The battle-cry of Chaplain Lt H. M. Forgy aboard the USS New Orleans during the attack on Pearl Harbour in WWII. Just the thought of it today causes Christians to recoil in horror. Imagine! Associating God with war?? Crazytownbananapants!

Ot is it? I think Christians write-large would also recoil in horror at the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 149:6-9, who writes:

Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands— to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains, to execute the judgment written against them. This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones. Praise the Lord!

A sword? Vengeance!? Execute!?!

We read these words and run to the New Testament to say that our fight is NOT against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, this is a metaphorical battle! This is only imagery! David Guzik in his Enduring Word commentary writes:

They bear a two-edged sword in their hand, demonstrating both the use of practical weapons and means, and in a spiritual sense, reliance upon God’s word, which is described as a two-edged sword (Revelation 19:15) as even sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), and as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).”

I don’t think so, Dave. That is NOT the context the author of Psalms is writing in. He’s not in a post-Resurrection world. Christianity does not yet exist. And the writings of John, Paul, and the author of Hebrews are hundreds of years away. Which begs the question: what is the context of the Psalmist?

• Exodus 32:25-28 – The Golden Calf Incident: After the Israelites create and worship a golden calf, Moses calls for those who are loyal to the Lord to come to him. The Levites respond, and Moses commands them to go through the camp and kill those who participated in the idolatry. About 3,000 people are killed as a result.
• Numbers 25:1-9 – The Sin of Peor: The Israelites engage in idolatry and sexual immorality with Moabite women. God commands Moses to execute the leaders involved. Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, takes a spear and kills an Israelite man and a Midianite woman, stopping a plague that had killed 24,000 people.
• Joshua 6 – The Battle of Jericho: God commands Joshua to lead the Israelites in the conquest of Jericho. They march around the city for seven days, and on the seventh day, they blow trumpets and shout, causing the walls to collapse. They then destroy every living thing in the city as an act of divine judgment.
• Joshua 7 – The Sin of Achan: After the Israelites are defeated at Ai, God reveals that Achan has taken forbidden items. Joshua identifies Achan, who confesses, and he and his family are stoned and burned as a punishment, restoring God’s favor to Israel.
• 1 Samuel 15 – The Amalekites: God commands Saul, the first king of Israel, to completely destroy the Amalekites, including all their people and livestock. Saul partially obeys, sparing King Agag and the best of the livestock, which leads to his rejection as king.
• 2 Kings 9-10 – The Judgment on Ahab’s House: God anoints Jehu as king of Israel and commands him to execute judgment on the house of Ahab. Jehu kills Joram, Ahaziah, Jezebel, and the seventy sons of Ahab, fulfilling Elijah’s prophecy.
• Judges 7 – Gideon’s Battle Against the Midianites: God uses Gideon and a small army of 300 men to defeat the Midianites, delivering Israel from oppression. This victory is seen as God’s judgment against the Midianites for their actions against Israel.

This is far from an exhaustive list. We just need to accept the fact that God uses human agents to carry out His will. And — yes — His will includes judgement from time to time. And if that bothers you, I have a quite sincere question: Do you have an issue with any of these incidences?

• The Great Flood: God caused the flood to wipe out all humanity except Noah and his family (Genesis 6-8).
• Sodom and Gomorrah: God destroyed these cities with fire and brimstone due to their wickedness (Genesis 19).
• Nadab and Abihu: They were consumed by fire from the Lord for offering unauthorized fire before Him (Leviticus 10:1-2).
• Uzzah: He died when he touched the ark of the covenant inappropriately (2 Samuel 6:6-7).

Because it seems to me that most people who object to how God is doing a thing, but rather than He is doing it at all. This comes back to the same thing I’ve talked about before; when my opinion differs from God’s, I’m wrong. And if I don’t like it, I need to better understand God’s grace or holiness, or some other attribute of His better. Don’t forget that God is all-knowing. He knows everything that was, is, and will be. He has a level of both knowledge and understanding that we could never HOPE to attain. And any attempt to massage, mold, or adapt God to better fit OUR desires is nothing more than an idol. An idol that demonstrates a profound lack of trust in our God.