Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession

Concepts of a Holy War, Part 1

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 1996-11-03

Synopsis: John Weaver introduces the biblical concept of holy war, arguing that warfare is not inherently sinful but can be righteous and holy when conducted according to God's will. He traces the theme of God as a warrior through Scripture, shows that capital punishment for murderers extends by principle to national judgment, and demonstrates that holy war is both divinely approved and an act of worship. The sermon lays a foundation for a follow-up message on how to discern a holy war.

[John Weaver] But today I want to just simply lay a principle foundation and build upon it more next week. So please remember that today I'm just really bringing the introduction to the second message, and this second message is dealing with the concept of a holy war, so this idea is I'm going to give to you in principle, and then I will enunciate it more clearly and distinctly, Lord willing, next week. So look in the book of Joshua, chapter 4 and verse 13. We will come back to this verse Before I finish today, look in Joshua chapter 4, verse 13, the Bible says about 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho. Now note that again, about 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho. I mentioned last week in my introduction how humanism had basically captured the minds of modern day Christians.

[John Weaver] And the fact that we do not think scripturally or biblically anymore. And the very fact that when biblical truth is taught, it seems so strange to our ears, we think that that possibly cannot be right. It possibly cannot possibly be true. But the truth is we have been humanized and we need to be Christianized and understand that there is a biblical concept of the fact that God is a warrior. Now, let me just very quickly give you this. I gave you five truths of a breakdown of the theme of God is a warrior from the Bible. I'm not going to give you all the scriptures today, but I am going to repeat these five truths. First of all, In the Old Testament, God appeared as a warrior who fought against Israel's flesh and blood enemies.

[John Weaver] I don't have to read the scripture for that. You know how God fought against Egypt, how he fought against the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites. So first of all, God fights against Israel's flesh and blood enemies. Secondly, when Israel sinned and rebelled against God, God appeared as a warrior and fought against Israel, and I showed you that in the scripture as well. And then thirdly, the Old Testament ended, or it ends I should say, with the prophets looking forward to the future and proclaiming the advent of a powerful divine warrior. And then, fourthly, Christ comes in the New Testament as a divine warrior to deliver his people from sin, death, and from their lesser enemies as well, and we read in Luke chapter 1. And then, fifthly, Christ is going to return a second time as the divine warrior who will destroy all of his human and spiritual enemies. And then I went through the Bible and showed you that truth. And, of course, I also pointed out how one of the main titles of God in Scripture is the Lord of Hosts, which indicates that God is the God of the armies.

[John Weaver] In fact, we find that stated over and over in the Bible. So this is just simply the concept of God as a warrior.

[John Weaver] Now, today we're going to come to the concept of holy war. Now probably everyone in this room has heard of what is known as the Islamic Jihad. Who can tell me what that is? What is the Islamic Jihad? It is the holy war of Islam. Jihad refers to holy war. In other words, this term refers then to the Muslims as they fight against the great Satan. And in their concept of holy war, they're fighting against the great Satan, which usually refers to America in general, and Christians in particular. Now, it may surprise you to know that the Muslims refer to the Christians as infidels. We're unbelievers. were infidels, because we do not believe in Allah. So their concept, then, is that they have a holy war that they're fighting against the infidels. Now, their concept of a holy war, while it is misapplied, is nonetheless a biblical concept.

[John Weaver] And I find it extremely interesting that it is those people who live in the Middle East that have still retained the idea of a holy war, while that idea is totally foreign to us who live in the West. Now, when I mention the concept of holy war, most people will stand aghast at that idea, and they think, how in the world can war be holy? I mean, how can anything so destructive so devastating and so deadly as war, be classified as holy in any way whatsoever. Now, it is true that the term holy war does not appear in the Bible, but the concept of holy war does appear over and over in Scripture.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Numbers, chapter 21 and verse 14. I read this passage last week, but let me give it to you in a different light this week. Numbers chapter 21 and verse 14. Note what the scripture says. Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of Arnon. Now note carefully, wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did. Would any be so bold and so blasphemous to declare that the wars of the Lord were not holy wars?

[John Weaver] You see, God fought because God is a warrior. And whatever God does, very obviously, is holy and right. So here's a verse that tells us that all of these wars that God engaged in and had His people engage in, they were classified and called the wars of the Lord. So very obviously, they must be holy if they were His wars. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 34. Deuteronomy 4, verse 34. I pointed out last week how God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and the means that he used to deliver them. Look at it in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 34.

[John Weaver] The Bible says, or hath God assayed to go and take in a nation from the midst of another nation by temptations, by signs, by wonders, and by war? and by a mighty hand, by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes." So the very fact that God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt by an act of war means undoubtedly it was a holy war, for it was God who was doing the fighting, it was God who was doing the delivery. Do you not remember? It was God who passed over and smoked the firstborn. It was God who destroyed Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea. So the Bible says that God then delivered the children of Israel by an act of war. So very obviously, God's wars must be right. Now if something is right, That means it is righteous, therefore, if something is righteous, it is holy. So we have then the concept of holy war, for God himself has engaged in it.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11. Now, for those individuals who say, well, war cannot possibly be holy in any way, well, look in this passage. The Bible says in the book of Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11, Watch carefully. John writes, and I saw heaven opened and the whole of white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and truth. Who is this? Someone tell me the Lord Jesus Christ and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness does he judge and wants make war. Now, if Jesus Christ makes war, if Jesus Christ is a divine warrior, and if Jesus Christ is the righteous one, that means the war that he wages is a righteous war. And if it is righteous, then it is holy. So very obviously, Not only does God the Father wage holy war, but God the Son wages holy war as well. So there is the concept of holy war. Now I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 6, and let's read a very familiar passage.

[John Weaver] Ephesians chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Ephesians 6 and verse 10. Look what the Apostle Paul writes. Ephesians 6, verse 10.

[John Weaver] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girded out with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, take ye the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

[John Weaver] and take the helmet of salvation with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Now I want you to note that the Apostle Paul is talking about putting on the full armor of God. He's talking about a warfare, and this warfare is holy. This warfare is righteous.

[John Weaver] Now, inevitably, invariably, Someone is going to object and say, but Brother Weaver, this passage is talking about spiritual warfare. I concur with that, and I will certainly admit that, but let me tell you something. Do you realize that all warfare, whether it is physical or whether it is classified as merely spiritual, all warfare is spiritual in reality? It is. Let me give you an illustration. I was thinking coming down here. Do you realize I could stand up and say, well, the trouble in our country is we have an ungodly, unbiblical, unconstitutional money system. And we do. We do. Let me tell you something. The funny money, the monopoly money that's floating around as money is not money. Money according to the Bible is silver and gold. Money according to the Constitution is silver and gold. Do you understand that? But let me ask you, why is it that we have the paper money?

[John Weaver] because we have forsaken God. The reason we have a Federal Reserve Board, an Act, and the reason we have a Fractional Reserve Banking System is because we've forsaken God and forsaken His Word, and here we have the enemy waging war upon us physically, but it is a spiritual principle that is behind it. You understand that?

[John Weaver] Now, you can take whatever you want to, look at the public education as such. You follow what I'm saying? If you will go back, you will find out that it was originally started by men, and I'm giving you one of the quotes, and here's what he said, the tentacles of Satan from around our children, and the tentacles of Satan he was referring to as biblical Christianity, when it's undue biblical Christianity.

[John Weaver] By the way, I must admit, he's been quite successful, and his successors have done that. They have unraveled the tentacles of biblical Christianity from around the children of America. But I'm showing you, although there are physical acts, behind all of those physical acts is a spiritual principle. But you say, Brother Weaver, If these in chapter 6 verses 10-18 deal with spiritual warfare, let me ask you a question. Is war holy only when it is spiritual?

[John Weaver] I want you to think about that for a moment. If the concept of war is wrong in and of itself, if the concept of war is inherently sinful, then in that case it would be wrong whether you engage in it either physically or spiritually.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you an illustration. Is the physical act of adultery wrong? Sure it is. Sure it is. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Everybody knows that. Well, let me ask you another question. Is the mental and the spiritual act of adultery wrong? Why? Because adultery is wrong in and of itself, whether it's physical or whether it's spiritual. Now you see, if war was inherently wrong in and of itself, it would be wrong spiritually just like it would be physically. So very obviously, you cannot say that spiritual war alone is holy. No, no. War has to be holy. Because it is holy spiritually, and it would be holy physically when it is fought for the right reasons, which I'll explain later on.

[John Weaver] Now, someone said, but Brother Weaver, you don't understand. In spiritual war, nobody gets hurt. Oh? Well, let me put it like this. Number one, you get hurt if you don't engage in it. And number two, let me point this out. War, whether it is physical or spiritual, has as its goal the infliction of damage or destruction upon one's enemies. And I hope that when you fight spiritually, you are inflicting at least some damage upon Satan and his minions.

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying? Very obviously, someone does get hurt, even in spiritual warfare.

[John Weaver] Now, it's impossible to have a war without casualties. That's physically and spiritually true as well, because the goal in warfare is to damage your enemy.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just try to show you how there is a concept of holy war and how that concept is a legitimate and lawful and biblical concept. If I were to ask you this morning, how many of you believe in the death penalty for murderers? I'm sure that every one of you would raise his hand. You believe that the murderer should be put to death. Now, let me show you what the Scripture teaches on that.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Numbers, chapter 35, and let's read verse 31. Numbers 35, verse 31. I want to try to get to you mentally today and show you the concept of holy war. Numbers chapter 35 verse 31, look what God says. Moreover, you shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall be surely put to death. Now God says, here's a murderer. He's been found guilty. He's been proven guilty. God says you're to take no satisfaction, you're to put him to death. Now, what if a murderer happened to be a multi-millionaire? Say a billionaire.

[John Weaver] And he came up and offered every member of the jury a million bucks each to acquit him, and offered the judge five million. And they agreed. Would that be right? No. God says you're to take no satisfaction, he's to be put to death. Would it be right to give him 20 years in prison? No, he's to be put to death.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 19, and let's begin there with verse 11. Deuteronomy 19 verses 11 through 13. Deuteronomy 19 verse 11. God says, but if any man hate his neighbor, and line wait for him and rise up against him and smite him mortally that he die and leave them to one of these cities that is the city of refuge in the elders of the city shall sit and fetch events and deliver him into the hand of the Avenger blood that he may die. and I shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee."

[John Weaver] Now here's a man that has premeditatedly murdered someone. He hated the man that he murdered, so he murdered him and he flees to the city of refuge. And he thinks, well I'm going to be protected there. God says, when that man flees to the city of refuge, God says, your eye is not to have pity upon him. You are to take that man, hand him over to the danger of blood, and watch that of danger put him to death. By the way, I hope you understand, there are some people in the Bible that God forbids you to have pity upon.

[John Weaver] A murderer is one of them. Another group is, if he will not work, neither should he eat. You see what I'm saying? I can be very sympathetic with Ed. If Ed is sick and cannot work, I'm willing to help him. But if Ed is too sorry to work, let him starve. I mean, you know, that will correct the situation one way or the other. But there are certain people and certain groups that God forbids us to have pity upon, and a murderer is one of them. God said we're to take no satisfaction, we're to put him to death.

[John Weaver] Now, if you will turn very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 13, and look at verse 4. Romans 13, verse 4. Everyone should be familiar with this verse. Romans 13, verse 4. Talking about the civil magistrate. And I will just put civil government here. Look what God says. For he that is the civil magistrate is the minister of God to thee for good.

[John Weaver] But if I do that which is evil, be afraid, for it beareth not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

[John Weaver] Now, two things about this verse. First of all, twice in this verse, the civil magistrate is called the minister of God. Each time the word minister appears, it is the word dekanos in the Greek. It is where we get our English word deacon, which literally means servant. So the civil magistrate is to be the servant of God. In what area is he to serve God? Well, look at it. He said in verse four, for he beareth not the sword in vain, for he is the minister of God, a revenger.

[John Weaver] to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Now, the word revenger is ekdikiae in the Greek. Dikiae is the word righteousness and ek is a preposition which means out of. So the revenger is one that exacts righteousness or draws righteousness out of. What is right for a murderer? It is righteous to put him to death. And so God says the civil magistrate is to be the man that exacts God's righteousness and puts the murderer to death.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand that capital punishment is based upon the fact that man was made in the image of God. When a man maliciously murders someone else, it is not just attack upon another man. It is not just simply the taking of another man's life. It is basically an attack upon God himself and the image of God.

[John Weaver] Now, flip back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 9 and look at verse 6. Genesis 9 and verse 6. Look at what God says. Genesis 9 verse 6. God says, Whoso sheddeth man's blood By man shall his blood be shed. Why? For in the image of God made he man. So why does God demand the death penalty? Because when you murder someone, you're not just murdering a man, you are attacking God by attacking God's image in that man. And so God says it merits the death penalty.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. Does the Bible teach the death penalty? The answer is yes. Now let me ask you another question. Is it righteous to put a murderer to death? Is it holy to put a murderer to death?

