Warfare, in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Transcription

1 Moore Theoogica Coege Library Moore Access Ethics Warfare, in New Dictionary of Bibica Theoogy Longman, Tremper Temper Longmen III, Warfare, pages in New dictionary of bibica theoogy Downoaded from Myrrh, the Moore Coege Institutiona Repository

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3 I // NEW DICTIONARY OF BIBLICAL THEOLOGY Editors: T. Desmond Aexander Director of Christian Training, Union Theoogica Coege, Befast; formery Lecturerin Semitic Studies, Queen's University of Befast Brian S. Rosner Formery Lecturer in New Testament, University of Aberdeen; teaches at Abbotseigh and ectures at the Macquarie Christian Studies Institute in.. Sydney, Austraia Consuting editors: D. A. Carson. Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangeica Divinity Schoo, Deerfied, Iinois Graeme Godsworthy. Lecturer in.od Testament and Bibica Theoogy, Moore Theoogica Coege, Sydney Qrganizing editor: Steve Carter Reference Books Editor, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester Inter-Varsity Press Leicester, Engand InterVarsity Press Downers Grove, Iinois, USA

4 WAGES, see REWARD D.G.REID arriors of t vioence en to the f martyraby the 'A too West has bibica ave been ters and that this rn for its petus to uary the argued, it subverts WARFARE Introduction *Vioence, confict and warfare are found throughout the Bibe. From Genesis 3 (the story of the fa) to Reveation 20, we read of strife and fighting. Ony the first two chapters of the<bibe (creation) and the ast two (recreation) fa outside the ong period of human confict. But the confict is more than human. *God 835

5 Warfare Who is he, this King of gory? The LORD Amighty :_ he is the King of gory. (Ps. 24:7-0) Perhaps the best known characteristic of, OT sacra war is that Israe does riot rey on a arge army or powerfu weapons. In fact, the nation is not expected to have many troops. As Gideon assembes an army for an assaut 'on the Midianites, God informs him that he has 'too many.men for me to deiver Midian '.into their. hands' (Judg.. 7:2). He directs '.Gideon to reduce the size of his army, first by aowing a who are afraid to go home and then by making the remaining sodiers drink water from the wadi Harod: No specia ski is invoved in this 'test';its ony purpose is to get rid of the vast majority of the troops. Further, the Israeite army does not use powerfu weapons.' Joshua. hamstrings horses and burns chariots (Josh. :6-9) captured in batte. David does not wear armour in the fight with Goiath and is equipped ony with a sing ( Sam. 7). This. strategy is at. the heart of Yahweh war. Why fight with fewer sodiers and with ess effective weapons than one's opponents have? To do so is to acknowedge that *victory resuts not from. human ski or resources, but ony from God's power and wi. As the psamist expressed it: Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.. They.are brought to their knees and fa, '... but we rise up and stand firm. (Ps. 20:7) Of course, this is not to say that the peope ~ of God stand idy by whie God.wins the victory. On each occasion God cas on his peope.to act in some way. Even in Jericho, I where the was. fa down (Josh. 6), Israe :J must march and shout. God wins the victory,,~ btit the peope participate activey. Afte~ a batte "i Yahweh fights for Israe in their sacra wars against their enemies. Thus Israe; when obedient, aways wins. The praise, however, I goes ony to God, without whom Israe woud have been defeated. The OT incudes many songs ceebrating the victories that God won for Israe. Orie of the most notabe is the Song of the Sea, associated with the crossing of the Red Sea: I wi sing to the LORD, for he is highy exated. The horse and its rider he has hured into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my savation. He is my God, and I wi praise him, my father's God, and I wi exat him. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. (Exod. 5:-3) Many psams were written in order to ceebrate God's victory in batte (cf. Ps. 68). Perhaps the most difficut aspect of Yahweh war for modern readers to understand is the Qerem; This is a difficut word to transate, but it expresses.the idea that a the booty and the prisoners of war are the property of Yahweh. After a, Yahweh is responsibe for the victory; he deserves the spois. This means, on the one hand, that a the spois (the precious metas and other treasures) are paced in the tempe treasuries. On the other hand, it means that 'a the prisoners of war - men, women, and chidren - are executed. Sinfu peope who do not atone for their sin by sacrifice are destroyed because of their wrongdoing. The.five phases of Yahweh war Having synthesized the materia on Yahweh war in the OT, we wi now describe the deveopment of the theme through five phases from Genesis to Reveation. God fights the fesh-and-bood enemies of his peope... In the OT, God frequenty appears to fight on behaf of his peope. He fights against the Egyptians at the Red Sea, the Canaanites during the wars of conquest, the encroaching foreign nations during the period of the judges, and so on unti the eve of the exie. The prophet *Nahum utiizes the divine warrior theme as he ooks forward to the destruction in the near future of Nineveh, capita city of Israe's oppressor Assyria. The prophet spoke some time between 664 BC, when the city of Thebes (whose defeat is remembered in 3:8) fe, and 62 BC, the date of the fa of Nineveh. God fights for his 837

