Is War Really Ungodly? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Chronicles 21:16-17,

"The Lord aroused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs who lived near the Cushites. They attacked Judah, invaded it and carried off all the goods found in the king's palace, together with his sons and wives. Not a son was left to him except Ahaziah, the youngest."

This observation was made following the documentation of the terrible choices King Jehoram of Judah made. When he ascended his throne, he had his own brothers killed to protect his position as king. He also led Judah into idolatry and followed the ways of King Ahab of Israel. The Lord brought his judgment against Jehoram by inciting the Philistines and Arabs near Cush to attack and invade Judah, his own chosen people.

The Lord used military opposition - war - to carry out his purposes with Jehoram.

And, yet, many people within the church today consider war to always be an ungodly thing. Many groups have adapted a perspective that yields "conscientious objectors" in any military context.

If war is ungodly, how do we account for the Lord's own use of it in so much of the Scripture's documentation of history?

I'm not overlooking the many points people may make, that because of the fallen nature of mankind, the Lord resorts to things he otherwise would not, etc. However, I make my point in the world we do live in. Can we say war is always an ungodly thing, that the Lord always opposes war, when in fact the Scriptures teach us otherwise? Are we to say God does ungodly things?

I make this observation, not from the standpoint that I am a fan of war any more than anyone else, it is just that it seems there are so many assumptions people make about the things of God with such little investment to find out about God, assumptions made at the expense of what God tells us about himself. This just happens to be one of those observations.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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