[John Weaver] Now, we've established a principle. The murderer is to be put to death, and it's righteous and it's holy.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. Let's suppose five men ganged up on one man, and all five men participated in beating the man to death. How many of them deserved to die? All five. Because each one is guilty of murder, although only one man may have struck the fatal blow. You understand? Now, let's go further. What if twenty men ganged up on two men and beat them to death? How many deserve to die? All twenty. If a hundred ganged up on thirty men, And beat them to death? How many deserve to die? 100. Now, you see, once the principle of justice is embraced, once you understand the death penalty reaches the murderer, it makes no difference whether the murderer is one or many. By extension, the same principle can be extended to an army or a nation. If it's right to put a single murderer to death, it is also right to put an army of murderers to death. It is also right to put a nation of murderers to death. Because here you have the principle.

[John Weaver] Now watch this. It is the principle of holy war that led to national destruction in the Bible. You say, what are you talking about? Well, since you're in Genesis, turn right over to the book of Genesis chapter 15. In this passage, God is telling Abraham that his descendants are going to be a stranger in a strange land for 400 years. So let's begin reading Genesis 15 verse 13, and he said unto Abram, know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them for a hundred years. And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterwards they shall come out with great substance.

[John Weaver] And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and thou shalt be buried in a good old age." Now, let's stop there just for a moment. So God says now, Abraham should understand something. Your descendants are going to go down into a strange land for 400 years. And those people are going to persecute and afflict your descendants. But now, Abraham, you are going to die in a good old age. Don't worry about it. You're not going to be involved in that. We're going to take care of you. Now, God says, when I do bring out your descendants, they're not going to come out empty-handed. They'll come out full.

[John Weaver] Now, I've got a question to ask you. Why did Israel have to spend 400 years in the land of Egypt? That's true, God decreed it, but why did God decree it? Well, that's true, too. That's one of the reasons. But look at the next verse, and you'll find out the real reason. Because, he said,"...but in the fourth generation day shall come hither again life, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." So God let the wicked Amorites have 400 more years of filling up their belly with sin and wickedness and rebellion. And then when Israel was brought out of Egypt by an act of God, by an act of war, God put a sword in the hand of the children of Israel and said, kill everyone. Now, why were the Amorites to be killed? because they were a nation of murderers and a nation of wicked, ungodly people. It's a concept of holy war, by the way. It's this concept of holy war that led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

[John Weaver] And, by the way, you know, we talk about Sodom and Gomorrah. Have you ever read about Zeboam and Admah? Well, I want you to note something. It was not just Sodom and Gomorrah that were overthrown. It was also the cities of the plain. And Ziboam and Adma happened to be two of those cities. I don't know how many cities were overthrown, but a lot of them were consumed.

[John Weaver] It's the concept of holy war. I think I told you this. I don't know whether I did or not. But if you would get Black's Law Dictionary, 4th edition, and look up the definition of burying alive, guess what you will find? The punishment for sodomites in England, and for those who make covenants with the Jews." So if you were a sodomite in England, they buried you alive. Why?

[John Weaver] Well, God says he that life with mankind is with womankind shall surely be put to death. In other words, it's right to put a sodomite to death, biblically, scripturally, and the state should be doing exactly that. I don't want to get off on that and start to say, today government is promoting it instead of trying to restrain it. But you see what I'm saying? It was a righteous and holy war that God waged against Sodom and Gomorrah. It was a righteous and holy war that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. because God was warring against those murderers and those rebellious individuals.

[John Weaver] Now, it's the same principle that's going to be enforced upon Judgment Day. It's going to be a holy Christ who wages a holy war against his enemies. I want you to understand something. Think this through. The concept of holy war has Christological implications. That is, it refers to Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ comes back and the Bible says in righteousness he doth make war. Do you not remember what the Apostle Paul wrote those Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 1, beginning with verse 7?

[John Weaver] He said, and you who are troubled rest with us. When our Lord Jesus shall return in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who know not God and obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is a righteous and a holy war. So warfare in the Bible is a divine activity. I'll explain that more next week. Now, God was Israel's sovereign Lord. And as Israel's sovereign Lord, he promised to protect Israel from all of their enemies.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand There is a covenantal connection or a covenantal aspect to warfare. We'll see this more thoroughly next week. But I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Leviticus chapter 26. Leviticus chapter 26. Let me just point to you, point this out, the covenantal aspect of warfare. Look in Leviticus 26. And let's begin there with verse 2. Leviticus 26, verse 2.

[John Weaver] God says, You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary, I am the Lord. If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and do them, now watch, this is the covenant If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and do them, then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and your threshing shall reach into the vintage, and your vintage shall reach into the sowing time, and you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land safely. and I will give peace in the land.

[John Weaver] Now watch, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid, and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land." Now you see this? Here is God as Israel's sovereign Lord protecting her from her enemies. Note verse 7, And you shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish," what? "...my covenant with you." Now look in verse 14 of the same chapter.

[John Weaver] But if you will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments. And if you shall despise my statutes, or of your soul abhor my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant, I will also do this unto you. I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, and shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart, and you shall sow your seed in vain, and your enemies shall eat it." And I will set my face against you, and you shall be slain before your enemies.

[John Weaver] They that hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when none pursue you. And if you will not yet for all this hearken to me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins."

[John Weaver] Now skip down to verse 25. And I will bring a sword upon you that shall avenge the quarrel of what? the quarrel of my covenant, and when you are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of your enemy."

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand, folks, there's a covenantal aspect to warfare. God is saying, if we obey him, then he's going to protect us, and our enemies will be defeated before us. But if we disobey God, he is not going to protect us, and our enemies are going to have the upper hand.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28. Let me show it to you again in black and white. Deuteronomy 28. Let's begin reading there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 28 is one of the most important passages in the Bible. It has the blessings and the curses. Everybody knows that presidents take their oath of office with their hand placed upon a Bible.

[John Weaver] Today it doesn't mean very much. But did you know originally, initially, when presidents had their hand upon their Bible, the Bible was opened to Deuteronomy 28, because they realized the blessings and the curses of God, and so they took their oath as unto God, based upon Deuteronomy 28.

[John Weaver] Now let's look in verse 1. And it shall come to pass that thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." Now watch, all these blessings are going to come upon you, they're going to overtake you, if you will only obey God. Now what are they? Verse 3,"...blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field." Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, the fruit of thy ground, the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kind, the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, when thou shalt be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face.

[John Weaver] They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in the storehouses, and all that thou settest thine hand unto, and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee in holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways." So here are all the blessings if we obey, and one of the blessings is when our enemies rise up against us one way They're going to leave seven ways now skip down to verse fifteen. What about, but it shall come to pass if I will not harken under the voice of the Lord by God to observe you do all his commandments and his statutes, which I command me this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and shall overtake thee. So God says, if you don't obey now, hear the curses. Let's get down to verse twenty-five.

[John Weaver] In fact, most of these curses are just the reversal of the blessings, but verse twenty-five The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies. Thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them, and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcass shall be the meat of all the fowls of the air, and of the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the Amorites, and with the Scabbard, and with the Itch, where thou canst not be healed." The Lord shall smite thee with madness and blindness and astonishment of heart, and thou shalt grope at noonday as the blind grope in the darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways, and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee."

[John Weaver] That almost sounds like America today, doesn't it? I want you to understand, folks, there is a covenantal aspect to warfare. Do you realize we boast as being the most powerful military nation upon the earth. And that boast is absolutely worthless without the protection of the Sovereign God of heaven and earth. It's worthless. I've often thought it would be something if God let some little puny two-bit dictator like Castro or Hussein take us down just to show us it doesn't take much when God's against you. So if we disobey God's covenant, God's going to curse us. If we obey, God's going to protect us. Now, warfare is divine activity. I'm going to explain that more next week. Remember this statement warfare is divine activity I want you to turn back to the book of Joshua chapter 4 and verse 13 Let me show you what I mean when I state that warfare is divine activity In Joshua chapter 4 The Bible of Jericho everyone is familiar with But the Bible says about 40,000 prepared for war, passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho.

[John Weaver] Now, the amazing thing is the little phrase, before the Lord. About 40,000, now note this next phrase, prepared for war. They were going to fight. They had swords and spears and bows. They had their instruments of warfare. They were prepared for war, passed over before the Lord unto battle.

[John Weaver] Now, the Hebrew word before is the word paune. The word paune does not just simply mean in the face of or in the presence of. Now watch this. You could read about 40,000 prepared for war, passed over in the presence of, or in the face of Lord in battle to the plains of Jericho. But it has more meaning than that. I'm going to show it to you in just a moment, another passage, but the word before here literally means as unto. Literally, about 40,000 prepared for war passed over as unto the Lord. In other words, their warfare was as unto the Lord.

[John Weaver] It was part and parcel of their worship of God and giving honor and glory to God. Even if you limited this word to in the presence of, or in the face of, it would still indicate it's high in approval. For 40,000 prepared for war, marched over in the presence, or as in to the face of the Lord. You see what I'm saying? God would have to approve of it, because very obviously they were doing it in his presence. So 40,000 prepared for war, passes over in the battle.

[John Weaver] Now, the text not only indicates divine approval, but this text also indicates that warfare, at certain times, is an act of obedience and therefore an act of worship. Literally, they pass over worshipfully, religiously, unto the Lord. In other words, what they were doing was part and parcel of their worship. It was war, but it was worship. Worship is holy. If war is an act of worship, it means it's holy as well when it is done worshipfully unto the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 15. 1 Samuel chapter 15. Let me show you the impact of this little word before the Lord. This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

[John Weaver] In this passage, God sends King Saul upon a mission. What was that mission? He was destroyed utterly, the Amalekites. Look in verse 2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, and when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant, suckling, ox, sheep, camel, and ass. By the way, who is initiating this war? God is. So this is a holy war. And he tells Saul, you go and kill everything. Don't leave anything alive.

[John Weaver] Well, you know the story. Saul and the people spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the oxen, and the best of the sheep. And about that time, something went baa, moo. And Samuel said, what do you mean? You've obeyed God. If you'd obeyed God, what means the blading of the sheep and the oxen in my ear? If you'd obeyed God, everything would be dead. And then Saul said, but the people spared them, that they might sacrifice unto God.

[John Weaver] And skip down, let me just read this to you, verse 22 and 23. Powerful, powerful passage. And Samuel said, hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken is better than the fat of rams. He's saying Saul, God, had rather have your obedience more than all the sacrifice that you can give him. Why? Look in verse 23.

[John Weaver] For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Now, what happened to a witch? Stoned or put to death. What happened to an idolater? put to death. He says rebellion and stubbornness are just like that. That is, they merit or deserve the death penalty. Now look what he says to Saul. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. So Saul, through his disobedience, through his rebellion, has lost his position as king. Now remember, Saul spared Agag.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles, not turn, but look down in 1 Samuel chapter 15. And let's begin with verse 26. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the strength of Israel will not lie nor repent, for he is not a man that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned, yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord." Now watch. Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag, the king of the Amalekites."

[John Weaver] And Agag came unto him delicately. Can't you just see him almost prancing? He may have been one of those funny fellows, I don't know. But he came unto him delicately, and Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past." In other words, I've been spared. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women, and Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." Now, I've got a question. Was Samuel wrong in what he did? No. Now, did you see that little phrase again? He hewed Agag in pieces. What's the next phrase? Before the Lord. Or literally, not just in the presence of the Lord, for God is omnipresent. God is everywhere in one place in the totality of His being at every time. God is omnipresent. He's everywhere. It doesn't mean just in the presence of God. It literally means as unto the Lord.

[John Weaver] Let me put it plainly. Samuel did to Agag exactly what God would have done to Agag. That's what he told Saul to do. He said, Saul, you kill everything. God wanted Agag dead. Samuel said, God wants him dead. I'm going to kill him. And I'm going to do it as unto It was part and parcel of worship and obedience in that time, in that sense, in that place, because Samuel was doing exactly what God wanted done. I'm trying to show you folks, it's not only divine approval that God gives in this concept of holy war, but it is an act of worship. as well as an act of war.

