Sunday, August 14, 2005

A warrior's divine calling: Is 54:16

"Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and brings out a weapon for its work; and I have created the destroyer to ruin." (Isaiah 54:16)
As I read this verse it struck me that both the warrior and those who invent weapons of war both share in a device calling. This is not to say that their work is always noble or holy, but that their calling is divine. For sure, some have misused their calling to achieve their own desires, for example when Saddam Hussein used nerve gas against his own people. However, there have been others who have fought for noble causes, such as the establishment of freedom, liberty, and peace. I grew up as a pacifist, largely because of the influence of the Christian church my family was a part of. As I grew up, however, I began to understand that God will and has used war as a way of establishing His purposes in the earth, and that those who answer a calling to defend their nation and to extend peace and liberty throughout the world do indeed share in a divine call.

David Robison

3 comments:

  1. I appreciate your honest response. Though I do not agree 100%, I value your opinion. I think, however, we must come to grips with the truth that, at least in the Old Testiment, God did use war to accomplish His purposes, will, and judgment. Thanks for your response.

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  2. Anonymous4:43 PM

    David,

    I have to say that I do not believe war is a divine calling. If anything, War is human killing humans. That goes against the true calling of love that God has invited us to share.

    I believe that sometimes we need to read between the lines, and not take things so literal. I am a strong supporter of the idea that the path to God lies in our own hearts, not scripture.

    History has shown us that by following written words, and forgetting to listen to our own concieus tend to lead us to the wrong path.

    Love is the foundation of Christianity, or it certainly should be. It is not war that God uses to accomplish his purposes, will, and judgement. It is love.

    I am against any war, of any kind, under any "excuses" (they are evil, and they are here to destroy everything that is good in this world), simply because humans are in no position to judge.

    It will be God who will judge us, not George W.

    I come from a country that has suffer years of so-called "Wars inspired by God", and now in the U.S. I see the same "speech" to justify killings. Because that is what it is, dear David. Nothing more than that. There's no divine intervention in any war, nor there was in the past.

    Listen to your heart, and you'll see that the only "weapons" God uses is His love to us.

    Maybe it is time for us to listen, and learn.

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  3. Here is a comment from a friend of mine...

    Your blog and follow up comments are very interesting. I can think of MANY instances in the Bible and in later times where I also believe that the warriors were given a divine calling...David, Joshua, Gideon, Samson(?)...and divine intervention, which resulted in the victory (or defeat) of Israel.

    I am also reminded of the movie "The Mission" were 2 monks took very different approaches to war.... one was a pacifist and the other retrieved his armor and sword from the river. You could argue that both had their calling from God. I believe that there are many officers and enlisted in our armed forces that God has appointed and anointed for their service to their country. I don't think that God likes war, but I also think that because war is a result of man's fallen condition, he intervenes with his favor and calling to nations and individuals.

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