Prompt: In Times of War, Yoji Shinkawa

We learned that after humanity ruined God's perfect world through violence, God provided the right direction for mankind through the election of Abraham. Moreover, we also learned that Abraham was threatened with famine and was also blessed with great wealth afterward. Here in chapter 14, we see a different stage in Abraham's life. This time, he was compelled to engage in war in order to rescue his nephew, Lot, who was taken captive by four powerful kings.

This story tells us that God is the deliverer of His people. I think this message is very important in a time like what we have right now, powerful groups and individuals are pushing nations into war behind the scenes to take the attention of the people away from economic and financial issues. In the past, as far as I know, both WW1 and WW2 were used as a kind of cover-up, escape, or solution to economic crisis.

Many people consider the Bible as outdated and offer us no guidance in conducting our present affairs. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible remains relevant, and it is exactly the ignorance of the Bible that caused most of our unnecessary and man-made troubles in our day. Popular among them is the growing power of the state, the redefinition of marriage, and the assault on personal liberty.

In this article, we will listen to the story of Abraham in relation to one of the biggest threats to human civilization, war. Let us observe at least three lessons from this piece of biblical history.

What lessons can we learn from this narrative about war?

The first lesson we can learn is that nations destroy each other through war.

Reading Genesis chapter 14 verses 1 to 12, the most obvious lesson we can learn is that nations destroy each other through war.

In our story, it is four kings against five kings, four kingdoms against five kingdoms. The first group consists of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim. These kings initiated this war against their former subjects. Those who rebelled were Bera king of Sodom, Birshah king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela.

The most obvious reason for this war was economics. Five kingdoms no longer want to pay tributes to the four ruling kingdoms. They have been economically oppressed for 12 years. They thought that they were strong enough to break their financial chain. They want to be released from their bondage.

The ruling kingdoms, on the other hand, did not want to lose their economic advantage and power. They enjoyed their economic superiority. They want to maintain their financial yoke over the five kings.

The economic side of the war was evident here not only in paying tributes to the ruling kingdoms but also when the war was over. We see the victors seizing all the goods and food of the defeated kings. Possessions and food serve as motivations for nations to engage in war.

Applying this truth to modern time

The modern situation is different in many ways compared to the kind of war we found in the Biblical text. Ours is more complicated. However, one thing remains the same: the economic side of war.

If we look deeply into the crisis of human civilization at the present time, we will see that economics plays a big role. Of course, this crisis is rooted in ideas, ideas about property. One group wants private property abolished, and the other group wants to retain it. One group believes in the redistribution of wealth and the other group believes that no one has the right to take away the fruits of their labor, not even the State. And still, the first group believes in collective ownership of all factors of production, and the other group rejects it, and instead upholds the supremacy of private ownership.

Moreover, in order for the first group to finance their projects such as welfare, education, and economic development, they lobby for progressive taxation, both personal and corporate. As a result, individual workers take home lesser pay, and corporations that cannot meet the new legal demand will either close their business or reduce the number of their workers. This results in an increase in unemployment. The voice of the second group calling for lower taxes is almost non-existent in public consciousness. No wonder the people are getting restless.

Such restlessness describes the Arab Spring that started in Tunisia in December 2010 and spread like wildfire in other parts of the Middle East such as Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Syria, and Libya, and parts of Africa such as Morocco, Algeria, and Libya. Tunisian government collapsed in January 2011, Mubarak resigned as president of Egypt in February 2011, and Gaddafi was overthrown in Libya in August of the same year. What followed after this unfortunate decade was an ongoing anti-Russian and anti-Jewish demolition campaign. The common cause of all these restlessness, protest, rebellion, and conflict is economic discontentment. People are not happy with what is going on in their lives. If this trend is not reversed, the end of all of these is war.

Economically, war is destructive. It benefits no one. It kills people and destroys property. It even causes starvation and epidemics. In our story, though the four kingdoms won over the five kingdoms, certainly both camps suffered a loss in terms of human lives and economy. The capital that should be used in productive ways was used instead to destroy lives and properties.

During World War 1, 16 million people died. In terms of property, it is difficult to come up with an exact cost. How can you compute 75 million men who turned from producing goods to military service? In Belgium alone, they lost more than 300,000 houses and thousands of factories. Some attempted to give an estimate between $250 billion and $300 billion worth of property was lost in WW1.

I think in World War 2, a far greater quantity of property was wasted. Like in WW1, I wonder if someone could come up with a precise amount. The point is war is destructive and wasteful. It impoverishes nations. And we are not even mentioning here the psychological impacts of war. Such is the reality of war. Nations destroy each other for economic reasons.

Second lesson is that God judges nations.

