Bill Webb - Holy War and the Christian Conscience

Judges 5 & Deuteronomy 21

The seventh sermon of our 23 week series “Setting the Table” - exploring the narrative of Scripture.

God has rescued Israel, revealed to them how they ought to live, and now has … sent them into war? 

Within the Old Testament there are descriptions of warfare that trouble the soul. 

And they should! There are bloody, brutal, and barbaric texts within our Bible! How can we read these texts? How can we answer question’s about these verses? How can we follow a God who commands such violent acts?

Perhaps the first step is to look at the world in which the Israelites lived, to examine what war looked like then, and to see what God is doing in the midst of a particular time and a particular place.

Is it possible that these troubling texts are actually good news?