A Look at Violence in the Bible
The topic of violence comes up a lot in my home, as my husband and I have slightly different views on the matter, and always makes for lively conversation. Which led me to do a deep dive into the topic through a biblical lens. I was hoping to be proved right in my every point but as it turns out, when you come to the Bible with an actual unbiased approach, you see others perspectives fairly. I walked away from this study reminded of why I do believe what I believe but also with a healthy dose of humiliation regarding my husbands viewpoint as well.
Here’s what I found…
Violence stirs God’s wrath and was worth remaking the world over
Gen6:13 “13Then God said to Noah, “The end of [j]humanity has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of [k]people; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.”
GOD’s Spirit does not council men who use their swords for violence.
Gen49:5-7 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their [c]swords are implements of violence. 6“May my soul not enter into their council; May my glory not be united with their assembly; For in their anger they killed [d]men, And in their self-will they lamed [e]oxen. 7“Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob, And disperse them among Israel.”
Violence is encouraged by evil spirits and leads to treachery and bloodshed
Judges 9: 22 “Now Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. 23Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the [w]leaders of Shechem; and the [x]leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24so that the violence [y]done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal would come, and the responsibility for their blood would be placed on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the [z]leaders of Shechem, who [aa]encouraged him to kill his brothers”
Men of war, who spill blood are disqualified from building Gods house (violent men or just men of war?)
1 Chronicles 17: 3But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4“Go and tell My servant David that this is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build Me a house in which to dwell….
1 Chronicles 28:2Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and as a footstool for our God. I had made preparations to build it, 3but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for My Name, because you are a man of war who has spilled blood.’
God hates those who love violence
Psalm 58:1-2 “5The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And His soul hates one who loves violence.
Psalm 11:5 “1Do you indeed [c]speak righteousness, you [d]gods? Do you judge [e]fairly, you sons of mankind? 2No, in heart you practice injustice; On earth you clear a way for the violence of your hands.”
Violence clothes the wicked, as does arrogance, comforts and prosperity
Psalm 73:2-6 “2But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps [a]had almost slipped. 3For I was envious of the [b]arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4For there are no pains in their death, And their belly is fat. 5They are not [c]in trouble like other people, Nor are they tormented together with the rest of mankind. 6Therefore arrogance is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them.”
Dark places harbor violent places
Psalm 74: “18Remember this, [y]LORD, that the enemy has taunted You, And a foolish people has treated Your name disrespectfully. 19Do not give the soul of Your turtledove to the wild animal; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever. 20Consider the covenant; For the dark places of the land are full of the places of violence. 21May the oppressed person not return dishonored; May the afflicted and the needy praise Your name.”
Do not choose the way of a violent person!
Prov3: 31 “Do not envy a violent person, And do not choose any of his ways.”
Violence will disappear from the land that brings to LORD
Isaiah 60:17-18 “And I will make peace your administrators, And righteousness your overseers. 18“Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.”
Cities of violence will become alienated from God and desolated by Him
Jeremiah 6:6-8 “Cut down her trees And pile up an assault ramp against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, In whose midst there is only oppression. 7“As a well [h]keeps its waters fresh, So she [i]keeps fresh her wickedness. Violence and destruction are heard in her; Sickness and wounds are constantly before Me. 8“Be warned, Jerusalem, Or I shall be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, An uninhabited land.”
Ezekiel 7: “8Now I will shortly pour out My wrath on you and expend My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and [g]bring on you all your abominations. 9My eye will have no pity nor will I spare you. I will [h]repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the LORD, am striking…. Make the [t]chain, for the land is full of [u]bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24Therefore, I will bring the worst of the nations, and they will take possession of their houses.
Those filled with violence are cast out of heaven. Lucifer was internally filled with violence…it’s his nature.
Ezekiel 28:14-16 “14'You were the anointed cherub who [h]covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. 15“You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you. 16“By the abundance of your trade [i]You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, you [j]covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.’”
Violence opposes justice and righteousness
Ezekiel 45:9 “This is what the Lord [l]GOD says: “Enough, you princes of Israel; get rid of violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Revoke your evictions of My people,” declares the Lord GOD.”
Treachery is linked with “covering your garment in violence”- an action done by being void of the Spirit
Malachi 2:13 “13And this is [p]another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He no longer gives attention to the [q]offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your marriage companion and your wife by covenant. 15[r]But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And [s]why the one? He was seeking a godly offspring. Be careful then about your spirit, and see that none of you deals treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16“For [t]I hate [u]divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “and [v]him who covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
Violence opposes gentleness
1 Tim 3:1-3 “1The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Therefore an overseera must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,b sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”
Violence = force
Matthew 11: 12-15 “12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and violent (forceful) people have been raiding it. 13For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Meaning that people have forced themselves in upon these prophets of gospel OR
Meaning that, since the birth of Christ, the darkness has been violently seeking to overthrow the Heaven Realm in an effort to thwart the plan on earth.
5407 phoneúō
(from 5408 /phónos, "murder, homicide") – to murder, commit intentional (unjustified) homicide.