[John Weaver] One last passage today, I want you to turn to 1 Kings, chapter 18. Here's another story that everyone knows about. Everyone remembers the battle on Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings, chapter 18, verse 36, you remember how the prophets of Baal had tried to get tried to get Baal to hear their cries and to answer their prayers, and of course there was only silence. Beginning there with verse 36, it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came near and said, The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

[John Weaver] When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and they said, The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God! Watch! And Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them escape. And they took them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. Did Elijah do wrong? No, he did right. So what he did was an act of warfare. By the way, I want to point out that this began as a spiritual warfare. Was it not spiritual? Were not the prophets of Baal praying to their God? And was not Elijah praying to his God? Isn't that spiritual? Although spiritual, it didn't end up physical, did it not? And what Elijah did was right and holy. So there is a concept of holy war because what Elijah did, he did as unto the Lord. He did exactly what God would have done to the prophets of Baal. By the way, I want you to understand there is always a mixture of spiritual and physical warfare.

[John Weaver] Always. Always. We're just sublime, we can't see it. Don't you remember when Ahab and Jezebel were killing Naboth and his family, and a lot of other people as well, and the prophets of God? That was spiritual warfare, but it had physical implications. They were warring against the people of God. Here's just another aspect of it. Do you realize, you say, Brother Weaver, wow, there's nothing like that in America. Oh, did you hear about all those people in Waco that got burned to death? That's spiritual warfare with a physical implication.

[John Weaver] Now, whether you agree with them or not is immaterial. I'm just simply pointing out, here was a spiritual war that ended up with a physical application. So there is a concept of holy war.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make a couple of applications. Number one is this war is not inherently sinful in and of itself.

[John Weaver] Now, let me hasten to say this. There are evil wars. Yes, I'll get a hold of that a little bit later. There are wicked wars. Yes, that is true. There are rebellious wars. Yes, that is true. But evil, wicked and rebellious wars do not cancel out the fact that there are holy wars. So you cannot throw war out just simply because some wars are wicked and some wars are wrong.

[John Weaver] It is a lawful act of warfare when it is done according to the will and the word of God. Now, secondly, since the war that is right is a holy war, and I'll explain this more next week, Since the only war that is right is a holy war, we better make dead sure before we participate in any war that it is indeed a holy war. You follow me?

[John Weaver] We have sent our sons to many parts of this country. and many parts of the world to fight and die in unholy wars for no other reason than to protect somebody's oil wells and to make somebody millionaires. That's not a good reason to fight, folks. If a certain family wants to fight and protect their Or else let them send their children. Not mine. Let's make sure that any war that we're engaging in is indeed a holy war. But here's the concept. You say, Brother Weaver, how can I know whether or not a war is holy?

[John Weaver] Well, if you'll be here next week at the same time, at the same station, We'll continue. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we're so thankful for your love, for your grace, for your mercy. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to have our thinking scriptural. Lord, we've been so humanized. And one of the problems is, Lord, one of these days we're going to get in trouble. And it's going to be too late to figure all this out when we're in trouble.

[John Weaver] We need to know beforehand what Your Word teaches and what we may or may not do in obedience unto Thee. Help us, Father, to be holy, to be godly, to be scriptural, and to always do that which is honoring and pleasing unto Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen. This program was produced by Dominion Ministry. For more information about Pastor Weaver's sermons, you may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N Street, Suite 705, PMD 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406.

[John Weaver] Or give us a call at 912-833-7000. You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com

Concepts of a Holy War, Part 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	127111026314
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	1996-11-03
Dictation Name
Book	Book 102: Concepts of a Holy War — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	81

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Need for Biblical Thinking on War

Weaver states he is laying a principle foundation for the concept of holy war, noting that modern Christians have been humanized and need to recover a biblical mindset that recognizes God as a warrior.

But today I want to just simply lay a principle foundation and build upon it more next week. So please remember that today I'm just really bringing the introduction to the second message, and this second message is dealing with the concept of a holy war. So this idea I'm going to give to you in principle, and then I will enunciate it more clearly and distinctly, Lord willing, next week. So look in the book of Joshua, chapter 4 and verse 13. We will come back to this verse before I finish today. Look in Joshua chapter 4, verse 13. The Bible says, "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho." Now note that again: "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho." I mentioned last week in my introduction how humanism had basically captured the minds of modern day Christians.

And the fact that we do not think scripturally or biblically anymore. And the very fact that when biblical truth is taught, it seems so strange to our ears, we think that that possibly cannot be right. It possibly cannot possibly be true. But the truth is we have been humanized and we need to be Christianized and understand that there is a biblical concept of the fact that God is a warrior. Now, let me just very quickly give you this. I gave you five truths of a breakdown of the theme of God is a warrior from the Bible. I'm not going to give you all the scriptures today, but I am going to repeat these five truths. First of all, in the Old Testament, God appeared as a warrior who fought against Israel's flesh and blood enemies.

Five Truths of God as a Warrior

Weaver recaps five biblical truths: God fought Israel's flesh-and-blood enemies, fought against Israel when they sinned, the prophets foretold a coming divine warrior, Christ came as a divine warrior, and Christ will return as a divine warrior.

I don't have to read the scripture for that. You know how God fought against Egypt, how He fought against the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites. So first of all, God fights against Israel's flesh and blood enemies. Secondly, when Israel sinned and rebelled against God, God appeared as a warrior and fought against Israel, and I showed you that in the scripture as well. And then thirdly, the Old Testament ended, or it ends I should say, with the prophets looking forward to the future and proclaiming the advent of a powerful divine warrior. And then, fourthly, Christ comes in the New Testament as a divine warrior to deliver His people from sin, death, and from their lesser enemies as well, and we read in Luke chapter 1. And then, fifthly, Christ is going to return a second time as the divine warrior who will destroy all of His human and spiritual enemies. And then I went through the Bible and showed you that truth. And, of course, I also pointed out how one of the main titles of God in Scripture is the Lord of Hosts, which indicates that God is the God of the armies.

In fact, we find that stated over and over in the Bible. So this is just simply the concept of God as a warrior.

The Islamic Jihad and the Biblical Concept of Holy War

Weaver notes that while the Islamic jihad is misapplied, the concept of holy war is biblical, though the term itself does not appear in Scripture.

Now, today we're going to come to the concept of holy war. Now probably everyone in this room has heard of what is known as the Islamic Jihad. Who can tell me what that is? What is the Islamic Jihad? It is the holy war of Islam. Jihad refers to holy war. In other words, this term refers then to the Muslims as they fight against the great Satan. And in their concept of holy war, they're fighting against the great Satan, which usually refers to America in general, and Christians in particular. Now, it may surprise you to know that the Muslims refer to the Christians as infidels. We're unbelievers. We're infidels, because we do not believe in Allah. So their concept, then, is that they have a holy war that they're fighting against the infidels. Now, their concept of a holy war, while it is misapplied, is nonetheless a biblical concept.

And I find it extremely interesting that it is those people who live in the Middle East that have still retained the idea of a holy war, while that idea is totally foreign to us who live in the West. Now, when I mention the concept of holy war, most people will stand aghast at that idea, and they think, how in the world can war be holy? I mean, how can anything so destructive, so devastating, and so deadly as war, be classified as holy in any way whatsoever? Now, it is true that the term holy war does not appear in the Bible, but the concept of holy war does appear over and over in Scripture.

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Numbers, chapter 21 and verse 14. I read this passage last week, but let me give it to you in a different light this week. Numbers chapter 21 and verse 14. Note what the scripture says:

Scripture Reading — Numbers 21:14

"Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of Arnon."

Now note carefully,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 21:14

"Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did."

Would any be so bold and so blasphemous to declare that the wars of the Lord were not holy wars?

Biblical Evidence for Holy War

Weaver cites Numbers 21:14 (the book of the wars of the Lord), Deuteronomy 4:34 (God delivered Israel by war), and Revelation 19:11 (Christ makes war in righteousness) to show that God's wars are holy.

You see, God fought because God is a warrior. And whatever God does, very obviously, is holy and right. So here's a verse that tells us that all of these wars that God engaged in and had His people engage in, they were classified and called the wars of the Lord. So very obviously, they must be holy if they were His wars. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 34. Deuteronomy 4, verse 34. I pointed out last week how God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and the means that He used to deliver them. Look at it in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 34.

The Bible says, "Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation by temptations, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes." So the very fact that God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt by an act of war means undoubtedly it was a holy war, for it was God who was doing the fighting, it was God who was doing the delivery. Do you not remember? It was God who passed over and smote the firstborn. It was God who destroyed Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea. So the Bible says that God then delivered the children of Israel by an act of war. So very obviously, God's wars must be right. Now if something is right, that means it is righteous. Therefore, if something is righteous, it is holy. So we have then the concept of holy war, for God Himself has engaged in it.

Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11. Now, for those individuals who say, well, war cannot possibly be holy in any way, well, look in this passage. The Bible says in the book of Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11, watch carefully. John writes,

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:11

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True."

Who is this? Someone tell me. The Lord Jesus Christ.

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:11

"And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war."

Now, if Jesus Christ makes war, if Jesus Christ is a divine warrior, and if Jesus Christ is the righteous one, that means the war that He wages is a righteous war. And if it is righteous, then it is holy. So very obviously, not only does God the Father wage holy war, but God the Son wages holy war as well. So there is the concept of holy war. Now I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 6, and let's read a very familiar passage.

Spiritual Warfare and the Holiness of War

Weaver argues from Ephesians 6 that spiritual warfare is holy, and since war is not inherently sinful, physical war can also be holy when fought for right reasons. He uses adultery as an analogy: if an act is wrong in itself, it is wrong both physically and spiritually.

Ephesians chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Ephesians 6 and verse 10. Look what the Apostle Paul writes. Ephesians 6, verse 10.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 6:10-18

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Now I want you to note that the Apostle Paul is talking about putting on the full armor of God. He's talking about a warfare, and this warfare is holy. This warfare is righteous. Now, inevitably, invariably, someone is going to object and say, "But Brother Weaver, this passage is talking about spiritual warfare." I concur with that, and I will certainly admit that, but let me tell you something. Do you realize that all warfare, whether it is physical or whether it is classified as merely spiritual, all warfare is spiritual in reality? It is. Let me give you an illustration. I was thinking coming down here. Do you realize I could stand up and say, "Well, the trouble in our country is we have an ungodly, unbiblical, unconstitutional money system." And we do. We do. Let me tell you something. The funny money, the monopoly money that's floating around as money is not money. Money according to the Bible is silver and gold. Money according to the Constitution is silver and gold. Do you understand that? But let me ask you, why is it that we have the paper money?

Because we have forsaken God. The reason we have a Federal Reserve Board, an Act, and the reason we have a Fractional Reserve Banking System is because we've forsaken God and forsaken His Word, and here we have the enemy waging war upon us physically, but it is a spiritual principle that is behind it. You understand that? Now, you can take whatever you want to, look at the public education as such. You follow what I'm saying? If you will go back, you will find out that it was originally started by men, and I'm giving you one of the quotes, and here's what he said: "...the tentacles of Satan from around our children," and the tentacles of Satan he was referring to as biblical Christianity, when it's undue biblical Christianity. By the way, I must admit, he's been quite successful, and his successors have done that. They have unraveled the tentacles of biblical Christianity from around the children of America. But I'm showing you, although there are physical acts, behind all of those physical acts is a spiritual principle. But you say, "Brother Weaver, if Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-18 deal with spiritual warfare, let me ask you a question. Is war holy only when it is spiritual?"

I want you to think about that for a moment. If the concept of war is wrong in and of itself, if the concept of war is inherently sinful, then in that case it would be wrong whether you engage in it either physically or spiritually. Now, let me give you an illustration. Is the physical act of adultery wrong? Sure it is. Sure it is. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Everybody knows that. Well, let me ask you another question. Is the mental and the spiritual act of adultery wrong? Why? Because adultery is wrong in and of itself, whether it's physical or whether it's spiritual. Now you see, if war was inherently wrong in and of itself, it would be wrong spiritually just like it would be physically. So very obviously, you cannot say that spiritual war alone is holy. No, no. War has to be holy. Because it is holy spiritually, and it would be holy physically when it is fought for the right reasons, which I'll explain later on.

The Death Penalty as a Foundation for Holy War

Weaver establishes that the death penalty for murderers is righteous and holy (Numbers 35:31; Deuteronomy 19:11-13; Romans 13:4; Genesis 9:6). He extends the principle: if it is right to execute one murderer, it is right to execute an army or nation of murderers.

Look in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Numbers, chapter 35, and let's read verse 31. Numbers 35, verse 31. I want to try to get to you mentally today and show you the concept of holy war. Numbers chapter 35 verse 31, look what God says:

Scripture Reading — Numbers 35:31

"Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death."

Now God says, here's a murderer. He's been found guilty. He's been proven guilty. God says you're to take no satisfaction, you're to put him to death. Now, what if a murderer happened to be a multi-millionaire? Say a billionaire.

And he came up and offered every member of the jury a million bucks each to acquit him, and offered the judge five million. And they agreed. Would that be right? No. God says you're to take no satisfaction, he's to be put to death. Would it be right to give him 20 years in prison? No, he's to be put to death.

Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 19, and let's begin there with verse 11. Deuteronomy 19 verses 11 through 13. Deuteronomy 19 verse 11. God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 19:11-13

"But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities"

—that is the city of refuge—

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 19:11-13

"then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. And thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee."

Now here's a man that has premeditatedly murdered someone. He hated the man that he murdered, so he murdered him and he flees to the city of refuge. And he thinks, "Well I'm going to be protected there." God says, when that man flees to the city of refuge, God says, your eye is not to have pity upon him. You are to take that man, hand him over to the avenger of blood, and watch that avenger put him to death. By the way, I hope you understand, there are some people in the Bible that God forbids you to have pity upon. A murderer is one of them. Another group is, "If he will not work, neither should he eat." You see what I'm saying? I can be very sympathetic with Ed. If Ed is sick and cannot work, I'm willing to help him. But if Ed is too sorry to work, let him starve. I mean, you know, that will correct the situation one way or the other. But there are certain people and certain groups that God forbids us to have pity upon, and a murderer is one of them. God said we're to take no satisfaction, we're to put him to death.

Now, if you will turn very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 13, and look at verse 4. Romans 13, verse 4. Everyone should be familiar with this verse. Romans 13, verse 4. Talking about the civil magistrate. And I will just put civil government here. Look what God says: "For he"—that is the civil magistrate—"is the minister of God to thee for good."

"But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." Now, two things about this verse. First of all, twice in this verse, the civil magistrate is called the minister of God. Each time the word "minister" appears, it is the word diakonos in the Greek. It is where we get our English word "deacon," which literally means servant. So the civil magistrate is to be the servant of God. In what area is he to serve God? Well, look at it. He said in verse four, "For he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger."

"...to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." Now, the word "revenger" is ekdikos in the Greek. Dikē is the word righteousness and ek is a preposition which means out of. So the revenger is one that exacts righteousness or draws righteousness out of. What is right for a murderer? It is righteous to put him to death. And so God says the civil magistrate is to be the man that exacts God's righteousness and puts the murderer to death.

Now, I want you to understand that capital punishment is based upon the fact that man was made in the image of God. When a man maliciously murders someone else, it is not just an attack upon another man. It is not just simply the taking of another man's life. It is basically an attack upon God Himself and the image of God.

Now, flip back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 9 and look at verse 6. Genesis 9 and verse 6. Look at what God says. Genesis 9 verse 6. God says,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 9:6

"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."

So why does God demand the death penalty? Because when you murder someone, you're not just murdering a man, you are attacking God by attacking God's image in that man. And so God says it merits the death penalty.

Now let me ask you a question. Does the Bible teach the death penalty? The answer is yes. Now let me ask you another question. Is it righteous to put a murderer to death? Is it holy to put a murderer to death?

Now, we've established a principle. The murderer is to be put to death, and it's righteous and it's holy. Now let me ask you a question. Let's suppose five men ganged up on one man, and all five men participated in beating the man to death. How many of them deserve to die? All five. Because each one is guilty of murder, although only one man may have struck the fatal blow. You understand? Now, let's go further. What if twenty men ganged up on two men and beat them to death? How many deserve to die? All twenty. If a hundred ganged up on thirty men, and beat them to death? How many deserve to die? 100. Now, you see, once the principle of justice is embraced, once you understand the death penalty reaches the murderer, it makes no difference whether the murderer is one or many. By extension, the same principle can be extended to an army or a nation. If it's right to put a single murderer to death, it is also right to put an army of murderers to death. It is also right to put a nation of murderers to death. Because here you have the principle.

National Destruction as Holy War in Scripture

Weaver shows that the destruction of the Amorites (Genesis 15:13-16), Sodom and Gomorrah, and Jerusalem in AD 70 were acts of holy war because those nations were filled with murderers and wickedness.

Now watch this. It is the principle of holy war that led to national destruction in the Bible. You say, what are you talking about? Well, since you're in Genesis, turn right over to the book of Genesis chapter 15. In this passage, God is telling Abraham that his descendants are going to be a stranger in a strange land for 400 years. So let's begin reading Genesis 15 verse 13: "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance."

"And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age." Now, let's stop there just for a moment. So God says now, Abraham should understand something. Your descendants are going to go down into a strange land for 400 years. And those people are going to persecute and afflict your descendants. But now, Abraham, you are going to die in a good old age. Don't worry about it. You're not going to be involved in that. We're going to take care of you. Now, God says, when I do bring out your descendants, they're not going to come out empty-handed. They'll come out full.

Now, I've got a question to ask you. Why did Israel have to spend 400 years in the land of Egypt? That's true, God decreed it, but why did God decree it? Well, that's true, too. That's one of the reasons. But look at the next verse, and you'll find out the real reason. Because, he said, "...but in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." So God let the wicked Amorites have 400 more years of filling up their belly with sin and wickedness and rebellion. And then when Israel was brought out of Egypt by an act of God, by an act of war, God put a sword in the hand of the children of Israel and said, "Kill everyone." Now, why were the Amorites to be killed? Because they were a nation of murderers and a nation of wicked, ungodly people. It's a concept of holy war, by the way. It's this concept of holy war that led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And, by the way, you know, we talk about Sodom and Gomorrah. Have you ever read about Zeboim and Admah? Well, I want you to note something. It was not just Sodom and Gomorrah that were overthrown. It was also the cities of the plain. And Zeboim and Admah happened to be two of those cities. I don't know how many cities were overthrown, but a lot of them were consumed.

It's the concept of holy war. I think I told you this. I don't know whether I did or not. But if you would get Black's Law Dictionary, 4th edition, and look up the definition of "burying alive," guess what you will find? "The punishment for sodomites in England, and for those who make covenants with the Jews." So if you were a sodomite in England, they buried you alive. Why? Well, God says, "He that lieth with mankind, as with womankind, shall surely be put to death." In other words, it's right to put a sodomite to death, biblically, scripturally, and the state should be doing exactly that. I don't want to get off on that and start to say, today government is promoting it instead of trying to restrain it. But you see what I'm saying? It was a righteous and holy war that God waged against Sodom and Gomorrah. It was a righteous and holy war that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, because God was warring against those murderers and those rebellious individuals.

Now, it's the same principle that's going to be enforced upon Judgment Day. It's going to be a holy Christ who wages a holy war against His enemies. I want you to understand something. Think this through. The concept of holy war has Christological implications. That is, it refers to Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ comes back and the Bible says in righteousness He doth make war. Do you not remember what the Apostle Paul wrote those Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 1, beginning with verse 7?

He said, "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is a righteous and a holy war. So warfare in the Bible is a divine activity. I'll explain that more next week. Now, God was Israel's sovereign Lord. And as Israel's sovereign Lord, He promised to protect Israel from all of their enemies.

The Covenantal Aspect of Warfare

Weaver explains from Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 that God promises protection and victory to an obedient covenant people, but curses and defeat to a disobedient people. Warfare is tied to covenant faithfulness.

Now, I want you to understand there is a covenantal connection or a covenantal aspect to warfare. We'll see this more thoroughly next week. But I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Leviticus chapter 26. Leviticus chapter 26. Let me just point to you, point this out, the covenantal aspect of warfare. Look in Leviticus 26. And let's begin there with verse 2. Leviticus 26, verse 2.

God says,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25

"Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;"

now watch, this is the covenant.

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25

"If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land."

Now watch,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25

"And ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land."

Now you see this? Here is God as Israel's sovereign Lord protecting her from her enemies. Note verse 7:

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25

"And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish"

—what?—"my covenant with you." Now look in verse 14 of the same chapter. "But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies." "They that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins." Now skip down to verse 25. "And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of"—what?—"the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy."

Now, I want you to understand, folks, there's a covenantal aspect to warfare. God is saying, if we obey Him, then He's going to protect us, and our enemies will be defeated before us. But if we disobey God, He is not going to protect us, and our enemies are going to have the upper hand. Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28. Let me show it to you again in black and white. Deuteronomy 28. Let's begin reading there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 28 is one of the most important passages in the Bible. It has the blessings and the curses. Everybody knows that presidents take their oath of office with their hand placed upon a Bible.

Today it doesn't mean very much. But did you know originally, initially, when presidents had their hand upon their Bible, the Bible was opened to Deuteronomy 28, because they realized the blessings and the curses of God, and so they took their oath as unto God, based upon Deuteronomy 28. Now let's look in verse 1.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29

"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God."

Now watch, all these blessings are going to come upon you, they're going to overtake you, if you will only obey God. Now what are they? Verse 3:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29

"Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face." "They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways."

So here are all the blessings if we obey, and one of the blessings is when our enemies rise up against us one way, they're going to leave seven ways. Now skip down to verse fifteen.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29

"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee."

So God says, if you don't obey now, hear the curses. Let's get down to verse twenty-five. In fact, most of these curses are just the reversal of the blessings, but verse twenty-five:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29

"The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee."

That almost sounds like America today, doesn't it? I want you to understand, folks, there is a covenantal aspect to warfare. Do you realize we boast as being the most powerful military nation upon the earth. And that boast is absolutely worthless without the protection of the Sovereign God of heaven and earth. It's worthless. I've often thought it would be something if God let some little puny two-bit dictator like Castro or Hussein take us down just to show us it doesn't take much when God's against you. So if we disobey God's covenant, God's going to curse us. If we obey, God's going to protect us. Now, warfare is divine activity. I'm going to explain that more next week. Remember this statement: warfare is divine activity. I want you to turn back to the book of Joshua chapter 4 and verse 13. Let me show you what I mean when I state that warfare is divine activity. In Joshua chapter 4, the battle of Jericho everyone is familiar with. But the Bible says, "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho."

Warfare as Divine Activity and Worship

Weaver examines Joshua 4:13, 1 Samuel 15 (Saul and Agag), and 1 Kings 18 (Elijah and the prophets of Baal) to show that holy war is done 'before the Lord'—as an act of worship and obedience, not merely in God's presence.

Now, the amazing thing is the little phrase, "before the Lord." "About 40,000"—now note this next phrase—"prepared for war." They were going to fight. They had swords and spears and bows. They had their instruments of warfare. They were prepared for war, passed over before the Lord unto battle.

Now, the Hebrew word "before" is the word paneh. The word paneh does not just simply mean "in the face of" or "in the presence of." Now watch this. You could read, "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over in the presence of, or in the face of the Lord, unto battle to the plains of Jericho." But it has more meaning than that. I'm going to show it to you in just a moment, another passage, but the word "before" here literally means "as unto." Literally, "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over as unto the Lord." In other words, their warfare was as unto the Lord. It was part and parcel of their worship of God and giving honor and glory to God. Even if you limited this word to "in the presence of," or "in the face of," it would still indicate it's high in approval. For 40,000 prepared for war, marched over in the presence, or as in to the face of the Lord. You see what I'm saying? God would have to approve of it, because very obviously they were doing it in His presence. So 40,000 prepared for war, passes over unto battle.

Now, the text not only indicates divine approval, but this text also indicates that warfare, at certain times, is an act of obedience and therefore an act of worship. Literally, they pass over worshipfully, religiously, unto the Lord. In other words, what they were doing was part and parcel of their worship. It was war, but it was worship. Worship is holy. If war is an act of worship, it means it's holy as well when it is done worshipfully unto the Lord.

Now, look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 15. 1 Samuel chapter 15. Let me show you the impact of this little word "before the Lord." This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

In this passage, God sends King Saul upon a mission. What was that mission? He was to destroy utterly the Amalekites. Look in verse 2: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." By the way, who is initiating this war? God is. So this is a holy war. And He tells Saul, "You go and kill everything. Don't leave anything alive."

Well, you know the story. Saul and the people spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the oxen, and the best of the sheep. And about that time, something went baa, moo. And Samuel said, "What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" If you'd obeyed God, everything would be dead. And then Saul said, "But the people spared them, that they might sacrifice unto God." And skip down, let me just read this to you, verse 22 and 23. Powerful, powerful passage. "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." He's saying, "Saul, God had rather have your obedience more than all the sacrifice that you can give Him." Why? Look in verse 23.

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." Now, what happened to a witch? Stoned or put to death. What happened to an idolater? Put to death. He says rebellion and stubbornness are just like that. That is, they merit or deserve the death penalty. Now look what he says to Saul: "Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." So Saul, through his disobedience, through his rebellion, has lost his position as king. Now remember, Saul spared Agag.

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 15:2-3, 22-23, 26-33

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles—not turn, but look down in 1 Samuel chapter 15. And let's begin with verse 26. "And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord." Now watch. "Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites."

