God's Book: An Honest Look at the Bible's Toughest Topicsنموونە

GOD’S CALL TO BE PEACEMAKERS

The Bible is simply more violent than we would like it to be. There are several Old Testament passages where the use of force is commanded by God himself. Around one-third of the psalms reference warfare. Moreover, the Bible has been wrongly used to justify violence right up to the present day.

Rather than thinking we can neatly solve the problem of warfare and violence in the Bible, we must be prepared to wrestle. There is no easy or elegant ‘solution’, unless you’re prepared to trade one important truth about God for another. Those who insist that God can command whatever he wills risk undermining the principle of divine love embodied in Jesus. Others who suggest that Jesus is not to be identified with the stories told in the book of Joshua risk driving a wedge between the Old and New Testaments.

So, how should we interpret violence in the Bible? As always, it’s important to frame smaller passages by the larger story. At its widest point, the Bible opens and closes with harmonious scenes. The original creation in Genesis 1–2 and the new creation foretold in Revelation 21–2 are peaceful bookends at either end of a complex plotline. As we navigate a world marred by conflict and bloodshed, keep in mind the beginning and end of God’s story. Isaiah 2 prophesies a day when warfare will cease and all nations will be united in peace. What a day that will be. That is clearly God’s desire and intention. In the meantime, we are called to be peacemakers in the messy middle, between the first creation and the hope of new creation.

Moreover, we mustn’t read the Bible in a strictly linear fashion, as though Jesus only becomes relevant when he makes an appearance two-thirds of the way through. No, we interpret the whole Bible by working out from the centre, shuttling backwards and forwards to Christ. Jesus is uniquely qualified to make sense of violence and warfare in the Bible. His death and resurrection bring together the ‘furious opposites’ of God’s judgment and love.

The overall trajectory of the Bible, therefore, bends toward peace, not war. Genesis opens with harmonious scenes and Revelation closes with shalom restored. In the meantime, violence of any kind grieves God’s heart. Whenever God authorised the use of force, it must have been reluctantly and for good reason. We can’t resolve all the knotty bits, but we can trust the one who turned the violence on himself. Now he calls us to be peacemakers. Our fight is not against flesh and blood, and our weapons are truth, justice, kindness, and love. When we choose to love our enemies and forgive those who have wronged us, we are fighting the good fight of faith. And, as surely as Jesus is Lord, we are on the winning side.

REFLECT: The Prophet Isaiah imagines what international relations will be like when God is in charge. What features stand out? What emotions does this stir? Try praying for this in an area of conflict in the world today.