May 02, 2024

  • Democracy Through the Direct Participation of the People

    Democracy Through the Direct Participation of the People

    You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you (Deuteronomy 16:20).

    The word of the Lord counsel us prophetically. God says that we shall follow all what is altogether just. What God is referring to is justice. Why should we follow what is altogether just? We should follow what is all together just so that we inherit the promised land, the new Jerusalem that will eventually descend from heaven (Revelations 21:21), the place where God will establish His Kngdom.

    Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God's throne (Psalms 89:14). God is a righteous ruler and a just judge.

    The claim that the Bible is anti-political and that the God of the Bible is passionate about faith, freedom, peace, justice and stability is surprising to many people. Some people often overlooked it; and when pointed out, they often resist seeing it. God's passion for justice ruled over all nations. Not only Israel, but all nations were accountable for their sins (Amos 1 - 2); (Ezekiel 25 - 32). The God who freed the  Israelites from Egyptian captivity, also delivered the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir (Amos 9:7). God not only gave Canaan to the Jews but also allotted the Moabites and Ammonites their lands (Deuteronomy 2:16-19). God sent the Jewish prophet Jonah to save the great Assyrian city of Nineveh (Jonah 1:1-9 - 4:1-11). The theme of the book of Daniel is "The most high God" is sovereign over the kingdoms (governments) of men" (Daniel 5:21). The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all" (Psalms 103:19).

    We cannot understand God's justice unless we understand sin. Sin is lawlessness. Sin is everything contrary to God's holiness. Sin against God and justice demands penalty.

    There is a law of the judge of all the earth. This law of God is written on the Bible, which was given to the people of Israel through His servants the prophets beginning with Moses. Moses climbed five consecutive times to Mount Sinai to receive instructions from Jehovah God for His people (Exodus 19:3-15), (Exodus 19:20-25 - 23:1-33); (Exodus 24:1-18 - 32:1-30); (Exodus 32:1-30 - 33:31-35); (Exodus 34:1-9 - 39:1-43). At Mount Sinai The Lord gave prophet Moses the Law to rule His people. The events on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16 - 20:1-21) is one of the most important teachings of God on earth. The Book of the Law (Deuteronomy 28:61), became their only source of law, the commandments, statutes, and the judgments that Moses proclaimed to them when Israel came out of Egypt, which he set before the Israelites (Deuteronomy 4:44-45).

    The law was to be interpreted and observed without falling into no type of foolish social systems. The justice of God is dependent upon the Law not upon of social elites. This Book of Law was to regulate the people's behavior and conduct. In (Deuteronomy 31:24-27) says: So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: “Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you; for I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death?

    It was during this early period that God was considered the king of Israel. But Israel abandoned its call to be a kingdom of priests and be a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6). The prophetic word of counsel of the Lord was to be used as the basis to witness His truth to us. His word directly obtained from Him, from the Book of the Law, from godly priests, Levites, judges, and prophets, the official cabinet ordained by God to assist the king (the president) govern the nation, His Temple (the church) and the king's office.  

    From God's Book of Law, we learn that under the administration of the king, Israel as a nation, was to witness to the world all of things about our Creator, which includes His laws, statutes and judgements. And even witness Him as the judge of men's actions. A judge who passes judgment, issues a verdict and carries out the sentence. It is from God's Book of Law itself that we learn that His blessings and punishments that He has attached to His laws are perfectly balanced. And that upon each law is a blessings as well as an equal punishment. 

    To be able to understand God's blessing and punishments, there is a need to understand three things. First, we need to understand that war is part of God's recompense to disobedience to His laws (Deuteronomy 28:1-54). Second, we need to understand that the battles are of the Lord. Third, we need to identify the types of war that Israel confronted during past biblical times, and its origin. As well as understand that warfare is part in the life of God's chosen people even during the biblical times in which we are living.

