are expected to bring to mankind the message of the gospel of peace (Romans 10:15; Ephesians 6:15; see also Acts 10:36). This is called “the good fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12; see also II Timothy 4:7), the contending “for the faith” (Jude 3). When we engage in soul-winning, we are fighting a battle with the aim of delivering souls bound in captivity to the enemy, Satan (II Timothy 2:25-26). In the New Testament, God is not waging a physical war, but a spiritual one/
John 3:17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Beyond this battle for the souls of men, the believer has three enemies he is always in conflict with: the flesh (Romans 7:23), the world (I John 2:15-16), and the devil (I Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:17). In these fights, as in soul-winning, we must take unto ourselves the whole armor of God if we are to withstand evil, and stand for the right (see Ephesians 6:10-18). Our weapons are spiritual (see II Corinthians 10:4), and our commander Christ Jesus, the “captain of the host of the LORD” (Joshua 5:14). In so battling, we can have the victory in our life over sin (the flesh), and death (the world), and hell (the devil), and we will be “more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37).
I Peter 2:11: Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.
II Timothy 2:3-4: Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.