Last time in our study of My People/Not My People, we asked, “What is the difference between the wars to claim the promise of God through conquest, little by little, as opposed to ethnic cleansing or genocide?” Is there such a thing as a Just War? For that matter, “Why does God use war?”
Let’s take these one at a time. In a 2013 post called Just War, I wrote,
“Tough questions abound. How does not intervening differ from letting evil go unchecked? Does entrusting oneself to God mean pacifism is the only way? Is war ever right? Is there such a thing as a Just War?
- Just War. For some there is no such thing. It’s an oxymoron.
- Just War. For some hawkish types, it’s the answer to every problem. What’s our solution? Just War.
- Just War. But for those who look at the world with Kingdom vision, it’s not an individual or even a national interest that compels the Just War. The Just War is a moral instrument of God to preserve life and good and truth over against death and evil and falsehood.”
So, why does God use war? As a moral instrument. When God made the covenant (regarding all the promises, not just the Land), Scripture says,
13 Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” (Genesis 15:13-16)
The Amorites. Who are they and where were they located? The Amorites were one of the major Canaanite ethnic groups, according to the Table of Nations (Genesis 10:6-19), descended from Canaan son of Ham and known for their goliath power and size. As such, they controlled important hill-country territories of Canaan on both sides of the Jordan. They also were big-time sinners and idolaters, enough that God would single them out. Notice the “full measure” God spoke about wasn’t the number of Amorites, but the sin of the Amorites.
Questions for further thought:
How does God’s use of war as a moral instrument require men to have a deep, prior understanding of God and His definition of morality?
How does God’s “Just War” require that war be done God’s way? Why did God require circumcision of the Israelites before going to conquer Canaan (See Joshua 5)?
How did the siege of Jericho display conquest as God’s moral instrument, done God’s way (Joshua 6:1-16)?
Is it actually genocide when God spared an Amorite Remnant by faith (see Rahab, Joshua 6:17 and Matthew 1:5)? How did that make the siege of Jericho a moral victory in a Just War?