THE BIBLE AGAINST WAR
by Rev. Amos Dresser
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Section 8 |
God, our avenger, is a
prominent doctrine
of the bible.
But God’s protection is not brought forward incidentally in the Bible. No, it holds a prominent place on almost every page in the Old Testament and in the New. “Shall not God avenge his own elect,” (who cry to Him by day and night) and be very indulgent to them? (That is, will He not bear long with their want of faith, their many provocations?) “I tell you He will avenge them quickly. But when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith upon the earth?” Shall He find those who look to Him as an Avenger? Shall He find his elect crying day and night to Him as though help could come from no other? Says Barnes, “This passage supposes that when the elect of God are in trouble, pressed down with calamities, and persecuted, they will cry unto Him; and it affirms that if they do, He will hear their cries and will answer their requests,” and this accords with Psalm 145:18-20. “The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him. He also will hear their cry and will save them. The Lord preserveth all that love Him; but the wicked will He destroy.”
In the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy, God complains of the frowardness and backsliding of his people and because they would not trust in Him he says, “I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end shall be, for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith… I said I would scatter them unto corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men, were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, lest they should say, ‘Our high hand and not the Lord hath done all this.’ For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. If they were wise they would look at this and consider the consequences of their course. How should one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up,” etc. Right in this connection, while speaking of Himself as their protector and defense, he says, “To me belongeth vengeance and recompense. Their feet shall slide in due time, for the day of their calamity is at hand and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent Himself for his servants (bear long with them), when He seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left. And He shall say, ‘Where are their Gods, their rock in whom they trusted, which did eat the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings. Let them rise up and help you and be your protection! (They had trusted in other sources for help and protection until they saw their folly and in their extremity they cried to God, who, in his long suffering, bore with their wicked departures, forgave their sin, and came to avenge them.) See now that I, I am thy Deliverer, and there is no god with me; I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand, for I lift my hand to heaven and say I live forever. If I whet my glittering sword and my hands take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to mine enemies and will reward them that hate me… Rejoice O ye nations, his people; for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.”
In Isaiah 24 the prophet speaks of the judgments with which God threatens the nations of the earth who have oppressed his people (though he has permitted them to be oppressed because of their sins), and after recounting his wonderful acts, exclaims:
“O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee. I will praise thy name, for thou hast done wonderful things. Thy councils of old are faithfulness and truth… For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.” Arguing from what he has done, He shows what He will do in redeeming his people; and in pointing forward to the time when by faith they will return fully to him he says, “And it shall be said in that day, “Lo! This is our God. We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation… In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: we have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in; (such a nation) with a heart stayed on God, Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, because there is a trust in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”
After again speaking of the judgments He inflicts on the oppressors, and again acknowledging the justness of the punishment they themselves have received at his hands for their sin, he says, “Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us, for Thou also hast wrought all our works for us. O Lord our God, lords besides Thee have had dominion over us, (but in the future) by Thee only will we make mention of Thy name… In trouble have they visited Thee, they poured out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon them.” “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation be overpast. For behold the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall discover her blood and shall no more cover her slain. In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent.” (See Psalm 74:14 and Ezekiel 29:3.) “And He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. In that day sing ye unto her, ‘A vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it. I will water it every moment, lest any hurt I will keep it night and day.’” (See chap 26-28.) See also Isaiah 63:1-3, Jeremiah 46:10, etc. In view of such promises and such revelations of the character of God, well may the Psalmist exclaim:
“Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills, whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall guard thy life. The Lord shall guard thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and forevermore.” – Psalm 121.
“He that is our God is the God of salvation, and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death.” – Psalm 68:20. For “the Lord will judge his people, and He will repent Himself concerning his servants.” – Psalm 135:14.
Vengeance then, belongs to God exclusively, for He alone is fully capable of determining guilt and its dessert. Hence the woefully blundering work generally made in attempts to administer retributive justice. Our government is supposed to come the nearest to perfection of any in existence, but what do we find here?
Go to our great cities, and see how woman in her wretchedness and poverty is protected! Go to our prisons in Washington, and mark how the righteous suffer, with the poor, for acts of kindness to the poor, while the man-stealer and his coadjutors are “seen in great power, and spreading themselves as a green bay tree.” The oppressor and the adulterer hold their heads high. Their horn is exalted by the operation of our laws; while the strong arm of uncivil power grinds the poor in the earth, and affords little or no protection to the weak and defenseless. Perhaps a more perfect description of our general government could not be given than is found in the twenty-second chapter of Ezekiel, and in reading it one would think the prophet was addressing our Congress, instead of Jerusalem, when he says, “Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed, and hast defiled thyself in thin idols, which thou hast made, and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years… Therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. Those near and those far from thee shall mock thee, who art infamous and much vexed… In thee they set light by father and mother (many a slave knows not his father or mother). In the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger. In Thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. Thou hast despised my holy things, and hast profaned my Sabbaths… In the midst of thee they commit lewdness. In thee have they discovered their father’s nakedness; in Thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. And one hath committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. In Thee have they taken gifts to shed blood, (by bloodhounds) thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by extortion, and hast forgotten Me, saith the Lord God… There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her may widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things. They have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, preaching vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, ‘Thus saith the Lord God,’ when the Lord hath not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy. Yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.”