6 Warfare himsef enters history and takes the roe of a warrior, fighting both human and spiritua enemies; Warfare. in the Bibe is more than a socioogica category, describing historica events; it is an important and pervasive theoogica theme. Furthermore, as we wi see, the wars of the Bibe are more than isoated events; they provide a unified but varied story as we proceed from Genesis to Reveation. However, rather than moving book by book through the Bibe, we wi, expore this important theme first by describing the theoogy of OT war, and then by tracing the deveopment of the theme of divine warfare through five phases from the beginning to the end of the bibica reveation. Divine. warfare has sometimes been caed 'hoy war'. Whie this term is never used in the, Bibe, it correcty emphasizes the sacra nature of divine warfare. However, due to the term's undesirabe associations today, it is more usua to refer to sacra warfare in the Bibe as 'Yahweh war', since Yahweh is at the centre of the batte. The theoogy o~ Yahweh war We garner the evidence for the foowing description from two major sources:. the aws for the waging of warfare in ~Deuteronomy 7 and 20, and 2. the descriptions of Yahweh.war in the historica books. We wi synthesize this materia and present it under three headings:. before a war; 2. during a war; 3. after a war. Before a war The *Israeites did no.t decide on the appropriate time to initiate war. God reveaed to them, in a variety of ways, when and whom they were to fight. *Joshua 5:3-5 narrates a theophany in which God, the warrior, appears to Joshua and gives him the batte strategy for the defeat of Jericho. In Samue 23:-5, God does not initiay revea his desire that *David ead his army against the Phiistines at Keiah. David hears that the enemy has attacked the Israeites there, and responds by asking the LORD, through the priest Abiathar and presumaby with the oracuar ephod, if he ' shoud attack. He proceeds ony after the orace repies in the affirmative. In Joshua 9, without consuting the LORD, Joshua decides not to wage war against the Gibeonites, and thus incurs God's dispeasure. The sacred nature of warfare in the Bibe is reveaed by. the rituas which surround it. Many of these were performed before the batte: Israeite sodiers had. to make ritua preparations to fight in a Yahweh war. In the unusua circumstances preceding the.batte of Jericho, the Israeite men underwent circumcision, which was not miitariy wise (Josh. 5; cf. Gen. 34 ). From reports ike that of Samue 3:-5,. it seems that every act of Yahweh war was preceded by *sacrifice. During a war. The sacred nature of warfare in ancient Israe is reveaed aso in the peope's march into batte. The ark of the covenant was the Israeites' most potent symbo of God's presence. During times of peace it was odged in the most. hoy pace in the tabernace {or, ater, the tempe). At times of war, however, the army took it with them. The ark, representing God's presence. as divine warrior, took the ead as.the nation marched to war. During the widerness wanderings, the ark ed Israe during its. sow march towards the battes of the conquest. That the wanderings were understood to be the march of an army into batte is shown by the words of Moses at the beginning of a day's march as the ark set out: Rise up, 0 LORD!.. May your enemies be scattered;. may your fo<rs fee before you. (Num. 0:35, NN), The ocation of. the ark in the Israeites' camp is a further indication of its roe as the symbo.of God's presence as warrior. The ark was situated at the centre of the camp, the pace where the tent of the human war eader woud normay be found {Num. 2). Psam 24 is a iturgy recited at the concusion of a successfu Yahweh war. As the army, ed by the priests bearing the ark, approaches the gates of Jerusaem, there is a ritua interchange between the doorkeeper and the army:, Lift up your heads, 0 you gates; be ifted.up, you ancient doors, that the King of gory may come in. Who is this King of gory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in batte. Lift up your heads, 0 you gates; ift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of gory may come in'. t I t t '[' y r r.,y L...,.; 836