"And Agag came unto him delicately." Can't you just see him almost prancing? He may have been one of those funny fellows, I don't know. But he came unto him delicately, and Agag said, "Surely the bitterness of death is past." In other words, "I've been spared." And Samuel said, "As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." Now, I've got a question. Was Samuel wrong in what he did? No. Now, did you see that little phrase again? "He hewed Agag in pieces." What's the next phrase? "Before the Lord." Or literally, not just in the presence of the Lord, for God is omnipresent. God is everywhere in one place in the totality of His being at every time. God is omnipresent. He's everywhere. It doesn't mean just in the presence of God. It literally means "as unto the Lord."

Let me put it plainly. Samuel did to Agag exactly what God would have done to Agag. That's what He told Saul to do. He said, "Saul, you kill everything." God wanted Agag dead. Samuel said, "God wants him dead. I'm going to kill him. And I'm going to do it as unto the Lord." It was part and parcel of worship and obedience in that time, in that sense, in that place, because Samuel was doing exactly what God wanted done. I'm trying to show you folks, it's not only divine approval that God gives in this concept of holy war, but it is an act of worship as well as an act of war.

One last passage today, I want you to turn to 1 Kings, chapter 18. Here's another story that everyone knows about. Everyone remembers the battle on Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings, chapter 18, verse 36, you remember how the prophets of Baal had tried to get Baal to hear their cries and to answer their prayers, and of course there was only silence. Beginning there with verse 36: "And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench."

"And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God." Watch! "And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there." Did Elijah do wrong? No, he did right. So what he did was an act of warfare. By the way, I want to point out that this began as a spiritual warfare. Was it not spiritual? Were not the prophets of Baal praying to their god? And was not Elijah praying to his God? Isn't that spiritual? Although spiritual, it didn't end up physical, did it not? And what Elijah did was right and holy. So there is a concept of holy war because what Elijah did, he did as unto the Lord. He did exactly what God would have done to the prophets of Baal. By the way, I want you to understand there is always a mixture of spiritual and physical warfare.

Applications and Conclusion

Weaver concludes that war is not inherently sinful; there are holy wars and wicked wars. Christians must ensure any war they participate in is a holy war according to God's will. He promises to explain how to discern a holy war in the next message.

Now, whether you agree with them or not is immaterial. I'm just simply pointing out, here was a spiritual war that ended up with a physical application. So there is a concept of holy war. Now, let me make a couple of applications. Number one is this: war is not inherently sinful in and of itself.

Now, let me hasten to say this. There are evil wars. Yes, I'll get a hold of that a little bit later. There are wicked wars. Yes, that is true. There are rebellious wars. Yes, that is true. But evil, wicked and rebellious wars do not cancel out the fact that there are holy wars. So you cannot throw war out just simply because some wars are wicked and some wars are wrong.

It is a lawful act of warfare when it is done according to the will and the word of God. Now, secondly, since the war that is right is a holy war, and I'll explain this more next week, since the only war that is right is a holy war, we better make dead sure before we participate in any war that it is indeed a holy war. You follow me? We have sent our sons to many parts of this country, and many parts of the world to fight and die in unholy wars for no other reason than to protect somebody's oil wells and to make somebody millionaires. That's not a good reason to fight, folks. If a certain family wants to fight and protect their oil wells, let them send their children. Not mine. Let's make sure that any war that we're engaging in is indeed a holy war. But here's the concept. You say, "Brother Weaver, how can I know whether or not a war is holy?"

Well, if you'll be here next week at the same time, at the same station, we'll continue. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we're so thankful for Your love, for Your grace, for Your mercy. And Lord, I pray that You'd help us to have our thinking scriptural. Lord, we've been so humanized. And one of the problems is, Lord, one of these days we're going to get in trouble. And it's going to be too late to figure all this out when we're in trouble.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God as a Warrior

Summary: The Bible consistently portrays God as a warrior who fights against enemies, both physical and spiritual, and this is a foundational truth for understanding holy war.

Evidence: Weaver recaps five truths: God fought Israel's enemies, fought against Israel when they sinned, the prophets foretold a divine warrior, Christ came as a warrior, and Christ will return as a warrior. He also notes the title 'Lord of Hosts.'

The Holiness of War

Summary: War is not inherently sinful; it can be holy when conducted according to God's will and righteousness. Spiritual warfare is holy, and physical war can be holy for the same reasons.

Evidence: Weaver argues from Ephesians 6 that spiritual warfare is holy, and uses the analogy of adultery to show that if war were inherently sinful, it would be wrong both physically and spiritually. He cites Revelation 19:11 where Christ makes war in righteousness.

The Death Penalty as a Principle of Justice

Summary: The biblical mandate to execute murderers is righteous and holy, and this principle extends to corporate entities like armies and nations, providing a basis for holy war.

Evidence: Weaver cites Numbers 35:31, Deuteronomy 19:11-13, Romans 13:4, and Genesis 9:6 to establish the death penalty. He then argues that if one murderer deserves death, so do many murderers, including an army or nation.

Covenantal Warfare

Summary: Warfare is tied to God's covenant: obedience brings divine protection and victory, while disobedience brings defeat and curse. National security depends on covenant faithfulness.

Evidence: Weaver reads Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, showing blessings for obedience (enemies flee) and curses for disobedience (enemies prevail). He applies this to modern America.

Warfare as Worship

Summary: Holy war is an act of worship and obedience done 'before the Lord,' meaning it is performed as unto God and is part of honoring Him.

Evidence: Weaver examines Joshua 4:13 ('passed over before the Lord'), 1 Samuel 15 (Samuel hews Agag 'before the Lord'), and 1 Kings 18 (Elijah slays prophets of Baal) to show that these acts of war were done as worship.

Discernment in Warfare

Summary: Because not all wars are holy, Christians must carefully discern whether a war is righteous before participating. Many modern wars are fought for ungodly reasons.

Evidence: Weaver warns that America has sent sons to fight in unholy wars for oil and wealth, and stresses the need to ensure any war is a holy war according to God's will.

Key Arguments

War is not inherently sinful

Summary: If war were inherently sinful, it would be wrong both physically and spiritually. Since spiritual warfare is commanded and holy, physical war can also be holy when fought for righteous reasons.

Evidence: Weaver uses the analogy of adultery: if an act is wrong in itself, it is wrong in all forms. He points to Ephesians 6 and Revelation 19:11 to show that spiritual war is holy and Christ makes war in righteousness.

The death penalty justifies corporate judgment

Summary: The biblical command to execute murderers is based on the image of God in man. This principle scales from individuals to armies and nations, making national destruction a form of holy war.

Evidence: Weaver cites Genesis 9:6 and Romans 13:4, then extends the logic: if one murderer deserves death, so do five, twenty, a hundred, or an entire nation of murderers.

God's wars are holy by definition

Summary: Whatever God does is holy and right. The Bible calls God's wars 'the wars of the Lord,' and He delivered Israel by war, proving that some wars are holy.

Evidence: Weaver references Numbers 21:14 ('the book of the wars of the Lord') and Deuteronomy 4:34 (God delivered Israel by war).

Holy war is an act of worship

Summary: The phrase 'before the Lord' in war contexts means 'as unto the Lord,' indicating that holy war is performed as an act of worship and obedience, not merely in God's presence.

Evidence: Weaver analyzes Joshua 4:13, 1 Samuel 15:33, and 1 Kings 18:40, showing that the Hebrew word 'paneh' implies doing something as unto the Lord, making warfare an act of worship.

Covenant obedience determines military outcome

Summary: God promises to fight for His people when they obey His covenant, but He will fight against them when they disobey. National security is a spiritual issue.

Evidence: Weaver reads Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, contrasting the blessings of victory with the curses of defeat, and applies this to America's military boasting.

Spiritual and physical warfare are intertwined

Summary: All warfare has spiritual roots, and spiritual warfare often has physical manifestations. The battle on Mount Carmel began as spiritual warfare and ended with physical execution.

Evidence: Weaver cites 1 Kings 18, where Elijah's spiritual contest with Baal's prophets led to their physical slaughter, and mentions modern examples like Waco.

Scripture References

Joshua 4:13

Context: Weaver uses this verse to introduce the concept of holy war and later to show that warfare is done 'before the Lord' as an act of worship.

Numbers 21:14

Context: Weaver cites this verse to show that God's wars are called 'the wars of the Lord,' implying they are holy.

Deuteronomy 4:34

Context: Weaver uses this verse to demonstrate that God delivered Israel from Egypt by war, making it a holy war.

Revelation 19:11

Context: Weaver cites this verse to show that Christ makes war in righteousness, proving that war can be holy.

Ephesians 6:10-18

Context: Weaver reads this passage to establish that spiritual warfare is holy and commanded, and argues that if spiritual war is holy, physical war can be holy too.

Numbers 35:31

Context: Weaver uses this verse to establish the death penalty for murderers as a foundation for holy war.

Deuteronomy 19:11-13

Context: Weaver cites this passage to reinforce the command to execute murderers without pity.

Romans 13:4

Context: Weaver uses this verse to show that the civil magistrate is God's minister to execute wrath on evildoers, supporting the death penalty.

Genesis 9:6

Context: Weaver cites this verse to explain that the death penalty is based on man being made in God's image.

Genesis 15:13-16

Context: Weaver uses this passage to show that the destruction of the Amorites was a holy war because their iniquity was full.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-8

Context: Weaver references this passage to show that Christ's return will be a holy war of vengeance on the disobedient.

Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25

Context: Weaver reads this chapter to demonstrate the covenantal aspect of warfare: obedience brings victory, disobedience brings defeat.

Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29

Context: Weaver reads this chapter to further illustrate the blessings and curses tied to covenant obedience, including military outcomes.

1 Samuel 15:2-3, 22-23, 26-33

Context: Weaver uses this passage to show that holy war is commanded by God, that obedience is better than sacrifice, and that Samuel's execution of Agag was done 'before the Lord' as worship.

1 Kings 18:36-40

Context: Weaver cites this passage to show that Elijah's slaughter of the prophets of Baal was a holy act of war that began as spiritual warfare.

Historical References

Islamic Jihad

Context: Weaver mentions the Islamic concept of holy war (jihad) against infidels, noting that while misapplied, it reflects a biblical concept retained in the Middle East but lost in the West.

Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Context: Weaver references the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, along with other cities of the plain like Zeboim and Admah, as an act of holy war by God.

Destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70

Context: Weaver mentions the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 as a righteous and holy war waged by God against murderers and rebels.

Punishment for sodomites in England

Context: Weaver cites Black's Law Dictionary (4th edition) that the punishment for sodomites in England was burying alive, connecting it to biblical law.

Presidential oath on Deuteronomy 28

Context: Weaver notes that originally U.S. presidents took their oath of office with a Bible opened to Deuteronomy 28, acknowledging God's blessings and curses.

Waco siege

Context: Weaver briefly mentions the Waco tragedy as an example of spiritual warfare with physical implications.

Important Quotes

About 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho.

Significance: Weaver uses this verse as a key text to introduce the concept of holy war and later to argue that warfare is done 'before the Lord' as an act of worship.

Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of Arnon.

Significance: Weaver cites this to show that God's wars are explicitly called 'the wars of the Lord,' implying they are holy.

Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation by temptations, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes.

Significance: Weaver uses this to prove that God delivered Israel by an act of war, making it a holy war.

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Significance: Weaver cites this to explain the theological basis for capital punishment, which undergirds the concept of holy war.

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Significance: Weaver uses this to emphasize that obedience in holy war is more important than religious ritual.

And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

Significance: Weaver highlights this phrase to show that holy war is done 'before the Lord' as an act of worship and obedience.

Discussion Questions

How does the biblical portrayal of God as a warrior challenge modern Christian assumptions about the nature of God?

Context: Weaver argues that Christians have been humanized and need to recover the biblical concept of God as a warrior.

In what ways does the Islamic concept of jihad reflect a biblical idea, and how is it misapplied?

Context: Weaver notes that the Islamic holy war is a misapplied but biblical concept.

How does the death penalty for murderers provide a foundation for the concept of holy war against nations?

Context: Weaver extends the principle of individual capital punishment to corporate judgment on armies and nations.

What does it mean for warfare to be an act of worship, and how does this change our view of military service?

Context: Weaver argues from Joshua 4:13 and 1 Samuel 15 that holy war is done 'before the Lord' as worship.

How should the covenantal blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28 inform a nation's approach to military policy?

Context: Weaver applies the covenant promises of protection and curses of defeat to modern national security.

What criteria should Christians use to determine whether a war is holy or unholy?

Context: Weaver raises the question of discernment and promises to address it in the next sermon.

Applications

Recover biblical thinking on war

Summary: Christians must reject humanistic pacifism and embrace the scriptural truth that God is a warrior and that some wars are holy.

Evidence: Weaver states that modern Christians have been humanized and need to be Christianized to understand the biblical concept of holy war.

Support righteous capital punishment

Summary: Believers should uphold the death penalty for murderers as a biblical mandate, recognizing it as an act of justice that reflects God's image in man.