    Types of War

    Evil Wars of Opposition: Evil wars of opposition are unacceptable to God. It brings serious consequences as a result. Without provocation, the Amalekites opposed the march of of the weak and tired people of Israel who had just been liberated from Egyptian bondage and were heading forward to the promised land  (Exodus 17:8-16):  Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; for he said, “Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” On account of this the Amalekites were placed under the ban and Israel was commanded by God to exterminate them (Deuteronomy 25:19), (I Samuel 15:2-3). When we search the Holy Scriptures, we learn that the Lord had war with Amalek from generation to generation (Judges 3:12-30; 6:3-5), (I Samuel 15:1-9), (I Samuel 30:1-6), (2 Samuel 1:1-16), (I Chronicles 4:41-43). God's verdict on the Amalekites' evil war of opposition against His chosen people was a genocide.  

    Defensive War against Foreign Enemies: Wars against foreign enemies are allowed by God: “When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it. And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you. Now if the city will not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it (Deuteronomy 20:10-12). Winning this type of war is dependent upon obedience to God laws. 

    War to Occupy Canaanite Land: Israel was commanded by God to exterminate its enemies to occupy their land: “But of the cities of these peoples which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). Winning this type of wars is dependent upon obedience to God laws.

    War of Punishment:  Warfare is part of the life of the people of God. By the will of the Judge of all the earth, Israel would have war as punishment for disobeying His laws: “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:25). The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you. “They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you. You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you (Deuteronomy 28:50-53). The prophetic word of the Lord was fulfilled upon Israel when God first sent their enemies against them and experienced each and all of the consequences of a war of punishment until they were sent to captivity and the city and Temple were destroyed (I and 2 Kings), (I and 2 Chronicles).  

    It is the Lord who has torn, but He will heal them; He has stricken, but He will bind them up (Hosea 6:1). If Israel would have obeyed God's laws, He would have been faithful to His promise of deliverance: “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways (Deuteronomy 28:7). KJBV

    War to Recover its Land: Israel's wars to recover its land fro God: Now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. Then it came to pass, in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead?” Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of the Lord today” (I Kings 22:1-40). God allows Israel to restore borders previously lost. Wining this type of war is conditional upon obedience to God. 

    Wars for Testing Obedience: Israel will have war so that the Lord test them to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He made through Moses: Now these are the nations which the Lord left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it), namely, five lords of the Philistinesall the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses (Judges 3:1-4). By the will of the Judge of all the earth, Israel will have war His with chosen people of Palestine, all the Canaanites, Lebanese people, who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. It is always by the will of God that Israel would have wars even with foreign nations. One of many examples we see, is when God sent the king of Mesopotamia against them: So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years. When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim. So the land had rest for forty years (Judges 3:7-11). KJV

    Civil Wars: The characteristic to this type of war is that a large amount of people goes to war with another large part of the population, in open conflict. Civil war were acceptable by God for a righteous cause: Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.Then the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of God. They said, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?” The Lord said, “Judah first!”(Judges 20:1-48). From the book of Judges, we learn that Israel went to war against Benjamin because of the Benjamites obstinacy of protecting their criminals. The righteous causes of war are always victorious at last when God directs the battle. We read: Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker (2 Samuel 3:1-39 - 4:-1-12). King David fought the good cause of defending the establishment of his kingdom by God against Saul.

    Revolutionary  War: Revolutionary wars are characterized by a lot of unsatisfied people, who is ready to change the situation they are living in and decide to rise up against its own government, in order to replace it.

    God is displeased with Israel. Although Israel was called by Him to be a special kingdom, it followed the gods of the nations around her. Despite of the Book of the Law of the Lord, by doing so, the Israelites forsook the law and rebelled against the kingdom of God, which lead to fall into the creation of their own foolish social-economic systems, which imposed their own laws upon the people as the rest of the nations. Throughout history, the Divine Judge executed His judgments against Israel and against its enemies.