7 Warfare peope when they are obedient to his aw in fufiment of the *covenant/treaty bessing recorded in (e.g.) Deuteronomy 28:7: 'The LORD wi grant that the enemies who rise up against you wi be defeated before you. They wi come at you from one direction but fee from you in seven.' God fights against Israe However, Israe is not consistenty faithfu to the Lord. In the.covenant/treaty between God and Israe, there are not ony bessings for obedience but aso curses upon disobedience (Deut. 28:49-52). This second 'phase' overaps historicay with the first. After Jericho comes Ai (Josh. 7). With God's hep Israe defeats the impressive.waed city of Jericho, but is then easiy defeated by the inhabitants of Ai (which means 'ruin'.) because one individua, Achan, breaks the berem (Josh. 7:24-25). Later Israe is defeated despite the presence of the ark of the covenant, since it is regarded by the war eaders, Hophni and Phinehas, more as a magic charm than as a symbo of God's presence ( Sam. 4:-). That Israe oses this batte as a resut not of God's inabiity to rescue. them but of his unwiingness to do so is. evident from the account of his power put forth in the tempe of Dagon ( Sam. 5:-2)... The most horrific dispay of God's power against his peope is the destruction. of Jerusaem in 586 BC. The book of Lamentations. records the terror fet by the faithfu as they see the hoy city in chaos~ They knew that God was the author of the destruction: Like an enemy he [God] has strung his bow; his right hand is ready. Like a foe he has sain a who were peasing to the eye; he has poured out his wrath ike fire on the tent of the Daughter of Zion. The Lord is ike an enemy; he has swaowed.up Israe. He has swaowed up a her paaces and destroyed her stronghods. He has mutipied mourning and amentation for the Daughter of Judah. (Lam. 2:4-5) God, the future warrior But the OT does not concude on this negative note. The exiic and post-exiic prophets speak about the future with hope. Danie 7,. for instance, speaks of 'one ike a son of man' who appears on the couds of heaven, the.chariot of God the warrior (cf. Pss. 8:7-5; 68:4, 33; 04:-3; Nah. :3, aso antecedents in Ugarit iterature with Baa the 'rider on the couds'). Zechariah 4 aso ooks into the future and announces the coming day of the Lord (see. *Eschatoogy), when the Lord 'wi go out.and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of batte' (Zech. 4:3). It is with this expectation of coming iberation that the OT ends. Jesus Cirisi, the.divine warrior. The hope expressed at the concusion of the OT is affirmed at the beginning of. the NT. John the Baptist, in the widerness, announces the coming crisis: 'I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me wi come one who is more powerfu than I, whose sandas I am not fit to carry. He wi baptize you with the Hoy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is.in his hand,' and he wi cear his threshing foor, gathering his weat into the barn and burning up ' the chaff with unquenchabe fire~ (Matt. 3:-2). ' *Jesus appears in the widerness at the Jordan, and John recognizes him as the coming one. Soon after Jesus' baptism, John is imprisoned and Jesus' ministry begins. However, whie he is in prison, John hears. reports that disturb him: that Jesus is heaing the sick, exorcising demons and preaching the good news. John is worried. Where is the burning, the *judgment and the warrior? His concern eads him to send his discipes to ask Jesus, 'Are you the one who was to come, or shoud we expect someone ese?' (Matt. :3). Jesus responds to them, not with. words, but with more of the same actions. His message to John is, 'Yes, I am the divine warrior, but I have intensified the batte. I focus my attention not on mere human evi, but on the *spiritua powers and principaities.' This is why Jesus fights the' batte with spiritua weapons, not with physical Indeed, when Peter tries to use the sword to protect his Lord, Jesus rebukes him and chooses instead the cross (Matt. 26:50-56). Pau I \ { I t.. ~:;...,... t. \

