Deuteronomy continues recounting the tale of Israel's birth (the beginning of course is the calling of Abraham in Gen. 12), and there are many birth-pains in the process of this birth. This is the story of one of them. Wilderness wanderings for forty years as punishment for not trusting God for forty days (when they decided to fear and worry about appropriatley inheriting the Land), and then wars and rumours of wars. It is a story of God giving the people of Heshbon over to the Israelites through war and battle. Israel takes "all his towns and completely destroyed them--men, women and children. We left no survivors" (Deut. 2.340). I am senstive to this (probably now more than ever)--because i hate war. I hate it with a passion. It terrifies me because of the hurt and pain and suffering it causes. Lord why did you use war to accomplish your will?
It pains me to see God doing such a thing. I know it was necessary, because God was birthing a plan to save humanity that involved chosing and guiding and securing one nation for all the nations and to start that plan he had to protect them adn nurture them; establish them in the land so the plan could move to its next stage, but i wish there was a way to transcend the cultural necessity of war. Ultimately we see God transcend it in Christ but that is later. For now God sanctions the killing of women and children and thats what we have to deal with. But I did notice something interesting about the story. Did you pick it up? Before Israel goes in an kills all these people this is what the text says: "I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying Let us pass through your country...but he refused to let us pass through" (2.26-30) Maybe thats what God does: offers humanity peaceful solutions but religious-political worlviews clash and we do not take that option. Maybe God always tries to make visible that more potent option between war and peace: living together side by side in peace. "We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left..." (2.27).
Of course in light of the New Age proclamation of Jesus with the coming of the Kingdom of God, things have changed. God no longer looks over/ takes care of a theocricy (a literal nation where God is the ruling political King) but a kingdom, made up of all nations, defined by Christ and the Spirit. And that Lord--Jesus-- calls his people to be peace-makers in the world.
Lord please help us live at peace and be peace-makers with the world around us and forgive us for the wars we have caused.
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3 comments:
Hey Mark,
Good to read that you are thinking about these things. I'm not sure that I totally buy the whole "necessity" argument re: the OT holy wars (but, then again, I'm not too sure what the hell to do with the OT holy wars) but I like your concluding prayer.
Congrats on the baby (rumour has it that all is good), and I would love to see you at school but could we do it at the start of next week (sometime between Mon and Wed)? It will be great to catch up.
Peace.
Dan
It was probably a "necessity" in that time/place-- i am not sure what else would call for God to act in such a way. If not out of necessity than what? And why?
Ok lets shoot to meet at school at 11.00am on Tuesday. What do you say?
Sure, 11 on Tues works for me. Look forward to seeing you again.
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