Holy War, Defined

Scripture: And when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you strike them down, then you must utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. What is more, you shall not intermarry with them. You shall not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will be inflamed against you, and He will quickly destroy you. But this is how you shall deal with them: You shall destroy their altars and break down their images and cut down their Asherim and burn their graven images with fire. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be His special people, treasured above all peoples who are on the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 7:2-6

Observation: There has always been confusion about God ordering the death by war of multiple nations. This passage is key to understanding the instructions.

First is a clear contradiction that shows God is not ordering killing. God orders Israel to "utterly destroy" the other nations, then immediately follows that with instructions not to intermarry with them. You cannot marry dead people. Therefore, "utterly destroy" cannot mean "kill" ... but what does it mean?

That is answered in verse 5. Israel shall "destroy their alters" and "break down their images" and "cut down their Asherim" and "burn their graven images". In other words ... they shall "utterly destroy" their gods, their worship, and their faith system. Israel will kill the false gods.

Application: My God - Yahwah, the creator of the universe, father of Jesus, God of Israel - is a loving God who cares for all people. However, he hates sin. Therefore, it becomes clear that sending Israel to "conquer" seven other people-groups is not a bloody attack intended to kill people. It is a holy war intended to obliterate idol worship.

Today, God will not orchestrate the killing of people-groups even to defend believers. Instead, we are to stand against and opposed to idol worship. What would that look like in a non-invading-nation kind of scenario? It would probably look like simply getting people to look toward Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, I am opposed to the Hindu temple in Bothell, but I know that the proper response to it is not violent action against a building, a statue, or people who bow to it. The proper response is communication about Jesus, the son of you, the one true God and creator, and about eternal salvation through faith in Jesus. Please continue to aid our calling in this. Amen.