We read: “‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey”’” (1 Samuel 15:2-3).
Note that God says, “I will punish Amalek…”
Following their crossing of the Red Sea, the children of Israel encamped at Rephidim (Exodus 17). There, the Amalekites fought with Israel. The Amalekites, a tribal people living in the Negev and in the Sinai Peninsula, are first mentioned in Abraham’s time (Genesis 14:7). Amalek was one of Edom’s grandsons; Edom being Turkey today. Amalek’s descendants would include certain violent groups such as the PLO. In this battle, God helped Israel be victorious, but it was done through Moses holding up the Staff of God as Joshua and the Israelites fought with Amalek:
“So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’ And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; for he said, ‘Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation’” (Exodus 17:13-16).
However, it was never God’s intention that people should fight in war. It was Israel who decided to fight against Amalek—to sin—rather than relying on God’s help, and God then used Israel to carry out His purpose.
Further on, we see more details about why God’s anger would fall upon Amalek:
“‘Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall be, when the LORD your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget’” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19).
Here, God says that “you”—the people of Israel—are to destroy Amalek. This retribution, while commanded to Israel for a future time (1 Samuel 15), was, nonetheless, to be done by God’s authority.
We find a similar circumstance in which the Israelites were also told by God to completely destroy the people and animals of Jericho:
“‘Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent… And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword” (Joshua 6:17, 21).
The two examples thus far noted, Amalek and Jericho, involved the Israelites being told by God to fulfill the death penalty God had pronounced on these people. There are other biblical examples when God, Himself, brought about the punishment and death of those who sinned:
“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly…” (2 Peter 2:4-6).
There will come a time in the future when God will execute His vengeance, and like the flood and Sodom and Gomorrah, it will be by His hand:
“Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. ‘I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger’” (Isaiah 13:9-13).
Here is the point: God does intervene in human affairs with stern judgment and mighty power. He also has and will use individuals and nations to fulfill His Will. For example, God gave His nation Israel laws to follow and judgments to render:
“‘For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?’” (Deuteronomy 4:7-8).
Having Israel under Saul obliterate the Amalekites was a “righteous judgment” by God! Although the Amalekites had incurred a penalty for their actions earlier in the time of Moses, it was in the time of King Saul that God chose to enforce it. Sadly, Saul and Israel failed to obey God, and we have their record of disobedience as witness against them. They, too, faced dire penalties, but especially Saul and his House.
How then do Christians relate to this account? Do the actions of that time provide an excuse for those called by God to repentance, to act as Saul and Israel in warring against other people? Absolutely not!
Rather, Christians are commanded not to fight in war and to do many other things to remain separate from the world’s societies (Revelation 18:4; James 4:4; John 17:16; 2 Corinthians 6:17-18). Christ came to magnify the Law and make it great and honorable—to show its original intent and purpose—and that intent excluded and prohibited killing and fighting in war.
Christians follow the examples and teachings of Jesus Christ—Who was the God of the Old Testament, the very One Who commanded Saul through the prophet Samuel to destroy Amalek! God did so because man wanted and wants to fight in war; and God is not forcing us to live in peace, when we don’t want to. But God made it always clear that fighting in war is wrong. For instance, David was not allowed to build the Temple because he was a man of war. David SINNED when he fought in war.
He is also God of the New Testament, Who willingly died for the sins of the world. The Father of Jesus Christ resurrected Him to eternal life. During His physical lifetime, He gave examples to follow in how to live in this age. Those who do, are called Christians, and Christians are Ambassadors of the Kingdom of God (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, for all the death and mayhem and all the wars of all nations—and so much more! He is Savior of the World, and He has promised to return and to establish peace in the Kingdom of God on earth!
Finally, we live in a time of “‘wars and rumors of wars’” (Matthew 24:6). Society and governments of this age will seek to draw us in—to take sides, to get involved. We must not, and the only way we stay separate is to be firmly grounded in the Truth of God. That means, we must know what we believe, and we can absolutely do that IF we turn to God and Jesus Christ!
For your help, we have prepared a booklet, titled, “SHOULD YOU FIGHT IN WAR?” This booklet explains in detail, for example, why Israel sinned when they fought in war, and why God ordered Israel to carry out certain violent actions. A hard copy is free upon request, or you can view it at our website: https://www.eternalgod.org/booklet-646/
Lead Writer: Dave Harris