If any say this description is not true to life, it is because they have not seen the true portrait. Should we bring to the test any other government that has relied on the sword for defense, no doubt we should join with Solomon in saying, “So I returned and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun; and behold the tears of the oppressed, ►► and they had no comforter. ►► And in the hand of their oppressors was power; and they had no avenger.” – Ecclesiastes 4:1.
And perhaps some could adopt the language of Duganne,[59] and say,
I looked from out the grating
Of my spirit’s dungeon cell
And I saw the life-tide rolling,
With a sullen, angry swell;
And the Battleships were riding,
Like leviathans in pride,
While the cannon shot was raining
On the stormy human tide.
Then my soul in anguish wept,
Sending forth a wailing cry.
Said the world, “This comes from heaven.”
Said my soul, “It is a lie.”
I looked from out the grating
Of my spirit’s dungeon cell
And a sound of mortal mourning
On my reeling senses fell.
And I heard the fall of lashes,
And the clank of iron chains,
And I saw where men were driven,
Like dumb cattle o’er the plains.
Then my soul looked up to God,
With a woe beclouded eye;
Said the world, “This comes from heaven.”
Said my soul, “It is a lie.”
I looked from out the grating
Of my spirit’s dungeon cell
And I heard the solemn telling
Of a malefactor’s knell.
And I saw a frowning gallows
Reared aloft in awful gloom;
While a thousand eyes were glaring
On a felon’s horrid doom.
And a shout of cruel mirth
On the wind was rushing by;
Said the world, “This comes from heaven.”
Said my soul, “It is a lie.”
I looked from out the grating
Of my spirit’s dungeon cell
Where the harvest wealth was blooming
Over smiling plain and dell;
And I saw a million paupers
With their foreheads in the dust;
And I saw a million workers
Slay each other for a crust!
And I cried, “O God above,
Shall thy people always die?”
Said the world, “It comes from heaven.”
Said my soul, “It is a lie.”
God gave to man “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowls of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” But never has He given to man, in this sense, dominion over his fellow man. This prerogative He has reserved to Himself and demanded that we should regard Him as the Lord and Father of all, and one another as brethren. We have not the right to take our own lives, and surely we cannot commission another to do what is unlawful for us to do in person. True, Jehovah did make man – under the Jewish theocracy – the executor of his law, and required him, at God’s direction, to put his fellow man to death for about twenty crimes. But this was to be done not only subject to God’s direction, but wherever there was the least doubt, the guilt was determined by the Urim and the Thummim. And admitting that it was not on account of the hardness of their heart that this was required at their hand, the most it proves, is, that the life of man is to be taken only by the express command of God.
Says Professor Finney:
“The time shall come when God shall be regarded as the supreme and universal sovereign of the universe; when his law shall be regarded as universally obligatory; when all kings, legislators, and judges shall act as his servants, declaring, applying, and administering the great principle of his law to all the affairs of human beings. Thus God will be the supreme Sovereign, and earthly rulers will be governors, kings, and judges under Him, as acting by his authority, as revealed in the Bible.” Amen, and amen.
And when the kingdoms of this world are thus given to Christ, then, and not till then, can Christians look to them for protection. But it is revealed in the Bible that the subjects of this kingdom shall be saved by the Lord their God, and not by the sword – that under Christ’s “authority” and at his “rebuke,” the old kings, etc., having no use for their “swords” in this new kingdom and shall “beat them into ploughshares.” The instruments of bloodshed and war shall be “cut off.” The “officers” of this government shall be “Peace,” and the “exactors Righteousness.” Lord Jesus, whose right it is to reign, come quickly. “Thy kingdom come.”
It is evident then that God designed man to be protected in doing good, and punished for doing evil. But there was no human government in Paul’s day that God had approvingly appointed for this work. Nor have wicked rulers, directly as God’s agents, ever done this. Nolens volens,[60] as instruments in his hands they have done it indirectly; and in this sense only are they his ministers. In this sense the Chaldean power was “ordained of God,” and it became the Jews to be subject to them on this account, and regard them as God’s “avenger” in punishing them for their sins. In the first chapter of Habakkuk the prophet complains bitterly of the wickedness of the Jews, and God in answer to his complaints, says, “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard and wonder marvelously, for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe though it be told you. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess dwelling places not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful, from them shall proceed their judgment and their judicial sentence,” etc. – Habakkuk 1:5-7, Hebrew.
The prophet then humbly expostulates with God for using such instrumentality as an “avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil;” urging that the Chaldeans were even more wicked than the Jews, and moreover would impute their success to their gods, etc. The course that God took seemed so “marvelous” that he did not believe when told what God was about to do, till he was made to see the light in which God used them. He then had no “fear” of them, but exclaimed, “Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord, my God my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment, and O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth those more righteous than he?”
To the latter question he “waits for an answer,” (Habakkuk 2:1) and is told that, in his turn, the persecutor shall have this “taunting proverb taken up against him,” namely, “Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood and for the violence of the land of the city, and all that dwell therein,” etc. See the whole book of Habakkuk.
