Violence In The Old Testament

[Albert Finch]

Genesis 3:15 - And I (God) will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman (Eve), and between your (Satan's) seed and her seed (Christ); he (Christ) shall bruise you on the head, and you (Satan) shall bruise him (Christ) on the heel."

"Head is a symbol for Satan's government." Bruising Christ on the heel is a prophecy of His crucification. Christ will assult Satan's government and dominion.

The battles of the Old Testament were for the preservation of the "seed of the woman" that would result in Jesus Christ. Throughout the Old Testament, Satan tried to either destroy or corrupt the seed of the woman, which he knew was in the children of Israel. Why would people like the Amalekites attempt to destroy Israel unless demonic forces incited them, hoping to destroy the seed of the woman? Blood flowed and little mercy was shown for those who threatened the seed.

Psalm 145:17 - The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

Because God is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds, even when He brought judgment, He had good purposes -- life purposes.

The struggles in the Old Testament often had sexual implications. A large part of the heathen religions was sexual eg. sodomy, lesbianism, and bisexuality were not only encouraged, but commanded in rituals of worship to Ashere and Baal. Satan, knowing the weaknesses of men, enticed them to worship idols -- worship that almost always included sexual activity. Using sexual enticement and perversion, Satan sought to corrupt the seed before it could bruise his head.

It is possible that this sexual activity also brought about a tremendous amount of venereal disease, which produced retardation, deformation, and even death. Unchecked, venereal diseases could wipe out an entire city. Could this have been why on occasion God ordered the total destruction of Israel's enemies? At times God commanded that every man, woman, and child and even the livestock, be put to death.

At times Israel was confronted by tribes riddled with disease. These tribes lived in total disobedience to God, worshiped the vilest of gods, and were being used by the devil to destroy Israel. The only way to rid humanity of the threat and to protect the seed from corruption was for God to remove these tribes from the face of the earth. It was a radical act of mercy and love for the whole of mankind.

When Satan failed to destroy the seed of the woman before the Messiah's birth, he redoubled his efforts to destroy the Christ child. He incited Herod to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem under two years old (Matthew 2:16). Thousands of infants were slaughtered-- all in the attempt to destroy the seed. Joseph and Mary were forced to flee to Egypt to keep baby Jesus from certain death.

1. The battle to preserve the seed was a flesh and blood battle.

2. The battle was physical because the seed of the woman was a physical seed that would bring a physical manifestation of God into the earth to die physically on a cross.

3. In order for Satan to destroy the seed, it would take a physical victory.

4. It was a battle which would determine whether or not the Messiah would come into the world.

5. It was a battle for the salvation of the human race.