HOLY WAR

The world of the OT is replete with intertribal skirmishes, full-fledged incursions, prolonged periods of war, raiding and besieging. When we first encounter examples of this type of violence in the patriarchal narratives, God is presented merely as a family deity who cares for, provides for and protects the patriarchs to whom he promises land.

There is no question of their resorting to war to obtain what he has promised.

At the time of the exodus from Egypt, God appears as a national deity, a deliverer and “warrior” (Exod 15:3). In the book of Joshua, he appears as the “commander of the army of the LORD” (Josh 5:14), which leads naturally into the repeated description of him as “the LORD of hosts” (NRSV – see, for example, 1 Sam 4:4, where the less literal NIV translation reads “the LORD Almighty”). The word translated “hosts” can refer to any combination of forces, from the inhabitants of heaven (1 Kgs 22:19), to celestial bodies (Deut 4:19), to all kinds of natural forces including wind and water (Exod 14:21; Josh 10:9-11).

Consequently, it can be said that the Lord “fights” using various agents to fulfil his purposes. The first time the Israelites themselves become his instruments of war is in the battle against the Amalekites recorded in Exodus 17:8-16. By the time of David, the Lord was hailed as his peoples’ refuge in times of trouble, a deliverer, a stronghold and the one who trains people for war (2 Sam 22).

Given that there was no separation of politics and religion in ancient West Asia, wars there were always waged under the patronage of the national deity. Thus Israel’s wars are spoken of as Yahweh’s wars (1 Sam 18:17; 25:28), and going to war involved religious rituals that included sacrifices, consecration of the soldiers through purification ceremonies, vows, and inquiries of oracles to find Yahweh’s expressed command for war (Josh 6:2; 8:1-2). The strength of the physical army and its sophistication in weaponry were considered insignificant. The soldiers were to trust in Yahweh alone and not fear their enemies. He was the one who granted victory (Deut 2:31-33).

Victory was equated with divine blessings earned through obedience, and defeat with divine judgement because of disobedience (Num 21:3; Deut 2:33-34; Josh 10:30). Unfaithfulness to the Lord resulted in foreign nations dominating Israel; repentance was rewarded with the raising up of human agents who delivered the nation.

A component of many ancient West Asian wars was the devoting of an entire city to the deity by totally annihilating it, burning it and destroying everything associated with the enemy including their women, children, animals and possessions. This type of action received divine sanction in Deuteronomy 20:10-18 and 1 Samuel 15:3.

The extent to which Israelite practice was similar to that of their neighbours is clear from a Moabite victory stele erected by King Mesha of Moab in the ninth century BC. On it he reports that he followed the directions of his god, Chemosh, when he attacked the city of Nebo and slaughtered all its inhabitants as an offering to Chemosh. In many respects, his account parallels the way the Israelites were instructed to treat the inhabitants of the promised land when they entered it after the exodus from Egypt.

However, there are also significant differences that must be noted. Whereas the Moabites regarded the slaughter of their opponents as an offering to their god, the God of the Israelites neither desires nor accepts human sacrifice. Nor was he motivated by hatred for other people groups. Rather, the slaughter he commanded was a divine judgement on wicked people (Lev 18:24-30; Deut 9:5). His goal was to replace unjust kingdoms with his just kingdom (Josh 3:9-13; 8:30- 35). Moreover, he warned that if the Israelites turned their backs on him and resorted to idolatry, they would suffer the same fate (Deut 13:12-18). Significantly, those among the Canaanites who turned to the Lord were spared, as in the case of Rahab and her family (Josh 6).

Achan, a fellow Israelite, was executed for unfaithfulness (Josh 7). This type of holy war, which was standard military practice of the day, became God’s instrument for judgement at the time of the conquest and settlement of Canaan. As the centuries passed, the practice faded out in ancient West Asia. Accordingly, it is seen with decreasing frequency in the period of the monarchy.

Religious warfare has been resurrected today in the form of jihad, a type of religion-sanctioned war waged primarily to wipe out infidels. Jihad seems to closely resemble the biblical practice of holy war. Both claim to be sanctioned by God, and the participation of the soldiers is presented as a sacred duty. But there are striking differences. The scope of the wars described in the book of Joshua was strictly limited. The Israelites were allowed to conquer only specific areas and were to leave the boundaries of other nations intact (Deut 2). Jihad, however, aims to conquer the whole world.

Moreover, the wars described in the Bible were never used to propagate faith, whereas jihad seeks to establish Islamic hegemony. Unlike jihad, biblical holy war was a practice in keeping with ancient times. As such, holy war has no sanction today, and Christian nations have no mandate to practise it.

Prince Kumar