Justice in War
“The Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the great sea toward the going down of the son shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land I swore to their fathers to give them.’” Joshua 1:1-6
Over the past few weeks pro-Palestinian and anti-Semitic demonstrations have grown to the point of violence and mass arrests on many major US college campuses. The counterassault of Israel against Hamas has remained front page news as it nears its final phase and the struggle causes significant hardship for the people of Gaza. I believe it’s important as Christians to review this situation and clarify our thinking.
Let’s begin by looking to the past and accurately understanding the formation of the modern state of Israel. In the far distant past, the current day land mass of Israel was given to the Jewish people as a “promised land” from God. The Lord God assisted the Jews to defeat the wicked people then occupying the land. Those living in the region of Israel were driven out and the land was divided among the twelve tribes of Israel as a perpetual inheritance. Very specific laws were given by God to preserve the inheritance of the land amongst the tribes of Israel.
Eventually, Israel was disciplined by God and taken into exile, but promised by God through the prophet Jeremiah that the nation would return after 70 years of captivity. The nation was restored under the governing leadership of Nehemiah and the spiritual leadership of Ezra. In the time of Jesus, Jews were still occupying the land of Israel, but lived under Roman occupied rule. This continued until the rebellion of the Jews against Rome and the resulting fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD under Emperor Titus. This fall dispersed many Jews abroad and the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, never to be built again. During the Middle Ages there was significant Muslim occupation of Jerusalem, resulting in the construction of the Muslim “Dome of the Rock” on the historic temple mount site.
Following the holocaust atrocities, wide Jewish refugee dispersion, and the desire of Great Britain to relinquish their colonial hold on the land of Palestine, on May 14, 1948, the United Nations recognized a new Jewish State of Israel with David Ben-Gurion as the first head of the State. Through President Truman’s leadership, the United States was the first major nation to recognize the modern statehood of Israel. Arabs were furious, resulting in the Six Days War almost immediately after the founding of modern Israel.
This history is vitally important to the present public debate because it roots Israel’s claim to the land as a divine right from ages past. A land given to Jews for perpetuity. A land spoken of in the biblical past and future. A land of significant theological importance. Jews are not an alien people given an inappropriate opportunity to live in this place by British colonial occupiers. The land is their land according to the promise of God, and this promise has been recognized by governments down through the ages.
We would also do well to remember the present facts of the matter. Israel has recognized Islamist terrorist organizations at their southern and northern borders. Hamas is in the south and Hezbollah is in the north. Both Islamist terror groups exist for the purpose of terrorizing and destroying Israel, and they are openly backed by the nation of Iran. On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked southern Israel without provocation broadly killing, raping, and taking hostages for ransom. Hamas continues to hold many hostages of all ages, will not surrender, and openly claims that they will continue their terrorist ways when they are able again to re-group their strength. Nothing about this terrible incident should garner our sympathy or be morally confusing. The actions of Hamas were evil, unjustified, and have caused immense pain and suffering in the world. It is a marker of the deep ungodliness and lack of Christian moral sense that so many Americans are passionately sympathetic to recognized terrorists.
War is as ancient as humanity and for thousands of years Christians have been considering “Just War Theory.” What makes a war justified in the eyes of God? Saint Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theoligica gave four basic categories that are worth considering in light of this war and others on the horizon. They are presented here, as well as my commentary, as it relates to the current situation.
- A just war can only be waged by a sovereign nation state. If an individual rises up in arms to settle a problem, this is vengeance not war. The individual should take his grievance to the court system of the land. However, nations have no higher authority of governance than sovereign national authority. The recourse of nations to gross harm is war. In this case Israel is a recognized sovereign nation.
- A just war must have a just cause, such as defense or avenging evil. A just war is never mainly about inflicting terror or gaining wealth. In this case, Israel is pursuing the just cause of taking back its imprisoned citizens and destroying those sworn to continue violence against is citizens.
- The combatants of the war must have morally right intentions. This boils down to the reality that soldiers should be at work toward a righteous end. Soldiers are not justified to act as thieves, rapists, and murders. War always carries with it death, suffering, and tragic civil disruption; this must not be the purpose of the war. Though the Israel counter-offensive against Hamas has brought civilian death, there is no moral equivalence between the initial attack of Hamas and the counter-attack of Israel. Israel has the right to self-defense.
- The fourth area of just war relates to the conditions of warfare. In the midst of war respect must be shown to not target non-combatants. There must be a desire for a peaceful outcome, not annihilation of the enemy. There should be proportional / minimal use of force to achieve the justified end goal. Israel continues to meet these conditions as it drives toward its end.
Because Israel is justified before God and nations, the United States has rightly sent essential aid to Israel to assist in rooting out Hamas and holding Hezbollah at bay. As Christians, we should give thanks for this. We should pray for the release of those still being held hostage by Hamas. We should pray for the salvation of Jews and the salvation of Arabs. We should pray for the peace of this region which has been forever plagued by generational cycles of hatred and vengeance. We should pray for the moral sense of our country to not exchange good for evil and evil for good.
May the Lord Jesus bring peace in our time,
Pastor Vic