Another illustration in point is found in the case of Cyrus of whom God says, “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war; for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms,” etc. See Jeremiah 51.
Senacherib
In the same sense God made Senacherib his minister – “an avenger of wrath” upon the hypocritical Jews. He called him the “rod of his anger” and said “I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.” – Isaiah 10:6-7. See the whole chapter.
Nebuchadnezzar
In this sense God calls Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, his “servant.” – Jeremiah 25:9, 27:6, 43:10, and required his people, “every soul be subject” to him, and said, “The nation and kingdom which will not serve this name Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence, till I have consumed them by his hand.” – Jeremiah 27:8-9. See the whole history of their being sent into captivity, contained in chapters 24-32.
The text before us is in harmony with these passages, “If thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword without cause,” for in such a case he is, though unwittingly, an avenger in wrath to him who does evil. Wherefore it is necessary to be subject, not only because resistance adds fuel to the flame by provoking wrath, but from the consciousness that you deserve the punishment, and are receiving it from God, who designs thereby to bring you to repentance, inasmuch as He has the control of all events, and is in everything working your good. This was the view which sustained Joseph, and by which he endeavored to console his fearful desponding brethren. “Ye meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”
David
David viewed things in the same light, when he said of Shimei, “Let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, ‘Curse David.’ Who shall then say, ‘Wherefore hast thou done so?’ Behold my son which came out of my bowels seeketh my life, how much more this Benjamite. Let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him.” – 2 Samuel 16:10-12.
“For this cause pay ye
tribute also, for they are
God’s ministers attending
continually upon this
very thing.”
For the same reason also Paul insists upon paying tribute, that is, because of the evil of resistance, and from the consciousness that God will overrule all to his glory. Rulers are merely his ministers, constantly accomplishing his purposes. This was no trying and grinding point especially with the converted Jews, many of whom were at Rome at this time. Says Barnes:
“The Romans made all conquered provinces pay this tribute as an acknowledgment of subjection, and it had become a question whether it was right to acknowledge this claim and submit to it. Especially would this question be agitated by the Jews and Christians.”
It was on this point that the crafty Jews intended to entrap the Savior, when they sent spies to Him, who feigned themselves just men, “that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the authority and power of the governor. And when they were come they asked him, saying, ‘Master, we know that thou art true, that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, and carest for no man, for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth. Tell us therefore, what thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? Shall we give or shall we not give?’ But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, knowing their hypocrisy, ‘Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money; bring me a penny that I may see it.’ And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, ‘Whose is this image and superscription?’ They said unto him, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then he said he unto them, ‘Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they could not take hold of his words before the people. They marveled at this answer, and held their peace, and left him and went away.” (See harmony of Matthew 22:12-22, Mark 12:13-17, and Luke 20:20-26.)
Had the Savior answered yes, they would have accused Him of not being a consistent Jew, and with teaching things contrary to Moses. Had he said no, they would have arraigned Him as teaching rebellion against Caesar. They tried to charge upon Christ the things of which they themselves in heart were guilty, and the Savior answered them as He usually answered cavilers, in a way designed to expose their hypocrisy and condemn them. He answered the fools according to their folly. Yet when the collectors came for the Jewish tax, he gave Peter to understand that it ought not to be demanded, yet “lest we should offend,” said he, “give unto them for me and thee.”
So Paul urged the paying of tribute as an act of submission, carrying out the principle laid down by our Savior in Matthew 5:40-42. If they take the coat, give the tunic, etc., and surely their property would not be more sacred than their persons. He offered for their consolation the fact that …
God’s hand was to be
recognized in everything.
This is the marrow of the whole chapter. This comports with the teachings of the whole Bible. It was this that moved Job to say, “Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil?” Every experienced Christian finds this a rich source of blessedness. Hence says Prof. Upham in speaking of Catherine Adorna, [61]
“She saw and recognized God, in the instruments which He employs or permits to be employed, in distinction from and above the instruments themselves… She saw God and loved Him in those painful instrumentalities, which have their origin in a source the most remote from that which is divine… She never suffered an injury … without distinguishing between the agent who inflicted the blow, and the God who permitted the infliction. And knowing that in every permission of this kind, her heavenly Father contemplates, in connection with the manifestation of the character of the agent, the good of the sufferer, she felt that such occasions as well as the opposite occasions, demanded the prompt and full return of gratitude and love.”
In view of this my dear friend, J. W. Hall, wrote me soon after my return from Nashville as follows:
“I feel exceedingly thankful that God has preserved your life, and it has been my prayer that your afflictions may be sanctified to you. Depend upon it, they are intended for your good. God never would have permitted you to have suffered as you did without some wise and gracious purpose; and it will be your aim doubtless, to decipher the handwriting of his providence, and improve by it.”
[59] Augustine Joseph Hickey Duganne (1823-1884), poet, playwright, and dime novelist, wrote Camps and Prison, a vivid account of his Civil War experiences as a Union officer.
[60] Whether unwilling or willing
[61] St. Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) experienced a sudden and miraculous conversion to the “God of Love” and henceforth devoted herself to prayer, serving for the poor, and caring for plague victims.