Topical Bible: War: Counsels of
Topical Encyclopedia
The Bible provides various counsels regarding war, reflecting both divine instructions and human experiences. These counsels are found throughout the Old and New Testaments, offering guidance on the conduct, morality, and spiritual implications of warfare.
Divine Instructions and Warfare
In the Old Testament, God often provided direct instructions regarding warfare to the Israelites. These instructions were sometimes specific to particular battles or campaigns. For instance, in the conquest of Canaan, God commanded the Israelites to engage in warfare to claim the land He had promised to them. In Deuteronomy 20:1-4 , God reassures the Israelites of His presence and support: "When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you."
Moral and Ethical Considerations
The Bible also addresses the moral and ethical dimensions of war. The Israelites were given laws to ensure that warfare was conducted justly. Deuteronomy 20:10-12 instructs, "When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace. If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you. But if they refuse to make peace with you and wage war against you, lay siege to that city."
The concept of just war is further explored in the prophetic literature, where the prophets often called for justice and righteousness, condemning wars driven by greed or oppression. Isaiah 2:4 envisions a future where God will judge between nations, and "they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor will they train anymore for war."
Spiritual Warfare
In the New Testament, the focus shifts from physical warfare to spiritual warfare. The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 6:10-12 , exhorts believers to "be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
This passage highlights the Christian understanding that the ultimate battle is spiritual, requiring divine armor and reliance on God's strength. The imagery of armor underscores the need for truth, righteousness, faith, and salvation as defenses against spiritual adversaries.
Counsels for Peace
While the Bible acknowledges the reality of war, it also counsels for peace and reconciliation. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, blesses the peacemakers, stating, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). This call to peacemaking reflects the broader biblical theme of seeking peace and pursuing it, as echoed in Psalm 34:14 : "Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it."
The Bible's counsels on war, therefore, encompass divine guidance for specific historical contexts, ethical considerations for just conduct, the spiritual dimension of warfare, and the overarching call to peace and reconciliation. These teachings provide a framework for understanding the complex interplay between war and faith in the biblical narrative.
Nave's Topical Index
Joshua 22:10-34
And when they came to the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.
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Judges 7:10,11
But if you fear to go down, go you with Phurah your servant down to the host:
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2 Samuel 16:20
Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
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2 Samuel 17:1-15
Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:
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Psalm 48:4-7
For, see, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.
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Proverbs 11:14
Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
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Proverbs 20:18
Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
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Library
That the Contempt of the Evangelical Counsels is a Great Sin.
... one has not strength of mind necessary to undertake the war which must be waged
against the flesh. But to profess not to wish to follow the counsels, nor any ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter viii that the contempt.htm
Of the Conformity of Our Will to that Will of God which is ...
... is, it is not expedient for every one, to observe always all the counsels, for as ...
to keep their means, to marry, yea to turn soldiers and go to war, which is ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter vi of the conformity.htm
From the Conference of 1773 to the Commencement of the War in 1776
... were not of that serious nature which went to interrupt the harmony of their counsels. ...
Strong symptoms of a war between the colonies and the mother country now ...
/.../chapter 1 from the conference.htm
The Wisdom of God's Counsels
... that strong exclamation, "How unsearchable are his judgments!" His counsels, designs,
impossible to ... and, at that time, without friends, to declare war, as it ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 68 the wisdom of.htm
Counsels and Reminiscences of Soeur Therese, the Little Flower of ...
... BY HERSELF: "THE STORY OF THE SPRINGTIME OF A LITTLE WHITE FLOWER" COUNSELS AND
REMINISCENCES ... We must carry on the war even when there is no hope of victory. ...
/.../therese/story of a soul/counsels and reminiscences of soeur.htm
The Holy War,
... THE HOLY WAR,. MADE BY SHADDAI ... garrisoned by Emmanuel. To the Christian, whose
aim and end is peace, war presents a most forbidding aspect. ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the holy war.htm
An Unwalled City
... taken absolutely and without reference to Christ and His work, they are 'counsels
of despair ... There will be war to the end, and war for ever; but He will 'keep ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/an unwalled city.htm
That Our Lawful Occupations do not Hinder us from Practicising ...
... CONTAINING CERTAIN COUNSELS FOR THE PROGRESS OF THE SOUL IN HOLY LOVE ... of the perils,
toils and travails which they endured, as well in peace as in war, did not ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter iv that our lawful.htm
How Marcus, Succeeded Sextus when He had Been Slain by Bassus's ...
... hands by policy, lest they should appear to begin a civil war in the ... But Providence
opposed his counsels; and Herod being a shrewd man, and perceiving what his ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 11 how marcus succeeded.htm
Concerning the Insurrection of Absalom against David and ...
... some city, and bear a siege, we will overthrow that city with machines of war, and
by ... to David, and tell him of it, and to inform him of the counsels that had ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 9 concerning the insurrection.htm
Resources
What does the Bible say about killing in war? Is killing in war a sin? | GotQuestions.org
Does the Bible say anything about holy war? | GotQuestions.org
War: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com
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