8 Warfare s c. a f., e, t ' f i ' " i understands Christ's death on the cross in terms of warfare; he describes the death of Christ. as disarming the. powers and authorities (Co. 2:5), and the ascension of Christ (see *Exatation) as a victory parade.with the prisoners of war in the victor's train (Eph. 4:7-8, with a quotation from Ps. 68, a divine warrior hymn). Jesus won the greatest batte of a, not by kiing but by dying. Thus he set an exampe for his peope iving in the NT age. They too fight not by kiing, but by aying down their ives when necessary. They fight not with sword, spear and shied, but with spiritua weapons ike *faith, *righteousness and the *word of God (Eph. 6:0-8). Indeed, the j batte is not ony outward; it is aso in the heart, as indicated by a number of passages A which describe beievers' strugges against evi,j remaining within (Rom. 7:7-25; 2 Cor. 0:,, -6). I ] esus, th.e future warrior -o But according to the apocayptic portions of ; the NT, there is more divine warfare to come. Jesus ooked forward to. the day when 'the Son of. Man' woud. come on the couds of heaven,(mark 3:26). This anguage obviousy echoes Danie 7:3, and shows that John the Baptist was not wrong in his anticipation of a coming vioent judgment; he...,, simpy saw a two-act drama as one event. A { second coming of Christ is anticipated and is " most fuy described. in the book of ""' Reveation, in which divine warrior anguage abounds. Reveation 9:-6 describes the coming of Christ.on a white horse with a sword coming from his mouth. He is foowed by the, armies of heaven as he 'judges and makes war' (v. ). The Bibe concudes with.cj a. dramatic, picture of the fina batte, which,.. symboizes the fina judgment and just punishment of a God's human and spiritua enemies. Thus ends the confict that began at._... the Fa with the curse upon the serpent, who J is. understood by ater writers (Rom. 6:20; :J Rev. 2:9) to represent the worst extreme of _ spiritua *evi: 'Cursed are you above a the ivestock and a the wid animas! You wi craw on your bey and you wi eat dust a the days of your ife. And I wi put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he wi crush your head, and you wi strike his hee.' (Gen. 3:4-5) Concusion The theme of divine warfare is a pervasive and important one in bibica theoogy. It is found throughout the bibica narrative. However, the Bibe never gorifies warfare.or vioence in themseves. Indeed, the idea state is one of perfect *peace. Micah ooks forward to a day when: 'They wi beat their swords into poughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation wi not take up sword against nation, nor wi they train for war any more.' (Mic. 4:3). Warfare is God's 'strange' work (Is. 28:2) in which he judges evi. The purpose of Yahweh war is the eradication of evi and the punishment of *sin: Its cimax is the fina judgment. The purpose and dynamic of sacred warfare in the Bibe indicate that this theme cannot be used to justify war between nations today (athough many Christians beieve that war can sometimes be justified on other grounds}. For God's peope spiritua warfare has repaced physica, and they are no onger a singe nation; thus a modern war cannot be caed Yahweh war. The NT paces God's peopie today in the period between the fourth and. the fifth phases. We fight a, spiritua war against the powers and principaities (Eph. 6:0-8), whie knowing that victory has been. won on the cross. We ook forward to the cumination of the confict when Christ comes again 'with the couds' (Rev. :7). Bibiography T. Longman III and D. G. Reid, God is a Warrior (Grand Rapids and Carise, 995); P. D. Mier, Jr, The Divine Warrior in Eary Israe (Cambridge, 973); G. von Rad, Hoy War in Anciint Israe (Grand Rapids and Leominster, 99). T. LONGMAN III 839