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Numbers 31 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Although the lesson of this chapter is overshadowed by the war, there are some very miraculous accomplishments. The spoils of war were almost too good to be true. The officers themselves were all accounted for, meaning, not one of Israel’s leaders was killed during the battle. But I found myself asking, how do we deal with the violence of war in this chapter? Though war is familiar to us, is this chapter an approval for war? In his book, “The Problem Of War In The Old Testament,” Peter Craigie writes this…
“The transformation in the concept of the Kingdom means that the laws of war cannot simply be translated to fit a new context. In the new context the recognition of the principle of violence between states remains. But citizens of the Kingdom of God must not be bound by the necessity of violence; they must transcend the order of necessity. The death of Jesus, which is the death of God, demonstrated that the transcending of violence involved becoming the victim of violence. In a sense this may all seem very clear; we must receive violence, not employ it.
Yet it is not quite so simple, for the Christian is not only a citizen of the Kingdom of God. He is also a citizen of a particular human state. The human state to which he belongs is bound by the order of necessity, of violence; it is caught in the same dilemma which characterized the existence of the ancient state of Israel, and the Old Testament has made it clear that that is an inevitable dilemma. No state can exist free from the necessity of violence or liberated from the possibility of war. And the dilemma for the Christian will be in determining how to understand the relationship between his two citizenships.“
Peter Craigie, The Problem Of War In The Old Testament
The bottom line is that God has always chosen to work through humans as they navigate through life utilizing their free will. War and violence are natural consequences of our flesh. God can use violence for His sovereign purposes. He will not reduce us to robots, but He also does not cease to jump into the mess to draw us near to Him. The most powerful illustrated example is how God used hate, violence, and brutality to pay the penalty of sin through the suffering and death of His Son Jesus Christ. We chose violence and God chose love.
It’s obvious that we as humans are incurably violent. All you have to do is check out the latest Hollywood trailers for evidence of that. But this is once again an example of how He loves us. Even in the ugliness of war and violence, God is found working. He is found loving and drawing others into His fold. The reporting of such events in the OT is not necessarily an approval of war but a confirmation of God’s love and commitment to His people. He goes to unimaginable lengths to reach our hearts and turn us into vehicles which deliver the Good News of Salvation.