    Israel did not learn from its experience in Egypt. What the monarchies of Israel and Judah basically shared in common with Egypt is that both had forms of "domination systems," the most widespread form of society in the pre-modern world. Powerful and wealthy people centered around the monarchy structured the political and economic systems in their own self-interest. 

    I can list the three primary features that characterized their dominions systems: 

    1.  Society was politically oppressed. Because ordinary people had no voice in the structuring of society. Rather, they were ruled by the monarchy and powerful and wealthy elites.

    2. Society was economically exploitative:  The powerful and wealthy structured the economic system so that approximately one-half to two thirds of the annual production of wealth ended up in the hands of the wealthiest 1 to 5 percent of the population .The consequences for the lives of peasants (roughly 70 percent of the population, and the primary producers of wealth in these pre-industrial societies) were severe: poverty and subsistence living, malnourishment and disease, vulnerability to vicissitude. The quality of life expectancy for the peasant class were drastically lower than for the elite class.

    3. Society was religiously legitimated: Not in all Jew monarchies was affirmed that the social order reflected the will of God.

    Knowing that there exist a God, personal interests such as money, dominion and power have always caused the governments of the nations to suppress the law of God to rule with their own laws, which have not always satisfied the people they rule upon. As a result of imposed foolish systems, people has protested and fighted for change. One relevant example has been the Arab Uprising. During the biblical uprising, greedy rulers arose against the rules of other greedy rulers of nations (Genesis 14:1-24); during our generation, we witnesed similar acts when Arab nations also arose against other greedy rules (goverments) who wanted to impose their own social systems upon them. As of today there is going unrest as a result.

    God deliver us from oppressing laws and social-economic systems. Ancient Israel's foundation story is a narrative of spiritual liberation from bondage in imperial Egypt - an oppression that was political, economic, and religious; and a spiritual liberation that was political, economic and religious. Social systems include political systems, economic systems, by which I mean cultural attitudes and values enshrined in society. The social system are among the factors beyond the individual that deeply affect people's lives. Seeing this is the key to understanding the Bible for justice. The political passion of the Bible goes back to the origin of Israel. It begins with Moses and the Exodus. The political stream continues in the prophets of Israel several hundred years after Moses. The target was the injustice created by the monarchies of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Political disorders prevented peace in the communities. There was a gap between the rich and the poor, and the poor were often oppressed. When greedy priests, Levites, judges and kings (the presidents) gave themselves to corruption and war and failed to preserve democracy: freedom, peace, justice and stability, the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Micah, etc., - were God's intoxicated voices of protest against the human suffering created by the unjust systems imposed by the powerful and wealthy. Under the authority of God Most High, it is not any kind of people, but His true prophets, who are to be members of the king's cabinet, are to always have a direct participation in society to bring democracy: By calling to repentance and execute justice to the oppressed, and consult God on behalf of the king and counsel as to how to win a war and maintain or restore democracy even among the nations. 

    The evil money root cause to foolish social systems according to God, is the result of fights and war in the world even among the church: Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures (James 4:1-3). The reasons why all the people fight and war, are clear. The root reason why the justice of men fails to uphold the rule of law and maintain or restore democracy were is needed. Because of the lust and desires for riches, dominion and power and pleasure, the people of the world suffer the consequences of war. 

    Waging a Successful War 

    The true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord. The supreme need of the world is the acceptance of His teachings in all the affairs of men and nations, and the practical application of His law of love. 

    The Bible teaches us as individuals to live peaceably with all men as much as is possible (Romans 12:18). But, for as long as evil exist on earth, God's counsel warn us that war will be a reality until Christ return. However, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace opposes deadly wars. The six commandment of God the Father says: You shall not kill (Deuteronomy 5:17). 

    Ungodly people foolishly wage war, and the reasons why they do it are not hidden to us (James 4:1-3). God's word advises that plans are established by counsel; and by wise counsel to age war (Proverbs 20:18).  

