Since the dramatic killing of the world’s most sought after terrorist Osama Bin Laden by a U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. Team, many have questioned whether his killing was a justifiable action. Some Christian leaders have publicly stated that there is no Biblical Justification for the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
When I heard these statements I immediately asked the question: Have they really read their Bible?
The Bible is filled with many examples of permission given by God for the killing of people who perpetrate violence and death on other individuals.
The Amalekites are an example of a nation to whom God specifically instructed His people to completely annihilate, men, women and children.
1 Samuel 15:2-3 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
In fact, the Lord took the rulership of Israel away from King Saul specifically because he did not obey the Lord’s command to completely destroy all of the Amalekites:
1 Samuel 28:17-18 And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day.
When Joshua was leading the children of Israel into the promised land, He told Joshua to attack the city of Jericho and destroy it:
Joshua 6:20-21 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
There are Biblical reasons for going to war against a nation, a terror group or even the leader of a terror group. When the Lord instructed Joshua to go up against Ai, He told Him to “Take all the people of war with you… See I have given them into your hand… Lay ambush for the city…
Joshua 8:1-2 Now the LORD said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2 “And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.”
Over 12,000 people died at Ai as a result of God’s instruction to Joshua, men and women, all the inhabitants of Ai:
Joshua 8:25-29 So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand; all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
In the book of 2 Samuel, David asks the Lord if he should go to war. The Lord then tells David how to go out and defeat the Philistines.
2 Samuel 5:18-25 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. 21 And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away. 22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 “And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 And David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.
In the new testament, John the Baptist is asked by some of the Roman soldiers who come to him for the baptism of their sins, “What shall we do”. In other words, How should we now change our lives since we know you and have began to live for you? Notice what Jesus tells these men of war:
Luke 3:14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
John does not tell them to no longer go to war, He asks only that they do not intimidate anyone, accuse falsely, and to be content with the wages they receive. If John wanted to condemn war and those who go to war against another nation or a terrorist group or it’s leaders, then this would have been a perfect opportunity to make a public statement about this. Jesus does not condemn war or those who go to war.
A follower of Jesus Christ is not to take action against someone who has mistreated them, hurt or abused them, this action is reserved for the Lord. The issue here is that the Lord has appointed leaders in human government for the purpose of protecting the lives and homes of individual citizens, by force if necessary.
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
Paul says that “The authorities that exist are appointed by God.” The word “appointed” is from the Greek word “tasso”, meaning “to appoint, to assign a place to, to ordain”.
By the sovereignty of God, men and women are appointed to have the right to punish those who break the law and to put to death those who commit capital crimes. Human government is also given the authority to send men and women to war, to kill and punish terrorists or their leaders.
Daniel 2:20-21 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
John 19:10-11 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
All of the governments around the world exist for God’s purposes. Whether they be evil governments or good. The Lord used the pagan government of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar to punish Israel for her sin against God, and to show His mighty power over even a pagan governments. In the case of the United States of America, the Lord raised up this free and democratic system to put down tyranny, oppression and evil in governments around the world. America could not exist as a government or people apart from the will of the Lord.
Romans 13:2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
1 Peter 2:14 (NKJV) or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
Augustine addressed the subject of war and Christians going to war around 400 A.D. At that time Christian leaders realized that sometimes the way to peace requires taking action in war. Augustine wrote: “Peace is not sought in order to provide war, but war is waged in order to attain peace.” And with that, Augustine began laying the foundation for what we know today as the principles for Just War, which states:
1. JUST WAR can only be waged by legitimate authorities.
2. JUST WAR must exhaust all non-violent options first.
3. JUST WAR must have a reasonable chance to succeed.
4. JUST WAR must be fought with right intentions.
5. JUST WAR must discriminate between combative enemies and non-combative civilians (Death of civilians is considered justifiable only if unavoidable).
6. JUST WAR’s ultimate goal should be to re-establish peace.
Those who are over our military, are also appointed by the Lord to punish those who commit crimes against all humanity in the United States and around the world. When the Lord sent Jeremiah the prophet to Judah, He told them to “Execute judgment and righteousness and deliver the plundered out of the land of the oppressor”::
Jeremiah 22:1-3 Thus says the LORD: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, 2 “and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates! 3 ‘Thus says the LORD: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
The responsibility of individuals under the government of the United States is to submit to the authority of their government as unto the Lord. To submit to their authority is to submit to Jesus authority over us. To resist their authority is to resist and rebel against the Lord authority as Lord over our lives.
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
To not go after a mass murderer such as Osama Bin Laden and his organization, would be immoral. To not support the government and leadership of the United States in their efforts to stamp out terrorism and the leaders of terrorism would be to rebel against the Lord’s will for our lives.
Jesus placed us in a country that has been given the power and military resources by God, to keep much of the evil in the world today at bay. If the United States continues in it’s present course of forgetting God in most every aspect of life and government, we place ourselves in danger of losing this mandate from the Lord and will ourselves be subject to discipline by the Lord.
Why should our government seek to kill or punish those who perpetrate terror around the world?
1. As a deterrent:
Deuteronomy 21:21 ”Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.
When other terrorist groups or those who are thinking of committing crimes against individuals see the fate of those who perpetrate these kinds of crimes, they will be afraid to do so themselves.
2. By the death of those who kill others, these evil men will be able to hurt anyone else:
3. For justice sake:
Numbers 35:30-34 ’Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty. 31 ‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. 32 ‘And you shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest. 33 ‘So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. 34 ‘Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.’”
The Bible allows for the death of someone who take the life of another:
Principle number 3 of a just war is that, “we must have a reasonable chance to succeed.” If we believe that God has placed us here at this point in human history for the purpose of putting down evil and tyranny, then He will help us accomplish these goals of eliminating global terrorism.
In his speech to congress on September 20, President Bush stated: “Fellow citizens, we will meet violence with patient justice assured of the rightness of our cause, and confident of the victories to come. In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may He watch over the United States of America.”
Whatever we might think about President George Bush, it is for certain that He believed that God had given him the mandate of fighting against terrorism and the protection of the citizens of the United States of America. Our response to his efforts and the efforts of current President Barack Obama, should be that of prayers and support.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
Rob Robinson
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