Jesus\u2019 Teaching on Violence<\/h2>\n
Christians are not told to show violence toward anyone, even those who are considered to be our enemies. Jesus Himself said \u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.\u2019 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you<\/span>\u201d (Matt 5:43-44). That is contrary to what most people would do. How many people do you know that pray for their enemies and love those who hate them? Elsewhere, Jesus said \u201cYou have heard that it was said, \u2018An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.\u2019 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also<\/span>\u201d (Matt 5:38-39). He also taught \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself<\/span>\u201d (Luke 10:27). Loving our neighbor is never qualified as to whether they are a believer or not\u2026we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves and in fact we are taught by Jesus to \u201cbless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you<\/span>\u201d (Luke 6:28). Even Paul said \u201cBless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse<\/span>\u201d (Rom 12:14) and \u201cIf your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink<\/span>\u201d (Rom 12:20a) so \u201cMake sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong<\/span>\u201d (1st Thess 5:15). That leaves no room for the Christian to be violent toward anyone. Even while they were nailing Him to the cross and no fault or sin had ever been committed by Him Jesus said \u201cFather, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing<\/span>\u201d (Luke 23:24).<\/p>\n Does the Old Testament teach violence toward non-believers? What does God say about the violent? The commandment from God is \u201cYou shall not murder<\/span>\u201d (Ex 20:13) and \u201cDo not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways<\/span>\u201d (Prov 3:31). The laws of the Old Testament consistently taught \u201cDo not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt<\/span>\u201d (Lev 19:17). There were consequences for taking human life as Genesis 9:6 shows \u201cWhoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man<\/span>\u201d which is basically what Jesus said \u201cPut your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword<\/span>\u201d (Matt 26:52). Clearly God hates violence which is why the psalmist wrote \u201cThe Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence<\/span>\u201d (Psalm 11:5).<\/p>\n There were occasions when Israel showed violence toward pagan nations like the Canaanites who lived in wicked rebellion against the will and purposes of God. Long before the Israelites entered Canaan, the Lord had predicted that Abraham\u2019s descendants would claim the land when \u201cthe sin of the Amorites<\/span>\u201d reached its \u201cfull measure<\/span>\u201d (Gen 15:16b) which is why God told Moses \u201cLet no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead<\/span>\u201d (Duet 18:10-11). It was \u201cbecause of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you<\/span>\u201d (Duet 18:12).<\/p>\n Perhaps the greatest reason for God allowing violence in the Old Testament was because of the rite of child sacrifice which was one of the \u201cdetestable things the Lord hates<\/span>\u201d (Deuteronomy 12:31) and so God was just in stopping these nations from offering or sacrificing their own children in the fire. Child sacrifice had originated in Phoenicia, ancient Israel\u2019s northern neighbor, and God didn\u2019t want this abominable practice to spread into the nation of Israel. In 2nd Kings 11:7, Molech is identified as \u201cthe detestable god of the Ammonites<\/span>\u201d and recent archeological evidence in the former territory of the Ammonites from the period of the conquest of Canaan supports biblical testimony that child sacrifice was practiced in Jordan and was roughly contemporarily with Moses.[1] This could explain why God commanded the nation of Israel, \u201cDo not give any of your children to be passed through (the fire) to Molech for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord<\/span>\u201d (Lev 18:21; see also 20:1-5).<\/p>\n Moses warns the Israelites just before entering the land of Canaan (Leviticus 18:3 and 20:21-24) where they were to be exposed to the cult of Molech not to sacrifice any of their children to that god: \u201cThe Lord said to Moses, say to the Israelites: \u201cAny Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech<\/span>\u201d (Leviticus 20:1-5).<\/p>\n As we have read, Jesus\u2019 teachings and much of the wisdom literature (e.g. Proverbs, Psalms) teach against violence but if violence is allowed by God then it is against those whose pagan rituals entail child sacrifice for which violence is completely justified. The Old Testament doesn\u2019t promote or condone violence but if there is reason for it, such as in stopping such abominable practices as sacrificing live children in the fire, then there is every reason for it and it is completely justified.<\/p>\n Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know <\/a>whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer\u2019s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus<\/a> or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.<\/p>\n 1. Wenham, G.J., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament \u2013 The Book of Leviticus, 1979, p. 259. There are text critical problems with I Kings 11:7. It may be that Milcum should be substituted for Molech in this verse (see I Kings 11:5, 33 in Hebrew)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many claim that the Old Testament promotes violence. Is this true? Is the violence found in the Old Testament being promoted or condoned? A Religion of Peace or of Violence? It is absolutely clear that there is violence in the world\u00a0including in\u00a0another religion which actually seems to promote violence and this was not just done […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1485,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[289,809],"class_list":["post-3275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-answers","tag-old-testament","tag-violence"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Do-not-give-any-of-your\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/348\/2015\/07\/Do-not-give-any-of-your.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nOld Testament Teachings on Violence<\/h2>\n
Old Testament Reasons for Violence<\/h2>\n
Stopping Child Sacrifices<\/h2>\n
Moses\u2019 Warning<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
Article by Jack Wellman<\/h4>\n