Divine War Versus Human Conflicts

Nearly three hundred times in the Hebrew Scriptures and twice in the Christian Greek Scriptures, God is given the title "Jehovah of armies." (1 Samuel 1:11) As Sovereign Ruler, Jehovah commands a vast army of angelic forces. (Joshua 5:13-15; 1 Kings 22:19) The destructive potential of this army is awesome. (Isaiah 37:36) The destruction of humans is not pleasant to contemplate. However, we must remember that God's wars are unlike petty human conflicts. Military and political leaders may try to attribute noble motives to their aggression. But human war invariable involves greed and selfishness.

In contrast, Jehovah is not driven by blind emotion. Deuteronomy 32:4 declares: "The Rock, perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he." God's Word condemns unbridled rage, cruelty and violence. (Genesis 49:7; Psalm 11:5) So Jehovah never acts without reason. He uses his destructive power sparingly and as a last resort. It is as he stated through his prophet Ezekiel: " ' Do I take any delight at all in the death of someone wicked,' is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah,' and not in that he should turn back from his ways and actually keep living? ' " -Ezekiel 18:23.

Why, then, does Jehovah use destructive power? Before answering, we might call to mind the righteous man Job. Satan challenged whether Job -really, any human-would keep his integrity under trial. Jehovah answered that challenge by allowing Satan to test Job's integrity. As a result, Job suffered illness, loss of wealth and loss of his children. (Job 1:1-2:8) Unaware of he issues involved, Job mistakenly concluded that his suffering was unjust punishment from God. He asked God why he had made him a "target" "an enemy." -Job 7:20; 13:24.

A young man named Elihu exposed the flaw in Job's reasoning saying: "You have said, 'My righteousness is more than God's.' " (Job 35:2) Yes, it is unwise to think that we know better than God or to assume that he has behaved unfairly. "Far be it from the true God to act wickedly,, and the Almighty to act unjustly," Elihu declared. Later, he said: "As for the Almighty, we have not found him out; he is exalted in power, and justice and abundance of righteousness he will not belittle." (Job 34:10; 36:22, 23; 37:23) We can be sure that when God fights, he has good cause for doing so. With that in mind, let us explore some of the reasons why the God of peace sometimes assumes the mantle of a warrior. -1 Corinthians 14:33.

Next time: Why The God Of Peace is Compelled To Fight

Draw Close To Jehovah, 2002