This weekend we continued our series Chasing After God by taking a look at the life of Saul in contrast to David.  In the process, we observed God’s command in 1 Samuel 15 to “utterly destroy” the Amalekites.  God demands the destruction of all persons and animals—everything!  The harshness of the command scrapes against our contemporary understanding of who God is—especially in light of our modern experiences with such “holy wars.” 

There are no easy explanations for texts like these.  Scholars continue to debate their interpretations in commentaries and academic settings.  You may find helpful this accessible explanation from Eugene Peterson, who writes:

        “One way to account for [these commands] is that God does not stand aloof from our moral
        conditions, but enters them and works with us where we are, working out salvation among us with the
        cultural materials at hand… God’s sovereign purposes are worked out in the most depraved and brutal
        of conditions by God’s descending into them, not criticizing them from above.” (1)

If you would like to study this subject in greater detail, I recommend one of Zondervan’s Counterpoints books.  This series of books provides a forum where opposing theological viewpoints are respectfully debated among some of today’s best Christian scholars.  The edition that covers the topic in question is Show Them No Mercy: 4 Views on God and Canaanite Genocide.  Here’s an excerpt from the back cover:

        September 11, 2001, brought us face to face with the stark reality of jihad. But holy war is neither new
        nor the invention of Islam. The Old Testament writings record what amounts to Canaanite genocide in  
        the name of Yahweh. How do we reconcile this with the teachings of Jesus, who commands us to love  
        our enemies and overcome evil with good? If our theology bears its fruit in our behavior as Christians,
        then we cannot ignore the question of violence in the Bible. Is there continuity or discontinuity              
        between the Old Testament concept of holy war and New Testament ideals? Do we serve the Lord of    
        Hosts or the Prince of Peace—or is God both? How should our actions reflect his character in these      
        dangerous desperately needy times? The four views presented in Show Them No Mercy are quite          
        different, yet all lie squarely within the evangelical tradition. This book gives each view a forum for      
        presentation, critique, and defense. It allows you to compare different perspectives on holy war, divine
        judgment, and the use of deadly force to arrive at your own conclusions on what the Bible teaches.

May God continue to reveal himself to you as you wrestle with these difficult areas of theology.  Grace & Peace!

Tonight we return from our holiday break to our study of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi.  We’ll examine Philippians 2:14-18, where Paul draws deep theological truth from the ancient biblical account of the wilderness wanderings.  The principles we’ll unpack have direct relevance to how you and I live each day.  Please join us at 7:00pm for the return of our Wednesday Night Bible Study.

The Bible is filled with the accounts of men and women whose lives made an imprint on our world.  Some loved God; some raged against him.  But no one lived like King David.  In spite of obscurity, peril, triumph—and even sin, God describes him as “a man after his own heart.”  David wasn’t perfect, but at his core he shared the purposes and passions of God.  In this series, we’ll examine his unique relationship with his Lord, and discover for ourselves what it means to Chase After God.