443 anthrópoktonos : a manslayer
Original Word: ἀνθρωποκτόνος, ου, ὁ
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: anthrópoktonos
Phonetic Spelling: (anth-ro-pok-ton'-os)
Definition: a manslayer
Usage: a murderer, man-slayer.
STRONGS NT 443: ἀνθρωποκτόνος
ἀνθρωποκτόνος, ἀνθρωποκτονον (κτείνω to kill), a manslayer, murderer: John 8:44. contextually, to be deemed equal to a murderer, 1 John 3:15.
androphonos: a manslayer
Original Word: ἀνδροφόνος, ου, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: androphonos
Phonetic Spelling: (an-drof-on'-os)
Definition: a manslayer
Usage: a murderer, man-slayer.
anaireó: to take up, take away, make an end
Original Word: ἀναιρέω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: anaireó
Phonetic Spelling: (an-ahee-reh'-o)
Definition: to take up, take away, make an end
Usage: I take up, take away the life of, make an end of, murder.
apokteinó or apoktennó: to kill
Original Word: ἀποκτείνω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: apokteinó or apoktennó
Phonetic Spelling: (ap-ok-ti'-no)
Definition: to kill
Usage: I put to death, kill; fig: I abolish.
thuó: to offer, sacrifice,kill
Original Word: θύω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: thuó
Phonetic Spelling: (thoo'-o)
Definition: to offer, sacrifice
Usage: I sacrifice, generally an animal; hence: I kill.
sphazó: to slay, slaughter
Original Word: σφάζω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: sphazó
Phonetic Spelling: (sfad'-zo)
Definition: to slay, slaughter
Usage: I slay, kill by violence, slaughter, wound mortally
thanatoó: to put to death
Original Word: θανατόω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: thanatoó
Phonetic Spelling: (than-at-o'-o)
Definition: to put to death
Usage: I put to death, subdue; pass: I am in danger of death, am dead to, am rid of, am parted from.
I suppose the question is… Is a “just” soldier the same thing as a violent man?
Let’s Compare
comparison of David’s attributes as a soldier and a violent man, sometimes David acted as a soldier and sometimes as a violent man.
The LORD takes vengeance with or through obedient soldiers
Num 31:1-3 “1And the LORD said to Moses, 2“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.” 3So Moses told the people, “Arm some of your men for war, that they may go against the Midianites and execute the LORD’s vengeance on them.”
Ezekiel 25:12 “This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt …. 14 I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’”
“15This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance, taking vengeance with malice of soul to destroy Judah with ancient hostility, 16therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant along the coast. 17I will execute great vengeance against them with furious reproof. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them.’ ”
What does the NT say? It speaks of Vengeance.
Hebrews 10:26-35 “26If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,”f and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”g 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32Remember the early days that you were in the light.h In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering.33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.
35So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward. 36You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”
Vengeance took place on Jerusalem
Luke 10:20-24 “20But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near. 21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. 22For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. 24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
Vengeance of God will come when Christ returns
2 Thess 1:4-9 “4That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring. 5All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might, 10on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.”
Forgiveness and mercy is the way
Romans 12: “14Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”b 20On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”c 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
1Peter 2: “21For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps: 22“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”g 23When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.”
Shed blood cry’s out for vengeance
Hebrew 12:24 “You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.”
If we look at the comparison between soldiers and violent men, and keep in mind that God exacts Vengeance on the evils of the world through obedient soldiers, I can conclude that only GOD is capable of justice and vengeance fairly and without excess. We are told GOD’s wrath and vengeance is but a turning of one’s violence back on themselves. A matter of sowing and reaping. As humans and particularly christians, I believe we are not called to exact vengeance on anyone. We are not called to act violently toward neighbor or enemy. In the realm of military, it seems soldiers who turn evil back upon itself are instruments of God’s wrath.
Can christians be soldiers? Should they? If they are not who will turn evil back upon itself before it ravages all that is good and beautiful in the world? who will be the hands and feet that rescue the slave and the oppressed from the grip of evil men and systems?
Jesus himself was a model of this perfect balance. He did not retaliate against evil and violence, but submitted himself to it. He also didn’t bring down Rome, the great oppressor for it’s crimes against innocent people (while he walked on earth in his time that is) Jesus preached and live non-violence. Sure, he expressed anger and even destruction on the tables of the profiteers set up in the temple, but he did not destroy people. In fact he liberated people. He was like the just soldier who went into enemy territory and snatched prisoners and victims out from the clutches of their oppressors. He was stealthy and subversive in this evil world system, rescuing citizens left and right from spiritual, mental and physical darkness and torture. He was a just soldier and a non-violent man. A soldier that didn’t kill but rather protected. A soldier that didn’t shoot and cut but bound up his enemies or sent them running. He stirred up the people to revolutionize the world through peaceful resistance, whose deaths were the propulsion that fueled and revolution of love and global change.
Violence has no place in this world outside of God’s directing, and even He is patient beyond measure, not wanting any to perish. As Christians we must really think hard about whether we are actual instruments of God’s rare and long waited justice or if we are deceived into justifying our own vengeance.