In the succeeding verses, 13 to 16, we see that the greatest mistake of the kings who won the war was their action to take Lot and his possessions. By this action, Abraham the man of God had a reason to attack the camp of the winning kings. Abraham and his 318 trained men defeated Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him.

We learn in this story that war does not belong always to the mighty and strong. War does not depend on numbers. I do not know exactly what accounts for the victory of Abraham over the four mighty kings, except that Moses describes them as "trained men". Perhaps, there was an element of surprise. The four kings were caught unprepared for a surprise attack.

The four kings who won the war were guilty of the oppression of the five kingdoms. However, despite their act of oppression, they still won the war. It seems unfair. Why would God allow exploiting nations to triumph over their subjects? This is a difficult question to answer.

Perhaps the winning kingdoms would think that God was on their side. This kind of mindset is a terrible misrepresentation of God. And such misrepresentation of God was not limited during Abraham's time. It has been used repeatedly throughout history and even in our time. Religion is used to justify the violence of war. In whatever conflict nations are waging against each other, opposing camps use the name of God. Both camps believe that God is on their side.

In the Bible, we read many accounts of war, but all these accounts of war are viewed as God's act of judgment upon nations including Israel. In our story, God used Abraham to judge the four kingdoms.

In Acts chapter 2:17-21, we read that God has two ways to call people back to Himself, revival and war. If people continually rebel against God and his word, war is God's ultimate form of punishment.

Of course, we do not like this to happen in our time. And that is why the church has a great responsibility to call people back to God. This is the only way to reverse the growing trend towards militarism. Nations instead of using their resources to manufacture products and improve the well-being of the people, use their national funds to buy armaments and weapons of war. As a result, the economy suffers. The prophecy of Isaiah should be our prayer:

He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore (2:4).

In the above prophecy, we see a picture where the use of the national has been shifted from destructive weapons to productive tools. In modern times, that would mean economic resources are utilized for innovation and entrepreneurial activities.

The third and final lesson is that God delivers his people.

Verses 17 to 24, after Abraham and his men came from the battlefield, he met Melchizedek and gave him the tithe of everything. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and God. He declared that it was God who delivered Abraham's enemies into his hands. By this statement, we learn that God was involved in that war. God was fighting for Abraham. The reason why the four kingdoms were defeated was that, unlike the first war, this time God was their enemy. We do not know how God did it. All we know is that God delivered Abraham's enemies into his hand.

We should note an interesting insight in this story. We already know the economic aspect of war. However, in this case, we read that Abraham gave Melchizedek the tithe of everything. As we all know Melchizedek was introduced by Moses as the king of Salem and the priest of God Most High. In other words, through the act of giving tithe, Abraham recognized that God is the Ultimate Owner of all things, and nations should recognize this.

The Ultimate Owner of all things

The problem with the warring nations is that both camps claim ultimate ownership to their properties. They failed to recognize that they are just stewards and God is the Ultimate Owner of all things. I believe that this truth is no longer recognized by nations and individuals in our time.

Concerning ownership of property, generally, there are two views. The capitalists believe that the ultimate owner is the individual. Perhaps, there are few capitalists who still subordinate their ownership to God, but generally, capitalists do not recognize this truth.

On the other hand, the socialists believe in collective ownership. They think that it is the State who has the right to own all the means of production. Out of these two views of property, an irreconcilable conflict of interest cannot be avoided. And I think the conflict between these two views is at the bottom of the present economic crisis and growing war propaganda.

Conclusion

We learned from this war story that nations destroy each other through war, that God judges nations, and that God delivers His people.

This story about Abraham's victory over four powerful kings was important for Moses' time. The Jews during that time were under slavery in Egypt and yet God was calling them to march into the Promised Land. In order for them to arrive in Canaan, they had to believe that God was able to deliver them from Egypt and defeat their enemies as they journeyed and settled in the Promised Land. Egypt that time was the most powerful nation. It is like the United States today. How can Israel, a nation of slaves be able to defeat a powerful nation such as Egypt? Completely putting their trust in God is the only way for them to be liberated from tyranny and oppression.

From this perspective, we learn that the 10 plagues God brought to Egypt were actually an act of war against Egypt. But the Jews despite the plagues still doubted the power of God. The day they left Egypt and the Egyptians pursued them, they were terrified and cried out to Moses. They complained:

Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!

Moses responded:

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. the Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

We know how the story ends. The Jews were finally delivered and the entire army of Pharaoh perished into the sea.

In the New Testament, Christians are facing a different kind of war. The apostle Paul said:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).

He also said elsewhere:

Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world, but they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

If Christians are faithful in this battle, I think this will help a lot in changing the course of history. Instead of a world that is increasingly becoming violent, we will see a world that is living in freedom, peace, and prosperity.

Grace and peace!

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