Evidence: Weaver cites multiple scriptures commanding the execution of murderers and argues that it is righteous and holy.

Discern the holiness of a war before participating

Summary: Christians must ensure that any war they support or fight in is a holy war according to God's will, not merely for economic or political gain.

Evidence: Weaver warns against sending sons to fight in unholy wars for oil and wealth, and stresses the need for discernment.

Understand the covenantal basis for national security

Summary: National military strength is worthless without God's protection; obedience to God's covenant is the true source of security.

Evidence: Weaver applies Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 to America, stating that boasting in military power is empty if God is against the nation.

View warfare as potentially worshipful

Summary: When engaged in a righteous cause, warfare can be an act of worship and obedience to God, not merely a secular endeavor.

Evidence: Weaver shows from Joshua 4:13 and 1 Samuel 15 that holy war is done 'before the Lord' as an act of worship.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:29:53Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T11:02:48Z

Clean Transcript

Concepts of a Holy War, Part 1

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

But today I want to just simply lay a principle foundation and build upon it more next week. So please remember that today I'm just really bringing the introduction to the second message, and this second message is dealing with the concept of a holy war. So this idea I'm going to give to you in principle, and then I will enunciate it more clearly and distinctly, Lord willing, next week. So look in the book of Joshua, chapter 4 and verse 13. We will come back to this verse before I finish today. Look in Joshua chapter 4, verse 13. The Bible says, "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho." Now note that again: "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho." I mentioned last week in my introduction how humanism had basically captured the minds of modern day Christians.
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And the fact that we do not think scripturally or biblically anymore. And the very fact that when biblical truth is taught, it seems so strange to our ears, we think that that possibly cannot be right. It possibly cannot possibly be true. But the truth is we have been humanized and we need to be Christianized and understand that there is a biblical concept of the fact that God is a warrior. Now, let me just very quickly give you this. I gave you five truths of a breakdown of the theme of God is a warrior from the Bible. I'm not going to give you all the scriptures today, but I am going to repeat these five truths. First of all, in the Old Testament, God appeared as a warrior who fought against Israel's flesh and blood enemies.
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I don't have to read the scripture for that. You know how God fought against Egypt, how He fought against the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites. So first of all, God fights against Israel's flesh and blood enemies. Secondly, when Israel sinned and rebelled against God, God appeared as a warrior and fought against Israel, and I showed you that in the scripture as well. And then thirdly, the Old Testament ended, or it ends I should say, with the prophets looking forward to the future and proclaiming the advent of a powerful divine warrior. And then, fourthly, Christ comes in the New Testament as a divine warrior to deliver His people from sin, death, and from their lesser enemies as well, and we read in Luke chapter 1. And then, fifthly, Christ is going to return a second time as the divine warrior who will destroy all of His human and spiritual enemies. And then I went through the Bible and showed you that truth. And, of course, I also pointed out how one of the main titles of God in Scripture is the Lord of Hosts, which indicates that God is the God of the armies.
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In fact, we find that stated over and over in the Bible. So this is just simply the concept of God as a warrior.
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Now, today we're going to come to the concept of holy war. Now probably everyone in this room has heard of what is known as the Islamic Jihad. Who can tell me what that is? What is the Islamic Jihad? It is the holy war of Islam. Jihad refers to holy war. In other words, this term refers then to the Muslims as they fight against the great Satan. And in their concept of holy war, they're fighting against the great Satan, which usually refers to America in general, and Christians in particular. Now, it may surprise you to know that the Muslims refer to the Christians as infidels. We're unbelievers. We're infidels, because we do not believe in Allah. So their concept, then, is that they have a holy war that they're fighting against the infidels. Now, their concept of a holy war, while it is misapplied, is nonetheless a biblical concept.
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And I find it extremely interesting that it is those people who live in the Middle East that have still retained the idea of a holy war, while that idea is totally foreign to us who live in the West. Now, when I mention the concept of holy war, most people will stand aghast at that idea, and they think, how in the world can war be holy? I mean, how can anything so destructive, so devastating, and so deadly as war, be classified as holy in any way whatsoever? Now, it is true that the term holy war does not appear in the Bible, but the concept of holy war does appear over and over in Scripture.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Numbers, chapter 21 and verse 14. I read this passage last week, but let me give it to you in a different light this week. Numbers chapter 21 and verse 14. Note what the scripture says: "Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of Arnon." Now note carefully, "Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did." Would any be so bold and so blasphemous to declare that the wars of the Lord were not holy wars?
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You see, God fought because God is a warrior. And whatever God does, very obviously, is holy and right. So here's a verse that tells us that all of these wars that God engaged in and had His people engage in, they were classified and called the wars of the Lord. So very obviously, they must be holy if they were His wars. Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 34. Deuteronomy 4, verse 34. I pointed out last week how God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and the means that He used to deliver them. Look at it in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 34.
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The Bible says, "Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation by temptations, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes." So the very fact that God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt by an act of war means undoubtedly it was a holy war, for it was God who was doing the fighting, it was God who was doing the delivery. Do you not remember? It was God who passed over and smote the firstborn. It was God who destroyed Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea. So the Bible says that God then delivered the children of Israel by an act of war. So very obviously, God's wars must be right. Now if something is right, that means it is righteous. Therefore, if something is righteous, it is holy. So we have then the concept of holy war, for God Himself has engaged in it.
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Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11. Now, for those individuals who say, well, war cannot possibly be holy in any way, well, look in this passage. The Bible says in the book of Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11, watch carefully. John writes, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True." Who is this? Someone tell me. The Lord Jesus Christ. "And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." Now, if Jesus Christ makes war, if Jesus Christ is a divine warrior, and if Jesus Christ is the righteous one, that means the war that He wages is a righteous war. And if it is righteous, then it is holy. So very obviously, not only does God the Father wage holy war, but God the Son wages holy war as well. So there is the concept of holy war. Now I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 6, and let's read a very familiar passage.
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Ephesians chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Ephesians 6 and verse 10. Look what the Apostle Paul writes. Ephesians 6, verse 10.
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"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."
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"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." Now I want you to note that the Apostle Paul is talking about putting on the full armor of God. He's talking about a warfare, and this warfare is holy. This warfare is righteous.
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Now, inevitably, invariably, someone is going to object and say, "But Brother Weaver, this passage is talking about spiritual warfare." I concur with that, and I will certainly admit that, but let me tell you something. Do you realize that all warfare, whether it is physical or whether it is classified as merely spiritual, all warfare is spiritual in reality? It is. Let me give you an illustration. I was thinking coming down here. Do you realize I could stand up and say, "Well, the trouble in our country is we have an ungodly, unbiblical, unconstitutional money system." And we do. We do. Let me tell you something. The funny money, the monopoly money that's floating around as money is not money. Money according to the Bible is silver and gold. Money according to the Constitution is silver and gold. Do you understand that? But let me ask you, why is it that we have the paper money?
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Because we have forsaken God. The reason we have a Federal Reserve Board, an Act, and the reason we have a Fractional Reserve Banking System is because we've forsaken God and forsaken His Word, and here we have the enemy waging war upon us physically, but it is a spiritual principle that is behind it. You understand that?
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Now, you can take whatever you want to, look at the public education as such. You follow what I'm saying? If you will go back, you will find out that it was originally started by men, and I'm giving you one of the quotes, and here's what he said: "...the tentacles of Satan from around our children," and the tentacles of Satan he was referring to as biblical Christianity, when it's undue biblical Christianity.
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By the way, I must admit, he's been quite successful, and his successors have done that. They have unraveled the tentacles of biblical Christianity from around the children of America. But I'm showing you, although there are physical acts, behind all of those physical acts is a spiritual principle. But you say, "Brother Weaver, if Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-18 deal with spiritual warfare, let me ask you a question. Is war holy only when it is spiritual?"
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I want you to think about that for a moment. If the concept of war is wrong in and of itself, if the concept of war is inherently sinful, then in that case it would be wrong whether you engage in it either physically or spiritually.
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Now, let me give you an illustration. Is the physical act of adultery wrong? Sure it is. Sure it is. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Everybody knows that. Well, let me ask you another question. Is the mental and the spiritual act of adultery wrong? Why? Because adultery is wrong in and of itself, whether it's physical or whether it's spiritual. Now you see, if war was inherently wrong in and of itself, it would be wrong spiritually just like it would be physically. So very obviously, you cannot say that spiritual war alone is holy. No, no. War has to be holy. Because it is holy spiritually, and it would be holy physically when it is fought for the right reasons, which I'll explain later on.
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Now, someone said, "But Brother Weaver, you don't understand. In spiritual war, nobody gets hurt." Oh? Well, let me put it like this. Number one, you get hurt if you don't engage in it. And number two, let me point this out. War, whether it is physical or spiritual, has as its goal the infliction of damage or destruction upon one's enemies. And I hope that when you fight spiritually, you are inflicting at least some damage upon Satan and his minions.
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You see what I'm saying? Very obviously, someone does get hurt, even in spiritual warfare.
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Now, it's impossible to have a war without casualties. That's physically and spiritually true as well, because the goal in warfare is to damage your enemy.
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Now, let me just try to show you how there is a concept of holy war and how that concept is a legitimate and lawful and biblical concept. If I were to ask you this morning, how many of you believe in the death penalty for murderers? I'm sure that every one of you would raise his hand. You believe that the murderer should be put to death. Now, let me show you what the Scripture teaches on that.
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Look in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Numbers, chapter 35, and let's read verse 31. Numbers 35, verse 31. I want to try to get to you mentally today and show you the concept of holy war. Numbers chapter 35 verse 31, look what God says: "Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death." Now God says, here's a murderer. He's been found guilty. He's been proven guilty. God says you're to take no satisfaction, you're to put him to death. Now, what if a murderer happened to be a multi-millionaire? Say a billionaire.
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And he came up and offered every member of the jury a million bucks each to acquit him, and offered the judge five million. And they agreed. Would that be right? No. God says you're to take no satisfaction, he's to be put to death. Would it be right to give him 20 years in prison? No, he's to be put to death.
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Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 19, and let's begin there with verse 11. Deuteronomy 19 verses 11 through 13. Deuteronomy 19 verse 11. God says, "But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities"—that is the city of refuge—"then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. And thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee."
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Now here's a man that has premeditatedly murdered someone. He hated the man that he murdered, so he murdered him and he flees to the city of refuge. And he thinks, "Well I'm going to be protected there." God says, when that man flees to the city of refuge, God says, your eye is not to have pity upon him. You are to take that man, hand him over to the avenger of blood, and watch that avenger put him to death. By the way, I hope you understand, there are some people in the Bible that God forbids you to have pity upon.
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A murderer is one of them. Another group is, "If he will not work, neither should he eat." You see what I'm saying? I can be very sympathetic with Ed. If Ed is sick and cannot work, I'm willing to help him. But if Ed is too sorry to work, let him starve. I mean, you know, that will correct the situation one way or the other. But there are certain people and certain groups that God forbids us to have pity upon, and a murderer is one of them. God said we're to take no satisfaction, we're to put him to death.
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Now, if you will turn very quickly in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 13, and look at verse 4. Romans 13, verse 4. Everyone should be familiar with this verse. Romans 13, verse 4. Talking about the civil magistrate. And I will just put civil government here. Look what God says: "For he"—that is the civil magistrate—"is the minister of God to thee for good."
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"But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil."
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Now, two things about this verse. First of all, twice in this verse, the civil magistrate is called the minister of God. Each time the word "minister" appears, it is the word diakonos in the Greek. It is where we get our English word "deacon," which literally means servant. So the civil magistrate is to be the servant of God. In what area is he to serve God? Well, look at it. He said in verse four, "For he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger."
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"...to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." Now, the word "revenger" is ekdikos in the Greek. Dikē is the word righteousness and ek is a preposition which means out of. So the revenger is one that exacts righteousness or draws righteousness out of. What is right for a murderer? It is righteous to put him to death. And so God says the civil magistrate is to be the man that exacts God's righteousness and puts the murderer to death.
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Now, I want you to understand that capital punishment is based upon the fact that man was made in the image of God. When a man maliciously murders someone else, it is not just an attack upon another man. It is not just simply the taking of another man's life. It is basically an attack upon God Himself and the image of God.
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Now, flip back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 9 and look at verse 6. Genesis 9 and verse 6. Look at what God says. Genesis 9 verse 6. God says, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." So why does God demand the death penalty? Because when you murder someone, you're not just murdering a man, you are attacking God by attacking God's image in that man. And so God says it merits the death penalty.
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Now let me ask you a question. Does the Bible teach the death penalty? The answer is yes. Now let me ask you another question. Is it righteous to put a murderer to death? Is it holy to put a murderer to death?
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Now, we've established a principle. The murderer is to be put to death, and it's righteous and it's holy.
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Now let me ask you a question. Let's suppose five men ganged up on one man, and all five men participated in beating the man to death. How many of them deserve to die? All five. Because each one is guilty of murder, although only one man may have struck the fatal blow. You understand? Now, let's go further. What if twenty men ganged up on two men and beat them to death? How many deserve to die? All twenty. If a hundred ganged up on thirty men, and beat them to death? How many deserve to die? 100. Now, you see, once the principle of justice is embraced, once you understand the death penalty reaches the murderer, it makes no difference whether the murderer is one or many. By extension, the same principle can be extended to an army or a nation. If it's right to put a single murderer to death, it is also right to put an army of murderers to death. It is also right to put a nation of murderers to death. Because here you have the principle.
