Prolegomenon
Recent events in the world have reminded our generation that war is quite real, quite perennial (historically speaking), and quite horrible. Our modern society has not experienced the sights and sounds of war on the large scale of many generations that preceded us, and we therefore understandably struggle with understanding how to process these sounds and sights of war. Still, beyond the wars that occur between nations, these recent developments have reminded me of an often-neglected biblical dynamic: God’s people are to be those that remember the sounds of war. Yet, as will follow, our warfare is not the war of swords or guns, but the war of darkness against light.
That They Might Know War
The book of Judges is the saga of an unrelenting downward spiral in many ways for God’s people. The repeated phrase “and the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” is, accordingly, a recurring phrase in the book that gives a sort of summary perspective on the spiritual state of things amongst the people of God (2:11; 3:7; 3:12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1). The first chapter of Judges introduces the continuing conquest of Canaan after Joshua’s death, and Israel’s habitual failures to drive the inhabitants from the land in the keeping with their instructions. The second chapter covers Joshua’s death, Israel’s continual forays into sin and idolatry, and God’s eventual appointment of Judges to preside over Israel.
Many of Israel’s older men and women had seen God at work and were very mindful of God’s deliverance, yet the generation which followed them did not share these convictions, nor their memories of God’s providence (2:10). In the territories around Israel, pagan nations continued to thrive, nations who would enter into conflict with Israel in the following years. From this introduction, one may presume that the conflicts which would soon follow were merely random flashes in the pan (so to speak)—arbitrary conflicts that accompanied the actions of sinful men, nothing more. That is, one might be inclined to think so were it not for the introductory words in chapter three:
"Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before." —Judges 3:1–2
There are several things about this passage that stand out quite noticeably, but let me point out two: God is sovereign, and God’s people must remember war. That said, allow me to explain a bit.
God is Sovereign
This first observation should be quite clear, but the doctrine of God’s sovereignty has been under attack for quite some time (as in, since the Garden). Here in our passage, Israel had been clearly instructed to wage war and destroy the inhabitants of the land as they took possession of it (referred to in the Old Testament as ḥērem, or the ban; cf. Deut 7). This display of God’s holy will being carried out against sinful nations may sound quite unpalatable to many modern ears, yet it is thoroughly biblical and undeniably righteous.
Because God is sovereign, He retains the sovereign right to direct the affairs of men. Kings may rule nations, yet we know the words of Proverbs: “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” (Prov 21:1). The prophet Isaiah is especially helpful in this regard, exhibiting God’s clear insistence that He is sovereign in all the affairs of man:
"I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things." —Isaiah 45:5–7
This is an indispensable explanation concerning the narrative of Israel in Judges 3: Israel has sinned and pagan nations surrounded them, yet it is to the purposes of God that this story is ultimately unfolding.
God’s People Must Remember War
Our first contention about God’s sovereignty may not furrow many brows, but I suspect that this second one might. We think of Christians as a peaceable people—thinking in terms of war sounds rather foreign to our ears. After all, Christ leaves us His peace (John 14:27) and promises us peace in Him (John 16:33). Peacemakers are called the blessed sons of God (Matt 5:9), peace is to rule in our hearts (Col 3:15), and Christians are to be those who strive for peace (Heb 12:14). As Paul observed, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom 12:18). This certainly sounds like Christians are to be peaceful, not warlike.
Yet we recognize that God’s children are engaged in warfare. It is not a warfare of flesh and blood, true enough, as it is a warfare of spiritual power (Eph 6:12). Yet it is warfare that we are called to be equipped to fight (Eph 6:10–20). Our weapons of warfare are spiritual weapons (2 Cor 10:4) and we are called to resist both devil and flesh in this warfare (1 Pet 2:11; Jas 4:7). Our God is a warlike God (Exod 15:3), and consequently His children experience victory and conquest through union with Him (Rom 8:37; Rev 12:11). Consider Paul’s words to Timothy: “Fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Tim 6:12). This is an important contention: Christians are called to be ready for the attacks of spiritual warfare in this life, to be prepared for the battles that lay ahead.
Returning to our text in Judges 3, why did God permit these pagan nations to surround Israel in such threatening proximity? We are told it was for Israel’s own testing: God left these nations precisely “to test Israel by them” (3:1). Testing, in general, is an unpleasant experience. Tests in school are unpleasant, tests in life are typically unpleasant, and tests of our faith are frequently unpleasant. Yet God is a God who reserves the prerogative to test His people for His own good purposes: “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts” (Prov 17:3). A Christian may thereby even celebrate such testing (unpleasant though the experience may be), because we understand this testing is for our own good and spiritual vitality (Jas 1:2–4).
Yet why was Israel tested in this particular case? Consider again the explanation that we are provided:
"Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before." [emphases mine] —Judges 3:1–2
Israel had experienced many wondrous things by the hand of the Lord (see Deut 5:6–7). They had witnessed God free them from slavery and bondage in Egypt, lead them through their wanderings in the desert, feed them with manna, and teach them to walk in faith… yet now there was a generation growing up who had not learned such poignant lessons. The absolute necessity of dependence on God was simply not as evident to those who had only known peace in their day. This tendency is hardly unique to their time and place: times of peace tend to inevitably complicate matters of faith. In times of peace, Christians easily become complacent, or compromising, or simply lazy. And ultimately, Christians may forget that our God is a Warrior.
Therefore, An Appeal
Christians do well to never forget that they are in a war. Not a war of bullets and bombs, those such wars certainly do come and go in this age (Matt 24:6). Rather, Christians are in a war because we are in Christ, and the darkness of the world hates the light of Christ (John 3:19–20). Christians should remember that these conflicts are not only possible, they are in fact probable. Christians are told that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12–13). Rather than run from such a battle or avoid such conflict, Christians are called to “share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 2:3). Put into other words, God’s people have always experienced warfare, and we must never forget war, nor neglect teaching warfare to the generations which follow after us.
We are not always given the reason for God’s actions in Scripture, yet our passage in Judges 3 gives us clear reasoning concerning what God was accomplishing with this situation. We are assured that the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites “were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord” (3:4). Israel was not only called to remember warfare, but they were also being tested to see if they would fight the good fight of the faith (cf. 1 Tim 6:12). Times of testing and trial reveal the genuine nature of our faith, and in that way our testing gives glory to the God we serve (1 Pet 1:6–7). This preparedness includes a deep concern for generational growth, as it incorporates passing these lessons on to our children and those who follow after us (Judg 3:2; cf. Tit 2:2–6; 2 Tim 2:2)
We may remember the sound of warfare in times when many prominent voices regularly assure us that there is peace. Scripture warns us of expecting peace in times of war, as well as being on guard from those who proclaim false peace:
"They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace." —Jeremiah 6:14
"While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." —1 Thessalonians 5:3
Christians are a people of peace, and our God is the God of peace (John 14:27; 2 Cor 13:11). But until that time when evil and death are finally and fully purged from our midst, Christians are called to fight the battles to which God has called us. Pressure exposes authenticity, and times of difficulty reveal what is true and genuine. As Christians, our eyes are on our King. Yet we must never forget the sounds of the battle, nor neglect teaching these things to those who come after us.
SDG,
Josh Howard
Josh Howard serves as the Elder/Pastor at Grace Community Church in Battle Creek, MI, co-hosts the Good Doctrine Podcast and The Age to Come Webcast, and is an alumni of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (PhD, ThM). Josh has also authored The Exorcism of Satan (forthcoming, Free Grace Press) and The King's Command (forthcoming, College & Clayton Press).