    By wise counsel, "NOT CHRISTIANS," but the world wage deadly war. For 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. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Christian people who has knowledge and understanding of good and evil, can fight any war with the spiritual weapons of war (Ephesians 6:10-18).  

    The scriptures do have many examples of warfare that God commanded;  in (Romans 13:1-7), we are commanded to be obedient to the government and there are times when the government would call upon us to do evil and fight or agree to a war. We, however, are never to violate God's law and our conscience. If the government were to command us to do something we sincerely believe to be evil in the sight of God, then we have the right to refuse it as His servants did it against their own rulers (Acts 4:19-20). It is what I do myself. I refuse to submit myself to their authority and broken laws.

    Since I am under the authority of the Lord, I have been refusing to be governed by America's current criminal rulers, who while are abusing me, have been making every effort to hide their crimes. Their efforts have gone as far as hacking and hijacking this website and trying to take full control of the internet. As to using the money media, and their falling laws to sanction Iranian media to silence the freedom of speech of alternative media sources to hide all crimes they commit, which is disgusting and despicable. Since that day, I have been waging a spiritual war against them and their fallen US Constitution and Bill of Rights.  The Lord Jesus Christ counsels me about it: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5). I am convinced that the governmental rulers of the American people did not obey the Amended Constitution, neither respected nor preserved it. America is a nation in decadence, and God's Book of Law must substitute the fallen Amended Constitution after the nation falls.

    The counsel of the Lord doesn't change. The battle is the Lord's not ours. The direct participation of the people of the world could wage successful wars using the weapons of spiritual warfare. Without a doubt, godly priests, Levites, judges, and prophets ordained by Yahweh (Jehovah) are to be the kings cabinet to lead His people even in time of war. God will not fight our battles unless we consult him and then are obedient to do what he directs. 

    In the same way that His counsel is to Israel, it is to all the nations of the earth. Though it has never been the tradition of the church to advise the presidents of the nations on how to fight a successful war, it is God's counsel that leads His prophets to advise the government of the nations to consider following His counseling in time of war. His true prophets is the people that has been established by God to form part in the cabinet of the king (president), and through direct communication with the Lord could bring efficient and effective democracy to the world.  

    The Lord's counsel guide us: Plans are established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war (Proverbs 20:18). The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise (Proverbs 12:15). A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; for by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety. Wisdom is too lofty for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the gate (Proverbs 24:5-7). Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established (Proverbs 15:22). 

    Why “many counselors?” This is because there are true and false prophetic counselors. And there must be heresies among even counselors, that they which are approved may be made manifest among us, says the Lord (I Corinthians 11:19).  Both, the book of the Chronicles and Kings, narrates the story of King Jehoshaphat, who knew it and said it when he wanted to war with king Ahab, his ally, he asked:  “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him?” The first 400 were false prophets were wrong when inquired. The true prophets of the Lord were wise men to inquire the counsel of the Lord to wage a successful war (2 Chronicles 18:1-34), (I Kings 22:1-40).  

    Calling on the members of the King of king's cabinet such as His prophets to form part of it and inquire of Him in time of war, is a wise practice that I myself recommend to the rulers of the nations to follow today. God's gifted members to the king's cabinet, will certainly prophesy regarding war by inquiring the Lord in a direct form, which is one of the many steps to waging a successful war. Remember, there are laws of war to follow.

    Since God revealed His judgement against Sodom Gomorrah and its Neighbors, and the Arab Uprising developed in our generation, we have been witnessing the fulfillment of written bible prophecies. These prophecies are just part of many more bible written prophecies that will be fulfilled around the world before the Lord Jesus Christ return to earth. Many are prophecies of war that God's chosen people will be fighting around the world, and to lead the people of the world with the Lord's word of counsel and inquire of Him in time of war will be needed.  