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Now watch this. It is the principle of holy war that led to national destruction in the Bible. You say, what are you talking about? Well, since you're in Genesis, turn right over to the book of Genesis chapter 15. In this passage, God is telling Abraham that his descendants are going to be a stranger in a strange land for 400 years. So let's begin reading Genesis 15 verse 13: "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance."
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"And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age." Now, let's stop there just for a moment. So God says now, Abraham should understand something. Your descendants are going to go down into a strange land for 400 years. And those people are going to persecute and afflict your descendants. But now, Abraham, you are going to die in a good old age. Don't worry about it. You're not going to be involved in that. We're going to take care of you. Now, God says, when I do bring out your descendants, they're not going to come out empty-handed. They'll come out full.
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Now, I've got a question to ask you. Why did Israel have to spend 400 years in the land of Egypt? That's true, God decreed it, but why did God decree it? Well, that's true, too. That's one of the reasons. But look at the next verse, and you'll find out the real reason. Because, he said, "...but in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." So God let the wicked Amorites have 400 more years of filling up their belly with sin and wickedness and rebellion. And then when Israel was brought out of Egypt by an act of God, by an act of war, God put a sword in the hand of the children of Israel and said, "Kill everyone." Now, why were the Amorites to be killed? Because they were a nation of murderers and a nation of wicked, ungodly people. It's a concept of holy war, by the way. It's this concept of holy war that led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
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And, by the way, you know, we talk about Sodom and Gomorrah. Have you ever read about Zeboim and Admah? Well, I want you to note something. It was not just Sodom and Gomorrah that were overthrown. It was also the cities of the plain. And Zeboim and Admah happened to be two of those cities. I don't know how many cities were overthrown, but a lot of them were consumed.
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It's the concept of holy war. I think I told you this. I don't know whether I did or not. But if you would get Black's Law Dictionary, 4th edition, and look up the definition of "burying alive," guess what you will find? "The punishment for sodomites in England, and for those who make covenants with the Jews." So if you were a sodomite in England, they buried you alive. Why?
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Well, God says, "He that lieth with mankind, as with womankind, shall surely be put to death." In other words, it's right to put a sodomite to death, biblically, scripturally, and the state should be doing exactly that. I don't want to get off on that and start to say, today government is promoting it instead of trying to restrain it. But you see what I'm saying? It was a righteous and holy war that God waged against Sodom and Gomorrah. It was a righteous and holy war that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, because God was warring against those murderers and those rebellious individuals.
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Now, it's the same principle that's going to be enforced upon Judgment Day. It's going to be a holy Christ who wages a holy war against His enemies. I want you to understand something. Think this through. The concept of holy war has Christological implications. That is, it refers to Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ comes back and the Bible says in righteousness He doth make war. Do you not remember what the Apostle Paul wrote those Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 1, beginning with verse 7?
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He said, "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is a righteous and a holy war. So warfare in the Bible is a divine activity. I'll explain that more next week. Now, God was Israel's sovereign Lord. And as Israel's sovereign Lord, He promised to protect Israel from all of their enemies.
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Now, I want you to understand there is a covenantal connection or a covenantal aspect to warfare. We'll see this more thoroughly next week. But I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Leviticus chapter 26. Leviticus chapter 26. Let me just point to you, point this out, the covenantal aspect of warfare. Look in Leviticus 26. And let's begin there with verse 2. Leviticus 26, verse 2.
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God says, "Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;" now watch, this is the covenant. "If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land."
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Now watch, "And ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land." Now you see this? Here is God as Israel's sovereign Lord protecting her from her enemies. Note verse 7: "And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish"—what?—"my covenant with you." Now look in verse 14 of the same chapter.
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"But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies."
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"They that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins."
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Now skip down to verse 25. "And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of"—what?—"the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy."
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Now, I want you to understand, folks, there's a covenantal aspect to warfare. God is saying, if we obey Him, then He's going to protect us, and our enemies will be defeated before us. But if we disobey God, He is not going to protect us, and our enemies are going to have the upper hand.
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Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28. Let me show it to you again in black and white. Deuteronomy 28. Let's begin reading there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 28 is one of the most important passages in the Bible. It has the blessings and the curses. Everybody knows that presidents take their oath of office with their hand placed upon a Bible.
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Today it doesn't mean very much. But did you know originally, initially, when presidents had their hand upon their Bible, the Bible was opened to Deuteronomy 28, because they realized the blessings and the curses of God, and so they took their oath as unto God, based upon Deuteronomy 28.
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Now let's look in verse 1. "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." Now watch, all these blessings are going to come upon you, they're going to overtake you, if you will only obey God. Now what are they? Verse 3: "Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face."
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"They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways." So here are all the blessings if we obey, and one of the blessings is when our enemies rise up against us one way, they're going to leave seven ways. Now skip down to verse fifteen. "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee." So God says, if you don't obey now, hear the curses. Let's get down to verse twenty-five.
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In fact, most of these curses are just the reversal of the blessings, but verse twenty-five: "The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee."
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That almost sounds like America today, doesn't it? I want you to understand, folks, there is a covenantal aspect to warfare. Do you realize we boast as being the most powerful military nation upon the earth. And that boast is absolutely worthless without the protection of the Sovereign God of heaven and earth. It's worthless. I've often thought it would be something if God let some little puny two-bit dictator like Castro or Hussein take us down just to show us it doesn't take much when God's against you. So if we disobey God's covenant, God's going to curse us. If we obey, God's going to protect us. Now, warfare is divine activity. I'm going to explain that more next week. Remember this statement: warfare is divine activity. I want you to turn back to the book of Joshua chapter 4 and verse 13. Let me show you what I mean when I state that warfare is divine activity. In Joshua chapter 4, the battle of Jericho everyone is familiar with. But the Bible says, "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho."
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Now, the amazing thing is the little phrase, "before the Lord." "About 40,000"—now note this next phrase—"prepared for war." They were going to fight. They had swords and spears and bows. They had their instruments of warfare. They were prepared for war, passed over before the Lord unto battle.
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Now, the Hebrew word "before" is the word paneh. The word paneh does not just simply mean "in the face of" or "in the presence of." Now watch this. You could read, "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over in the presence of, or in the face of the Lord, unto battle to the plains of Jericho." But it has more meaning than that. I'm going to show it to you in just a moment, another passage, but the word "before" here literally means "as unto." Literally, "About 40,000 prepared for war passed over as unto the Lord." In other words, their warfare was as unto the Lord.
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It was part and parcel of their worship of God and giving honor and glory to God. Even if you limited this word to "in the presence of," or "in the face of," it would still indicate it's high in approval. For 40,000 prepared for war, marched over in the presence, or as in to the face of the Lord. You see what I'm saying? God would have to approve of it, because very obviously they were doing it in His presence. So 40,000 prepared for war, passes over unto battle.
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Now, the text not only indicates divine approval, but this text also indicates that warfare, at certain times, is an act of obedience and therefore an act of worship. Literally, they pass over worshipfully, religiously, unto the Lord. In other words, what they were doing was part and parcel of their worship. It was war, but it was worship. Worship is holy. If war is an act of worship, it means it's holy as well when it is done worshipfully unto the Lord.
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Now, look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 15. 1 Samuel chapter 15. Let me show you the impact of this little word "before the Lord." This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.
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In this passage, God sends King Saul upon a mission. What was that mission? He was to destroy utterly the Amalekites. Look in verse 2: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." By the way, who is initiating this war? God is. So this is a holy war. And He tells Saul, "You go and kill everything. Don't leave anything alive."
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Well, you know the story. Saul and the people spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the oxen, and the best of the sheep. And about that time, something went baa, moo. And Samuel said, "What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" If you'd obeyed God, everything would be dead. And then Saul said, "But the people spared them, that they might sacrifice unto God."
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And skip down, let me just read this to you, verse 22 and 23. Powerful, powerful passage. "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." He's saying, "Saul, God had rather have your obedience more than all the sacrifice that you can give Him." Why? Look in verse 23.
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"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." Now, what happened to a witch? Stoned or put to death. What happened to an idolater? Put to death. He says rebellion and stubbornness are just like that. That is, they merit or deserve the death penalty. Now look what he says to Saul: "Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." So Saul, through his disobedience, through his rebellion, has lost his position as king. Now remember, Saul spared Agag.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles—not turn, but look down in 1 Samuel chapter 15. And let's begin with verse 26. "And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord." Now watch. "Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites."
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"And Agag came unto him delicately." Can't you just see him almost prancing? He may have been one of those funny fellows, I don't know. But he came unto him delicately, and Agag said, "Surely the bitterness of death is past." In other words, "I've been spared." And Samuel said, "As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." Now, I've got a question. Was Samuel wrong in what he did? No. Now, did you see that little phrase again? "He hewed Agag in pieces." What's the next phrase? "Before the Lord." Or literally, not just in the presence of the Lord, for God is omnipresent. God is everywhere in one place in the totality of His being at every time. God is omnipresent. He's everywhere. It doesn't mean just in the presence of God. It literally means "as unto the Lord."
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Let me put it plainly. Samuel did to Agag exactly what God would have done to Agag. That's what He told Saul to do. He said, "Saul, you kill everything." God wanted Agag dead. Samuel said, "God wants him dead. I'm going to kill him. And I'm going to do it as unto the Lord." It was part and parcel of worship and obedience in that time, in that sense, in that place, because Samuel was doing exactly what God wanted done. I'm trying to show you folks, it's not only divine approval that God gives in this concept of holy war, but it is an act of worship as well as an act of war.
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One last passage today, I want you to turn to 1 Kings, chapter 18. Here's another story that everyone knows about. Everyone remembers the battle on Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings, chapter 18, verse 36, you remember how the prophets of Baal had tried to get Baal to hear their cries and to answer their prayers, and of course there was only silence. Beginning there with verse 36: "And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench."
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"And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God." Watch! "And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there." Did Elijah do wrong? No, he did right. So what he did was an act of warfare. By the way, I want to point out that this began as a spiritual warfare. Was it not spiritual? Were not the prophets of Baal praying to their god? And was not Elijah praying to his God? Isn't that spiritual? Although spiritual, it didn't end up physical, did it not? And what Elijah did was right and holy. So there is a concept of holy war because what Elijah did, he did as unto the Lord. He did exactly what God would have done to the prophets of Baal. By the way, I want you to understand there is always a mixture of spiritual and physical warfare.
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Always. Always. We're just too blind, we can't see it. Don't you remember when Ahab and Jezebel were killing Naboth and his family, and a lot of other people as well, and the prophets of God? That was spiritual warfare, but it had physical implications. They were warring against the people of God. Here's just another aspect of it. Do you realize—you say, "Brother Weaver, wow, there's nothing like that in America." Oh, did you hear about all those people in Waco that got burned to death? That's spiritual warfare with a physical implication.
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Now, whether you agree with them or not is immaterial. I'm just simply pointing out, here was a spiritual war that ended up with a physical application. So there is a concept of holy war.
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Now, let me make a couple of applications. Number one is this: war is not inherently sinful in and of itself.
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Now, let me hasten to say this. There are evil wars. Yes, I'll get a hold of that a little bit later. There are wicked wars. Yes, that is true. There are rebellious wars. Yes, that is true. But evil, wicked and rebellious wars do not cancel out the fact that there are holy wars. So you cannot throw war out just simply because some wars are wicked and some wars are wrong.
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It is a lawful act of warfare when it is done according to the will and the word of God. Now, secondly, since the war that is right is a holy war, and I'll explain this more next week, since the only war that is right is a holy war, we better make dead sure before we participate in any war that it is indeed a holy war. You follow me?
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We have sent our sons to many parts of this country, and many parts of the world to fight and die in unholy wars for no other reason than to protect somebody's oil wells and to make somebody millionaires. That's not a good reason to fight, folks. If a certain family wants to fight and protect their oil wells, let them send their children. Not mine. Let's make sure that any war that we're engaging in is indeed a holy war. But here's the concept. You say, "Brother Weaver, how can I know whether or not a war is holy?"
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Well, if you'll be here next week at the same time, at the same station, we'll continue. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we're so thankful for Your love, for Your grace, for Your mercy. And Lord, I pray that You'd help us to have our thinking scriptural. Lord, we've been so humanized. And one of the problems is, Lord, one of these days we're going to get in trouble. And it's going to be too late to figure all this out when we're in trouble.
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We need to know beforehand what Your Word teaches and what we may or may not do in obedience unto Thee. Help us, Father, to be holy, to be godly, to be scriptural, and to always do that which is honoring and pleasing unto Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen. This program was produced by Dominion Ministry. For more information about Pastor Weaver's sermons, you may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N Street, Suite 705, PMD 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406.
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Or give us a call at 912-833-7000. You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:29:53Z

Concepts of a Holy War, Part 1

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver introduces the biblical concept of holy war, arguing that warfare is not inherently sinful but can be righteous and holy when conducted according to God's will. He traces the theme of God as a warrior through Scripture, shows that capital punishment for murderers extends by principle to national judgment, and demonstrates that holy war is both divinely approved and an act of worship. The sermon lays a foundation for a follow-up message on how to discern a holy war.

