Confronting OT Controversies– Part Twenty Nine

Q. One question worth pondering is ‘exactly how does God fight’? It seems to me that in the vast majority of cases he simply uses natural means, rather than acting directly. He uses human beings, whether a single individual like David vs. Goliath (who is killed by a sling shot by David), or he uses an Israelite force, like Gideon’s, or he uses nature, like the sea swallowing up Pharaoh’s chariots, or he uses plagues etc. Even in the famous 1 Kngs 18 story the priests of Baal are killed by human beings. Or God can use supernatural agents like the angel of the Lord, or Michael, etc. In none of these cases is he acting directly. In none of these cases does he take human form or even angelic form and fight directly. He uses creatures and creation to accomplish the ends he intends. A secular outside observer watching, for instance Joshua and the gang march around Jericho would never know God was acting. They would attribute the outcome to an earthquake or the like. Or consider Jer. 21.5— Yahweh says he will fight, but actually it’s the Babylonians doing the dirty work. Now this suggests to me that this requires of us a more nuanced approach to talking about ‘divine violence’ when the actual perpetrators are some ones other than God. God may be the instigator, commander, etc. but secondary causes are doing the dirty work— if we can put it that way. God uses his creatures and creation to execute justice. Does this explanation at least partially work for you?

A. Well I agree that God often uses his creatures and creation to execute justice, but I would reaffirm what I said above that that does not remove God from said execution of judgment. Of course a secular observer would not attribute the fall of the walls of Jericho to God because it is likely and I agree with this that God may have used an earthquake to do it. But not sure we should care what a secular observer would say because Joshua and the Israelites knew it was God who did it (see the meeting before the battle of Jericho between Joshua and God the divine warrior at the end of Joshua 5). And yes, the Babylonians did the dirty work but the poet of Lamentations 2 knew that the real cause of the destruction was God who came against them “like an enemy.”