ON A MISSION TO SET RELIGIOUS CAPTIVES FREE
What are we in these modern times to make out of the Bible’s many verses about warfare and being trained for war? How should we interpret the fact that Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Judges and David are well known for their military exploits as they battled with Canaanite kings? How should followers of Jesus, who is depicted as a fierce warrior, apply that imagery in their own lives? If all scripture useful for training in righteousness and good works, they should be applied. And if they are not applied, then those who call themselves followers of Jesus and Moses practice fake faith.

In Religion is the Enemy, God’s at War and Religion is Injustice, Slavery, Oppression and Affliction we reviewed why there is so much killing and warfare in the Old Testament.

STUDY TIP: See this link for understanding of bloodshed as a war of words.

Less well known, perhaps, are the inter-tribal battles that led to and followed the division between Israel (Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom). And then there are a seemingly never-ending series off battles with other external nations that ultimately conquer both the Northern and Southern kingdoms and exile them to captivity in Babylon and Assyria where Israel remained for approximately four hundred years. Are these stories just interesting history, or is there a meaningful way to apply them to our lives?

People who believe that all scripture is useful for training in righteousness believe that there is personal application for scripture about warfare. We begin to understand scripture about warfare when we accept that Religion is the Enemy. After that, it is instructive to apply Israel’s history in exile to our own lives.

During periods of exile, Israel changed in two ways that still influence the nature of Judaism and Christianity:

It was during this period of captivity that the prophets of Israel warned that it should repent of its idolatry. The symbolism of all this warfare is discussed in detail in Religion is the Enemy, Sibling Conflict and Gods at War.

It is also instructive to recognize that, despite all their battles, some of which Israel won and some of which they lost, God left religious nations in Canaan to test Israel and teach sons of Israel who had not experienced warfare what it means to be a warrior. And, it is important in the understanding of warfare, that we accept that those religious nations are still present and active in the world of religion.

STUDY TIP: See Cities, Kingdoms and Nations for understanding of nations.

We who live in these modern times should not think that these stories are just history. Rather, we should apply them to our own lives with the belief that God trains us for battle so that we also can engage in warfare successfully. If we do not have a sense of being a warrior trained for battle modeled after Abraham, Moses, Joshua, the Judges, David and Jesus, we fail to understand that God uses the Bible to teach his people about warfare. We fail to understand that these characters and many others are warriors after whom we should model our own spiritual lives.

Regarding King David, it is often said that he was a man after God’s own heart. To understand David, it is first necessary to understand God’s heart. Since David was a successful warrior, we can rightly conclude that his willingness to go to war with God’s enemies was a major qualification for God’s feelings about him. Beyond that there is much to say about God’s heart, but for purposes of understanding God’s exemplary warriors, we will focus on seven key characteristics of God:

Since these characteristics define God, we would expect to find these same characteristics in all New Covenant disciples in whom God has placed his name (i.e. character). These are the characteristics that prove that we have been recreated (i.e. born again) in God’s image.

It is this character that drives warriors to do battle with their religious enemies. Not at all being compelled to go to war for personal reasons, warriors are compelled by the fact that God’s laws are written on their hearts. That being true, they, like Jesus, are strongly motivated to completely destroy religious nations because religion is the enemy of God and of man. Such motivation is the hallmark of God’s model warriors and all New Covenant disciples.

With this understanding we see that David and others are not just blood-thirsty fighters who are compelled by some fleshly, inner need to distinguish themselves in mortal combat. Rather, the Bible includes stories about them because they embody the characteristics by which God is known. This means that they are New Covenant disciples whose warrior-like activities are motivated by these characteristics. In fact, the spirit of God resides in them so that they will strive to set captives free from religion by doing battle with religion.