Introduction: The Need for Biblical Thinking on War

Five Truths of God as a Warrior

In fact, we find that stated over and over in the Bible. So this is just simply the concept of God as a warrior.

The Islamic Jihad and the Biblical Concept of Holy War

Weaver notes that while the Islamic jihad is misapplied, the concept of holy war is biblical, though the term itself does not appear in Scripture.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 21:14

"Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of Arnon."

Now note carefully,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 21:14

"Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did."

Would any be so bold and so blasphemous to declare that the wars of the Lord were not holy wars?

Biblical Evidence for Holy War

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:11

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True."

Who is this? Someone tell me. The Lord Jesus Christ.

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:11

"And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war."

Spiritual Warfare and the Holiness of War

Ephesians chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Ephesians 6 and verse 10. Look what the Apostle Paul writes. Ephesians 6, verse 10.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 6:10-18

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

The Death Penalty as a Foundation for Holy War

Scripture Reading — Numbers 35:31

"Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death."

Now, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 19, and let's begin there with verse 11. Deuteronomy 19 verses 11 through 13. Deuteronomy 19 verse 11. God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 19:11-13

"But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities"

—that is the city of refuge—

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 19:11-13

"then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. And thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee."

Now, flip back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 9 and look at verse 6. Genesis 9 and verse 6. Look at what God says. Genesis 9 verse 6. God says,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 9:6

"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."

National Destruction as Holy War in Scripture

Weaver shows that the destruction of the Amorites (Genesis 15:13-16), Sodom and Gomorrah, and Jerusalem in AD 70 were acts of holy war because those nations were filled with murderers and wickedness.

The Covenantal Aspect of Warfare

God says,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25

"Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;"

now watch, this is the covenant.

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25

"If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land."

Now watch,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25

"And ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land."

Now you see this? Here is God as Israel's sovereign Lord protecting her from her enemies. Note verse 7:

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25

"And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish"

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29

"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God."

Now watch, all these blessings are going to come upon you, they're going to overtake you, if you will only obey God. Now what are they? Verse 3:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29

"Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face." "They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways."

So here are all the blessings if we obey, and one of the blessings is when our enemies rise up against us one way, they're going to leave seven ways. Now skip down to verse fifteen.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29

"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee."

So God says, if you don't obey now, hear the curses. Let's get down to verse twenty-five. In fact, most of these curses are just the reversal of the blessings, but verse twenty-five:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29

"The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee."

Warfare as Divine Activity and Worship

Now, look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 15. 1 Samuel chapter 15. Let me show you the impact of this little word "before the Lord." This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 15:2-3, 22-23, 26-33

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles—not turn, but look down in 1 Samuel chapter 15. And let's begin with verse 26. "And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord." Now watch. "Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites."

Applications and Conclusion

Concepts of a Holy War, Part 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	127111026314
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	1996-11-03
Dictation Name
Book	Book 102: Concepts of a Holy War — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	81

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Need for Biblical Thinking on War: Weaver states he is laying a principle foundation for the concept of holy war, noting that modern Christians have been humanized and need to recover a biblical mindset that recognizes God as a warrior.
Five Truths of God as a Warrior: Weaver recaps five biblical truths: God fought Israel's flesh-and-blood enemies, fought against Israel when they sinned, the prophets foretold a coming divine warrior, Christ came as a divine warrior, and Christ will return as a divine warrior.
The Islamic Jihad and the Biblical Concept of Holy War: Weaver notes that while the Islamic jihad is misapplied, the concept of holy war is biblical, though the term itself does not appear in Scripture.
Biblical Evidence for Holy War: Weaver cites Numbers 21:14 (the book of the wars of the Lord), Deuteronomy 4:34 (God delivered Israel by war), and Revelation 19:11 (Christ makes war in righteousness) to show that God's wars are holy.
Spiritual Warfare and the Holiness of War: Weaver argues from Ephesians 6 that spiritual warfare is holy, and since war is not inherently sinful, physical war can also be holy when fought for right reasons. He uses adultery as an analogy: if an act is wrong in itself, it is wrong both physically and spiritually.
The Death Penalty as a Foundation for Holy War: Weaver establishes that the death penalty for murderers is righteous and holy (Numbers 35:31; Deuteronomy 19:11-13; Romans 13:4; Genesis 9:6). He extends the principle: if it is right to execute one murderer, it is right to execute an army or nation of murderers.
National Destruction as Holy War in Scripture: Weaver shows that the destruction of the Amorites (Genesis 15:13-16), Sodom and Gomorrah, and Jerusalem in AD 70 were acts of holy war because those nations were filled with murderers and wickedness.
The Covenantal Aspect of Warfare: Weaver explains from Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 that God promises protection and victory to an obedient covenant people, but curses and defeat to a disobedient people. Warfare is tied to covenant faithfulness.
Warfare as Divine Activity and Worship: Weaver examines Joshua 4:13, 1 Samuel 15 (Saul and Agag), and 1 Kings 18 (Elijah and the prophets of Baal) to show that holy war is done 'before the Lord'—as an act of worship and obedience, not merely in God's presence.
Applications and Conclusion: Weaver concludes that war is not inherently sinful; there are holy wars and wicked wars. Christians must ensure any war they participate in is a holy war according to God's will. He promises to explain how to discern a holy war in the next message.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

War is not inherently sinful

If war were inherently sinful, it would be wrong both physically and spiritually. Since spiritual warfare is commanded and holy, physical war can also be holy when fought for righteous reasons.

Weaver uses the analogy of adultery: if an act is wrong in itself, it is wrong in all forms. He points to Ephesians 6 and Revelation 19:11 to show that spiritual war is holy and Christ makes war in righteousness.

The death penalty justifies corporate judgment

The biblical command to execute murderers is based on the image of God in man. This principle scales from individuals to armies and nations, making national destruction a form of holy war.

Weaver cites Genesis 9:6 and Romans 13:4, then extends the logic: if one murderer deserves death, so do five, twenty, a hundred, or an entire nation of murderers.

God's wars are holy by definition

Whatever God does is holy and right. The Bible calls God's wars 'the wars of the Lord,' and He delivered Israel by war, proving that some wars are holy.

Weaver references Numbers 21:14 ('the book of the wars of the Lord') and Deuteronomy 4:34 (God delivered Israel by war).

Holy war is an act of worship

The phrase 'before the Lord' in war contexts means 'as unto the Lord,' indicating that holy war is performed as an act of worship and obedience, not merely in God's presence.

Weaver analyzes Joshua 4:13, 1 Samuel 15:33, and 1 Kings 18:40, showing that the Hebrew word 'paneh' implies doing something as unto the Lord, making warfare an act of worship.

Covenant obedience determines military outcome

God promises to fight for His people when they obey His covenant, but He will fight against them when they disobey. National security is a spiritual issue.

Weaver reads Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, contrasting the blessings of victory with the curses of defeat, and applies this to America's military boasting.

Spiritual and physical warfare are intertwined

All warfare has spiritual roots, and spiritual warfare often has physical manifestations. The battle on Mount Carmel began as spiritual warfare and ended with physical execution.

Weaver cites 1 Kings 18, where Elijah's spiritual contest with Baal's prophets led to their physical slaughter, and mentions modern examples like Waco.

Scripture References

Joshua 4:13: Weaver uses this verse to introduce the concept of holy war and later to show that warfare is done 'before the Lord' as an act of worship.
Numbers 21:14: Weaver cites this verse to show that God's wars are called 'the wars of the Lord,' implying they are holy.
Deuteronomy 4:34: Weaver uses this verse to demonstrate that God delivered Israel from Egypt by war, making it a holy war.
Revelation 19:11: Weaver cites this verse to show that Christ makes war in righteousness, proving that war can be holy.
Ephesians 6:10-18: Weaver reads this passage to establish that spiritual warfare is holy and commanded, and argues that if spiritual war is holy, physical war can be holy too.
Numbers 35:31: Weaver uses this verse to establish the death penalty for murderers as a foundation for holy war.
Deuteronomy 19:11-13: Weaver cites this passage to reinforce the command to execute murderers without pity.
Romans 13:4: Weaver uses this verse to show that the civil magistrate is God's minister to execute wrath on evildoers, supporting the death penalty.
Genesis 9:6: Weaver cites this verse to explain that the death penalty is based on man being made in God's image.
Genesis 15:13-16: Weaver uses this passage to show that the destruction of the Amorites was a holy war because their iniquity was full.
2 Thessalonians 1:7-8: Weaver references this passage to show that Christ's return will be a holy war of vengeance on the disobedient.
Leviticus 26:2-8, 14-17, 25: Weaver reads this chapter to demonstrate the covenantal aspect of warfare: obedience brings victory, disobedience brings defeat.
Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15, 25-29: Weaver reads this chapter to further illustrate the blessings and curses tied to covenant obedience, including military outcomes.
1 Samuel 15:2-3, 22-23, 26-33: Weaver uses this passage to show that holy war is commanded by God, that obedience is better than sacrifice, and that Samuel's execution of Agag was done 'before the Lord' as worship.
1 Kings 18:36-40: Weaver cites this passage to show that Elijah's slaughter of the prophets of Baal was a holy act of war that began as spiritual warfare.

Historical References

Islamic Jihad: Weaver mentions the Islamic concept of holy war (jihad) against infidels, noting that while misapplied, it reflects a biblical concept retained in the Middle East but lost in the West.
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: Weaver references the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, along with other cities of the plain like Zeboim and Admah, as an act of holy war by God.
Destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70: Weaver mentions the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 as a righteous and holy war waged by God against murderers and rebels.
Punishment for sodomites in England: Weaver cites Black's Law Dictionary (4th edition) that the punishment for sodomites in England was burying alive, connecting it to biblical law.
Presidential oath on Deuteronomy 28: Weaver notes that originally U.S. presidents took their oath of office with a Bible opened to Deuteronomy 28, acknowledging God's blessings and curses.
Waco siege: Weaver briefly mentions the Waco tragedy as an example of spiritual warfare with physical implications.

Important Quotes

About 40,000 prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle to the plains of Jericho.

Weaver uses this verse as a key text to introduce the concept of holy war and later to argue that warfare is done 'before the Lord' as an act of worship.

Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of Arnon.

Weaver cites this to show that God's wars are explicitly called 'the wars of the Lord,' implying they are holy.

Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation by temptations, by signs, by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes.

Weaver uses this to prove that God delivered Israel by an act of war, making it a holy war.

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Weaver cites this to explain the theological basis for capital punishment, which undergirds the concept of holy war.

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Weaver uses this to emphasize that obedience in holy war is more important than religious ritual.

And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

Weaver highlights this phrase to show that holy war is done 'before the Lord' as an act of worship and obedience.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the biblical portrayal of God as a warrior challenge modern Christian assumptions about the nature of God?

[Context]

Weaver argues that Christians have been humanized and need to recover the biblical concept of God as a warrior.

[Question]

In what ways does the Islamic concept of jihad reflect a biblical idea, and how is it misapplied?

[Context]

Weaver notes that the Islamic holy war is a misapplied but biblical concept.

[Question]

How does the death penalty for murderers provide a foundation for the concept of holy war against nations?

[Context]

Weaver extends the principle of individual capital punishment to corporate judgment on armies and nations.

[Question]

What does it mean for warfare to be an act of worship, and how does this change our view of military service?

[Context]

Weaver argues from Joshua 4:13 and 1 Samuel 15 that holy war is done 'before the Lord' as worship.

[Question]

How should the covenantal blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28 inform a nation's approach to military policy?

[Context]

Weaver applies the covenant promises of protection and curses of defeat to modern national security.

[Question]

What criteria should Christians use to determine whether a war is holy or unholy?

[Context]

Weaver raises the question of discernment and promises to address it in the next sermon.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T11:02:48Z