Category: Biblical Warfare

Biblical Warfare /

A Strange Military Maneuver

A dubious search would be needed to recall if there has been throughout the annals of military history an army which has won a war before it was ever fought. Certainly, we would have to ascertain that was the case regarding the strange military maneuver at the battle of Jericho. The recon team returned from spying out Jericho to adamantly affirm that Yehovah had delivered the land into their hands. Now, on the eve of battle, Yehovah gives instructions to general Joshua exclaiming that he has already given Jericho, the king, and all his mighty men of valor into his hands.

Jericho, considered by scholars to be one of the oldest cities of the Levant, was at the time of Joshua a great high and thick-walled military fortress. It epitomized the strength and unconquerable spirit of the entire region of Canaan. The people of the area viewed Jericho as guardian of their culture, security, and future hopes. Jericho’s fall would mean the demise of their communal and existential value, and forfeiture of their purpose and leadership in an emerging world view. Nevertheless, Yehovah had a plan for Israel which did not indulge nor collude with the desires and provocative nature of a corrupt nation.

Walled City of Jericho

Joshua was informed by Yehovah of a strange military maneuver never known to be used in the history of warfare. This strategy entailed Joshua setting the people in array with armed forces leading out; the priests following while blowing trumpets and going before the ark of the covenant, and lastly, the host of the people bringing up the rear. All these were to march around the great wall of Jericho one time for six days; but on the seventh day, they were to march around it seven times; and after the final round, at the blowing of the trumpets by the priests, they were to make a loud shout.  

Now can you imagine the response of those great men of valor standing upon the walls of Jericho looking down in derision at the horde of Israelites marching around their city. Many of them might have been bent over with laughter; some probably spit down on Yehovah’s chosen; and the women and children likely hurled rocks and insults upon them. Regardless of the vicissitudes which they were called to endure, the people stayed with the battle plan. Remaining on course was important for faith in the one who gave the plan; and for their confidence in the ability to execute the battle strategy.

The execution of this strange military maneuver resulted in the walls of Jericho falling flat to the ground. Was the brick and mortar of the great walls terrified of the strange strategy employed by the people of Israel? Was the earth around the wall made to tremble by their thunderous footsteps so that it crumbled at their circuitous marching? No, I believe we may account this event as the Psalmist from his own experience did in Psalm 118:23, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes”. Having the presence and providence of Yehovah working in favor of Israel proved more than enough to cast aside Jericho’s walls and grant the Israelites the conquest of their enemies.

The Fall of Jericho’s Walls

True to the word of the seal team which spied out Jericho, Joshua sent them back in to bring out the harlot, Rahab and all her family. Although the order was for every living thing to be destroyed, because of her faith in a God who she had not known and because of her resourceful assistance, she incurred the favor of Yehovah who kept her family and legacy alive. Following this strange military maneuver, Joshua also demonstrated his faith and trust in Yehovah’s plan for giving Israel the victory. His triumph at Jericho increased his stature in the eyes of his people, and provoked fear in the eyes of his opponents in Canaan. His destiny was inextricably tied to Yehovah’s leading him and the people of Israel into the promised land.

Biblical Warfare /

A Recon Team Sent To Jericho

Due to Moses rebellion against the command of Yehovah at Meribah, Joshua was anointed, charged, and encouraged by Yehovah to assume command of the Israelite forces and to lead them into battle against the inhabitants of the walled city, Jericho. Joshua’s first move, while encamped at Shittim, was to send out a recon team for the purpose of assessing the strengths, capabilities, and possible vulnerabilities of Jericho. However, the recon mission was not only necessary for strategic reasons, but, most importantly, it was to inspire confidence and faith in the people, assuring them that they were well able to take the land which Yehovah had promised to them.

Upon arrival in Jericho the two-man recon team found their way to the house of the harlot Rahab. Maybe the men thought that their presence at a harlot’s house would not arouse very much attention; whatever the rationale, certainly it can be said, Yehovah works in humorous and mysterious ways. On the contrary, their precautions did not prevent them from being discovered. The king of Jericho, himself, sent word to Rahab to bring the spies out which had come to her house.

Rahab hides the spies

Rahab, being the shrewd operator which she was, and acting under the spiritual motivation of Yehovah, readily acknowledged that the men had come into her house, but, replied that she did not know where they were from; and that when darkness fell, they, without her knowing where, went out by the gates. All the while, however, she had hidden them under stalks of flax on her roof top. Rahab indicated to the seekers of the recon team that if they would hurry, they would stand a good chance of overtaking the two men who had come to her.  In a zealous effort to abort the recon team’s mission, the counterforce squad rushed out into the night and over the streams of Jordan to locate and nullify them.

Meanwhile back at Rahab’s house, she made her plea to the Israeli recon team recounting to them that the inhabitants of Jericho had heard of the exploits of Yehovah on Israel’s behalf, and that fear and fainting had fallen upon Jericho because of them. Further, she implored, since she had shown them kindness in hiding them from their pursuers, she desired favor from them when Yehovah had given them the city. Rahab acknowledged that Yehovah was true God in heaven and earth; therefore, after receiving an oath from them to recognize the red thread in her window and save her and family alive, she let them down by a rope through the window on the wall to make their way back to Israel’s encampment.

Rahab diverts the guards

What is reported by the two-man recon team after making their way back through the mountains to their camp in Shittim is nothing less than astonishing. There is no mention of the height of the walls or the distance to be traveled from the Jordan river; there is no concern regarding the number of the enemy to be engaged or the kinds of weapons at their disposal. No, there is only a report of what had befallen them in their ordeal of getting into and out of Jordan. Yet the conclusion of the report declares Yehovah has delivered the land into our hands. The faith perception of the recon team was the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted before us. Only that small fragment of information was necessary for the recon team and their commander Joshua to understand that the battle of Jericho was already won.

