Getting Biblical in Daily Life
War
Back in the day, God gave the Israelite people a handful of important commandments to follow. Maybe you've heard of them? One of the most important ones was, "thou shalt not kill." So if murder is wrong, then mass killing during war must be terrible, right?
Not quite. Apparently, God intended for there to be a whole lot more wiggle room on the 6th commandment. In 2 Chronicles, he regularly approves of war and even takes side in battles:
- When the people of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. (13:15)
- "Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let no mortal prevail against you." So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians. (14:11)
- This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. (20:17)
- The Lord aroused against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabs who are near the Ethiopians. (21:16)
- Although the army of Aram had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army. (24:24)
- God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabs who lived in Gur-baal, and against the Meunites. (26:7)
- Because the Lord, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. (28:9)
- With [Sennacherib] is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles. (32:8)
- The Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of King Sennacherib of Assyria. (32:22)
- The Lord brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh captive. (33:11)
- God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. (36:17)
And trust us, we edited that list way down. But then there's this:
- Thus says the Lord: "You shall not go up or fight against your kindred. Let everyone return home, for this thing is from me." So they heeded the word of the Lord and turned back from the expedition against Jeroboam. (11:4)
- Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years. (14:2)
- The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands around Judah, and they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. (17:10)
- The kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side. (20:30)
So where does that leave us? Is all war acceptable to God? Or are just some wars? Should people of faith act a certain way when they go to war? In chapter 20 of the Book of Deuteronomy, God lays out some pretty clear rules for war, including things like trying to make peace first, attacking only if attacked, and not cutting down fruit trees in captured cities.
Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas most fully developed an idea similar to this called the "just war theory." It basically means that, under certain conditions, killing people during a war can be the moral and right thing to do. But how do you know if your war is just? Maybe you have a good reason for it. Or you're looking to prevent greater harm. Or you're backed by a responsible government.
Were the wars in 2 Chronicles just and righteous by these standards? In some cases, the kings of Judah did try to look for peaceful solutions. Rehoboam turns back instead of attacking the guys in the Northern Kingdom when they first break off (11:4). Abijah tries to end the north vs. south divide with a stirring speech before battle (13:1).
Today, most of us probably aren't 100% comfortable with the idea that God is okay with war or picks its winners and losers. When a minister told Abraham Lincoln that he hoped God was on the North's side, the president famously responded, "I am not at all concerned about that… But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."
If Shmoop had to guess, we'd bet that God is really hoping for a day when he doesn't have to take sides at all. The words of the prophets let us know that peace is God's long game.
Whose Land is this Anyway?
Hot-Button Issues don't get any hotter than this. We know you've probably memorized this info from our Learning Guide to 1 Chronicles, but just in case you haven't, we'll give you another chance. Plus, we just can't get enough of this video.
Jerusalem, including and especially the Temple Mount, is the central flash-point for conflict between all the Abrahamic religions. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all lay claim to Jerusalem as their holy city. Control of Jerusalem and the region has changed hands countless times since the days of David and Solomon described by the Chronicler.
The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem around 626 CE resulted in Muslim control of the city. The al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock were built about 50 years later on the spot where Muhammad was said to have ascended into heaven. In 1099, Christian crusaders captured the city, killed most of the Muslims and Jews living there, and converted the Dome of the Rock into a church. In 1187, the great sultan Saladin recaptured Jerusalem, and re-established the Dome of the Rock as a mosque. He was defeated during the Third Crusade by the English King Richard the Lionhearted, but managed to keep political control of Jerusalem. For the next few hundred years, Jerusalem remained under Muslim control, with some interruptions by the Mongols. The Ottoman Empire took control in the early 1500s. In the late 19th century, Jews began pouring into Palestine as the beginning of the Zionist movement, which sought a homeland for Jews in the area that they believed to be their ancient promised land of the Bible.
At the end of WWI, the British got Palestine after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire as part of a League of Nations agreement that divvied up the postwar world. More Jews arrived from Europe with the rise of Hitler, and survivors of the Holocaust fled to Palestine as well. There was constant conflict between the Jewish and Arab populations. The British finally gave up and asked the United Nations to solve the problem. The UN solution was to partition Palestine into two separate areas, one Jewish and one Arab. The State of Israel was declared in 1948 and war broke out immediately between Israel and the neighboring Arab nations. Israel occupied West Jerusalem and Jordan captured East Jerusalem. In the 1967 war, Israel captured East Jerusalem and declared it the unified capital of Israel. Since then, control of Jerusalem has been a sticking point for many unsuccessful attempts to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian peace. It's been suggested that Jerusalem should be an international city, administered by representatives all the major faiths. This idea has been a total no-go so far.
If the fate of Jerusalem is a potential political earthquake, then the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary is Ground Zero. Even though the Old City of Jerusalem is under Israeli control, the Temple Mount is administered by an Islamic Waqf (a religious trust). It's the site of frequent confrontations and riots between Jews and Muslims. In an effort to minimize conflict, the Israeli government allows non-Muslim visitors to the Temple Mount, but forbids any prayer or other religious activities by non-Muslims. Jews pray instead along the ruins of the Second Temple known as the Western Wall. Groups like Third Temple activists aren't making things any easier, and some Jewish religious groups have sought greater access to the site for non-Muslims. To complicate things further, some Christian sects believe that the Temple needs to be rebuilt according to prophecy to usher in Armageddon and the return of Christ. And this means the al-Aqsa mosque has to go, maybe relocated to Mecca. Another non-starter of an idea.
At press time, increased violence at the Temple Mount had spilled over to other areas of Jerusalem and was threatening to break out into a large-scale conflict. Anyone who can see a way out of this is a lock for the Nobel Peace Prize and the Shmoop Hall of Fame.