Main news for 7 January 2020

From the mouths of Moses and other prophets more than once came words about Yahweh, who Himself fights for His people in the wars the people have to wage. So what then: does God love war? And therefore is holy war truly God's work?

In Yahwist history there were times when the matter was viewed precisely this way. In the age of Joshua and the Judges, the leaders of the prophetic movement did not doubt that holy war not only had a right to exist, but that it was directly pleasing to God, who blesses those who go to destroy the enemies of the true faith, and not only blesses them, but Himself goes ahead of His army. The idea of holy war at the beginning of a spiritual path is close to many; novices are often very militant and intolerant, but in the normal case this passes in the process of spiritual growth.

And yet: do the words of Moses and the other prophets contain only a human view limited by historical boundaries? Such a thing is not characteristic of the Bible. What then is the point here?

War is a consequence of human sinfulness and one of the forms of its manifestation; hardly anyone who has read the Bible attentively would argue with this. It would be better if there were no wars in the world at all. But in the fallen world this cannot be: for it to be so, the world would have to be created anew, and God wants to save the one that exists.

It would also be better for God's people if they could avoid participating in any wars: even a completely just war is still a serious spiritual trial and always acts destructively on the soul. That is why the Torah allows a person who is "faint of heart" to refuse to take part in war: a person's soul is more important than his military exploits. The issue, of course, is not the physical heart.

But God wanted to bring His people to the land He had destined for them, wanted to give it to them. Without war it was impossible either to receive this land or to hold it. It would have been possible to avoid war only if God had decided to settle His people somewhere beyond the Arctic Circle or even on the Moon, but that was not part of His plans.

Therefore God's people would inevitably have to fight, although war is not God's choice. He would have preferred to do without war altogether, but if such a development of events was in no way possible, all that remained for Him was to support His people in the wars in which this people would have to take part. Not only for the people's sake, but also for the sake of the plan in which it was to play a unique role that could not be entrusted to any other people.