The nation of Israel is currently at war with Hamas, a radical Islamic movement set on Israel’s destruction. The Land and people of Israel are seen as an enemy, which Hamas will use any means possible to destroy. According to Hamas, the Jewish people (Zionists) are to be obliterated and the Land returned to an Islamic state. This is in accordance with the Hamas Charter.
What is the proper response to Hamas?
In the Bible we see a similar situation with a nation that is set on the destruction of the people of Israel. These people were the Midianites and they had already tried to annihilate the Israelites once through deceptive means. As a result of this, the LORD commanded Moses to be hostile toward the Midianites and kill them (Num. 25:16-17).
In this week’s Torah Portion, God commands Moses again to take vengeance on the Midianites (Num. 31:1). In obedience to this command, Moses gathered the Israeli troops, 1000 from each tribe, and sent them to battle (31:3-6) with Pinchas the priest. So they made war against the Midianites and killed all of the men and the kings of Midian along with Balaam, the son of Beor, who counseled the Midianites in how to bring down the Israelites through the worship of Baal Peor (31:16).
The LORD commanded the sons of Israel to destroy the Midianites and they obeyed the LORD through the word of Moses.
In our “modern era” it is sometimes hard to comprehend how God would order such a cruel command. Why would God command to annihilate another nation or people? We often think that the God of the Old Testament became a pacifist in the New Testament. Is God a pacifist today?
3500 years have passed since the account of Moses and the Israelites wandering in the dessert making war on other nations. 3500 years have passed but God is still the same God.
In Exodus 15:3 we read, “The LORD is a man of war, the LORD is His name.” And in Deuteronomy 4:34 we also read of the power of God to establish His people through war, among other means. God is a man of war and a mighty warrior (Psalm 24:8; Zeph. 3:17) and we need to understand His character. It is not that He loves war or delights in the suffering of human beings but rather that He delights in justice and exalting righteousness.
In the New Testament we also see this characteristic of God as a warrior. In Matthew 22 Yeshua tells a parable about the kingdom of heaven and compared it to a king who gave a wedding feast. When the king sent his slaves to call the guests who where invited, the invited people answered the king by killing his slaves whom the king had sent. The king then sent his armies to destroy those murderers. The book of Revelations also records that God will wage war in the last days and take vengeance on His enemies; the kings, nations, and armies of this world (Rev. 19:11-19).
Please don’t misunderstand what I’m trying to say. War is hell and I don’t want to see wars continue, however, until the King of Kings take His place to reign in all of His fullness on this earth wars will continue (Matt. 24:6-8). God is love and He is also holy. A holy God cannot ignore injustice!
God is a Warrior!
Shabbat Shalom!
Torah Reading: Numbers 30:2-32:42
Haftarah Reading: Jeremiah 1:1-2:3