    In biblical times there were national and international alliances involved in war, but there was no United Nations Security Council Institution to create resolutions against or in favor of whom it wanted to be against or in favor of. So, it will be in the following years to come. No  United Nations Security Council Institution will create resolutions against or in favor of God chosen alliances. God needs no United Nations, NATO, and the Political International Criminal Court to interfere with His plan of salvation.

    In the book of (Zephaniah 3:6-7) it is written: “I have cut off nations, their fortresses are devastated; I have made their streets desolate, with none passing by. Their cities are destroyed; there is no one, no inhabitant. I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me, you will receive instruction’— so that her dwelling would not be cut off, despite everything for which I punished her. But they rose early and corrupted all their deedsThis section describe one form of the justice that will be administered. The context of the Bible shows that the justice can be administered in a variety of ways, but the example in Zephaniah is one of the more severe.

    In this case, the unrighteous are destroyed in war. The concept of execution of justice through destruction is a theme that spans the Bible but is concentrated in the Old Testament prophets. The logic in verse 7 shows that the expectation is that this show of force in punishment should be sufficient for people to turn to the instruction and commandments of God. In this case, however, it was not to be the end of the matter. The subsequent verses outline a theme that is also common in the Bible. This is of a time when the whole world would be subject to the execution of justice (Zephaniah 3:1-20).

    God's Laws Concerning War

    The Book of (Deuteronomy 20:1-20) gives some of God's Laws on warfare. When the time for war has arrived, the king (the president), officials and soldiers are expected to abide by the laws of the Lord. It is, therefore binding on His people, and any nation which fails to observe these commands risks the displeasure of God Almighty and defeat in warfare.

    Statutes Governing Kings

    “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). These regulations limit the power and splendor of the king. The president would not be dependent on military power and riches. He was advised not to entangle the nation in political alliances that would expose the nation to wicked practices. Instead the president was counseled to guide the nation into obedience to God's law.

    Pursue Peace Before Waging War 

    The consequences of war are great. War crime, expenses, destruction of infrastructures, etc. Prior to any military action against an army, governments must pursue peace. When God commanded the Israelites to fight a war, conquer a nation, in ancient times, the Bible  instructed the Jewish people to first ask for and offer peace prior to attacking. If the other nation agreed to peace under Jewish rule, then it was forbidden for the Israelites to attack the nation.: “When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it. And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you. Now if the city will not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it (Deuteronomy 20:10-12).

    Human and Animal Life Preservation and Spoils from Foreign Nations

    Human life is dear to God and He wants the life of women and children to be preserved: And when the Lord your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword. But the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and you shall eat the enemies’ plunder which the Lord your God gives you. Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations (Deuteronomy 20:13-15). Preserving human and animal life is necessary. Where a civilian population is involved, governments must do more than just pursue peace. They "must allow civilians who are not interested in fighting to flee".

    Joshua, before he entered the Land of Israel, sent made treaty of peace. The first one said that those that wish to flee should flee. The second one said that those that wish to make peace should make peace. The third one said that those who want a war should prepare to fight a war.

    Furthermore, if a nations signs a peace treaty with another nation, then they must honor the treaty. The treaty cannot be broken, even if, after the treaty is signed, the evil nation is suspected of wrongdoing or waging war would be beneficial for the other nation. The righteous cause of war will be victorious.

    The Priests

    Godly priests are to make sure that soldiers qualify to engage in war and encourage them to prepare themselves to battle. Also, among their duties, priests are to encourage soldiers to bravery: “Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it. And what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.’ “The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’ And so it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people (Deuteronomy 20:5-9).

    Preserve the Ecological Needs of the Environment 

    While a city is besieged for a long time, God demands not to destroy some of its trees for a reason: “When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food. Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, to build siege works against the city that makes war with you, until it is subdued  (Deuteronomy 20:19-20).

    In the sight of God, a wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel (Proverbs 1:5). Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good” (Ecclesiastes 9:18).

     

     

     

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