Biblical Warfare /

Moses’ Final War

Following the taking of a second census of Israel, Moses is directed by Yehovah to get up into mount Abarim where he might view the promise land. Upon this viewing, he was told that he would not enter in with Israel because of his rebellion through striking the rock at Meribah. In turn, he would be gathered with the ancestors. Subsequent to ordaining Joshua as his successor, and establishing Yehovah’s laws and festivals in the land, he is directed to make preparations for his final war.

Moses Prepared Warriors

Yehovah instructs Moses to assemble an army of warriors from the twelve tribes of Israel. One thousand men of fighting age from each tribe to go out and fight against the Midianites. Not the entire army, but only twelve thousand men are given the charge to fight in Moses’ final war. I would surmise that this meager military force was chosen to demonstrate that it was Yehovah who truly fought the battles and gave Israel victory in the campaign against Canaan. Yehovah was at work bringing his chosen people into the possession and inheritance which he had promised, even to Abraham.

Surely Moses sent the armed soldiers out to war against Midian to avenge Yehovah for their seduction of Israel in causing them to fall away from Yehovah into physical and spiritual adultery. Yehovah’s campaign against Midian resulted in Israel’s warriors killing the five kings of Midian, all the fighting age males, and Balaam of Peor who had attempted to curse Israel and enticed them to sin. After defeating the Midianites, Israeli soldiers took all their goods, cattle, women, and children back to Moses in their encampment on the plains of Moab.

Moses Destroys Midian

Moses, however, was not pleased with the actions which his soldiers had taken in keeping alive women who caused Israel to trespass, nor male children who carried the traits of their fathers. He rebuked them for their actions and ordered them to slay all the male children and all the women who had slept with a man. The other young women could be taken as wives for the fighting men. When all the spoils and captives had been purified, they were divided equally among those who had gone out to fight and the rest of the congregation, notwithstanding, a tribute going to Yehovah and the Levites. Unceremoniously, Moses’ final war was concluded with him having an inner conflict that it was also the conclusion of his struggle against death; for he was to be gathered to his people.

Biblical Warfare /

Birth Of Warfare In The Biblical Text

Genesis 14, of the Hebrew Bible, presents an account which narrates the birth of warfare in the Biblical text. This account represents the first acknowledged instance of war in the Bible. The backdrop for the beginning of armed conflict in the Bible is formed on the relationship of two central characters, Abram and Lot, who make their decision regarding how they are to live out their lives and forge their legacies in the world. Both men, Lot and Abram his uncle, coalesced together after the death of their respective fathers, Haran and Terah, under the urging of Yehovah, have departed their homeland in Ur, and are now poised upon the precipice of the Promised Land.

Having established themselves in this new land, Abram and Lot discover that attaining affluence brings about its own set of relational difficulties. The struggle for enough land to sustain their growing abundance presents a problem which causes the two families to strive against one another. Therefore, to avoid conflict between brothers, they decide to separate. Abram gives Lot the option to select first which area he desires for his family to settle; he chooses what appears to be the most fertile region and departs to the east, leaving Abram in the Promised Land. Lot’s move to the east is significant as we recall that it was to the east, in Babylon, that the people were scattered after they decided to build a tower through which they would forge their own destiny. Lot, with his move toward the east, threw his lot in with those people who, through their own agency, and without Yehovah, would determine a place and posterity for themselves.

Abram and Lot separate

This fertile land to the east where Lot settled was under the auspices of five hegemonic kings, Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela or Zoar. Yet, these five kingdoms were positioned in a weakened estate, having for twelve years paid tribute to Chedorlaomer king of Elam who commanded three other northern kings, Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, and Tidal king of nations. Mustering up their courage the five kings of the southeast rebelled in the thirteenth year and refused to pay tribute to the northern king any longer. This arrangement, of course, as with any country harboring imperialistic intentions, did not sit well with the northern kingdoms. Nevertheless, the entire scenario was simply a setup for providence to step in; and divine providence has a way of turning the intentions of men into the designs of Yehovah.

As a result of Lot’s greedy desire for the visibly best land, he found himself situationally aligned on the wrong side of history. For in the fourteenth year, after the southern kings’ rebellion, King Chedorlaomer led his coalition comprising the armies of four kings into the south routing many tribes of the region. And when the king of Sodom with his allies joined the battle, they were also put to flight. The battle grew so hotly in disfavor against the five kings that in their attempt to flee, many of them, as they were pursued, fell, and perished in the slime pits of the vale of Siddim. The four armies under Chedorlaomer took all the goods, the spoils of war, along with Lot and his family, and departed for their own land.

Upon hearing of the misadventure of his nephew, Lot, Abram did not become smug or sanctimonious; on the contrary, he exhibited concern and compassion for his plight. That compassion was demonstrated through love in action. He gathered his paltry three hundred- and eighteen-men servants along with the brothers three, Eshcol, Aner, and Mamre, Amorite residents of the plain, and pursued the victorious armies to Dan. There Abram deployed a surprising flanking strategy by night which thoroughly discomfited their ranks. Subsequently, Abram pursued them almost two hundred miles to Hobah, and recovered all the goods, women, and Lot and his family.

Abram saves Lot

Abram returned to Sodom victorious after the first biblically recorded war where he was met by Melchizedek, king, and priest of Salem. It is well worth noting that Abram paid tithes to Melchizedek in recognition that he was the representative of the most high God of heaven and earth. Through this act, Abram was giving reverence to the fact that it was only through the divine providence of Yehovah that he was able to pursue, defeat and recover all from the enemy. In this birth of warfare in the biblical text, there was a man who first trusted Yehovah in His providence to give the victory.