In the history of western civilization, one of the most captivating passages in the Bible has been 1 Samuel 8. In this chapter we read of the nation of Israel’s rejection of God’s governance, and their demand to be ruled by a king like the other nations. We then read the prophet Samuel’s dreadful warnings against what an unjust and wicked king would do. This passage has been gripping in the west, as we began to see the rejection of monarchical structures of government, this passage could easily be seen as providing support for rejecting the old order. Now, this passage is not against monarchy as a concept, as kings in Israel were God-ordained and God would often bless the works of a good king. What you see, however, in this passage is Samuel’s warnings against a king “like all the [other] nations” (1 Sam. 8:5). God says to Samuel, “they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Sam. 8:7). In essence, what we see in this passage is the prophet Samuel’s terrifying warnings about what the state (king) will do, when God’s rule of order is abandoned, and the state gets to decide, for himself, how he will function. The result is a corrupt, self-serving tyrannical monstrosity. It has been well said that when there is no God above the state, the state becomes god.
The warnings of Samuel are as follows, all would be pertinent for us to hear in our day, but there is one warning in particular that will be examined in a wider Biblical context for the purposes of this article:
“So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”” - 1 Samuel 8:10–18 (ESV)
The very first warning Samuel gives is found in verse 11, and that is that a wicked king will “take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots”. The picture here is of a king who engages in war and takes other people’s sons to fight his battles for him. You may notice the personal language here, “your sons” and “his chariots”. The sons do not properly belong to him. But he takes them, at his own will, to man his own personal chariots. The Bible has a category for taking things that do not belong to you, and it is a violation of the eighth commandment. Remember again, that the very context of this whole passage is the prophet’s warnings of what a wicked king will do. Samuel is not here outlining the proper authority and jurisdiction of what a godly king will do, he is warning against what kings will do who reject the authority of God. And since these are warnings, it would be proper for Christians to analyze these particular things and identify them as immoral and unjust.
Now, when one reads the text, the thing being described as negative seems to be the practice of a government enrolling its citizens into the military by a matter of compulsory conscription, or in popular parlance- the draft.
A topic that will be no doubt controversial, given events in modern United States history, but the duty lays with all Christians to examine all things- even social or political things- in light of a Biblically informed worldview. What does the Bible say about military service, and does the government have the right to coerce its citizens into the armed forces?
Ground Rules
It will be important to briefly establish a few basic principles, in terms of where the author is coming from, before we turn again to the basic thesis.
I subscribe to a theonomic view of political ethics. That is, I believe that God has a universal standard for all governments, and this standard is to be found in His revealed Law and Word, especially the Law of God delivered to Moses. I have written a fuller article on this subject which can be found here.
Because the governing authorities are held accountable to God’s law, the civil magistrate is therefore liable to criticism by Christians. Although the Christian is to have a general attitude of obedience to the civil magistrate, in instances in which obeying the magistrate would require him to violate God’s law, civil disobedience is proper for Christian people.
I support the traditional Christian view of just war theory. That is, that under certain circumstances consistent with Biblical teaching (going back to point 1) a government may lawfully, in order to protect its citizens, engage in warfare. I reject any idea of “Christian pacifism” which would make war under any and all circumstances morally unjust but would affirm the London Baptist Confession of Faith which says that the civil magistrate may “wage war upon just and necessary occasions”.
Normatively, wars are justified if they are fought for defensive purposes. Wars are only to be engaged in with a prior offer of peace that is rejected (Deuteronomy 20:10-11). When wars are fought, it is always with the intention of restoring the opposer and bringing the conflict to peace (Deut. 20:19-20). Under unique circumstances, for particular purposes in redemptive history, God ordained certain wars of aggression as the people of Israel made their way into the promised land, but since no nation today is uniquely covenanted with God the way Israel was at that time, and no nation is receiving the kind of revelation Israel once received, no nation may claim a divine right to holy war. Governments are only entrusted with the jurisdiction of their particular territories, any trespass against this is a violation of the 8th commandment. It is unlawful, then, for a nation to engage in any conflict that does not properly belong to them (Proverbs 26:17).
Because there is a standard of morality in regard to warfare, wars may be categorized as either just or unjust.
Locus Classicus
The locus classicus, or the standard passage looked to in the Bible to discuss matters of warfare is Deuteronomy 20. Certain elements of this passage are clearly specific to the historical time and place of ancient Israel, such as devoting to destruction the particular groups of people who existed at that time and in that land (verse 17). What we see, however, is that even though God commanded the Israelites to wage this war, and to destroy their enemies, there were rules and standards that they were to follow. The people of Israel were not free to engage in this conflict any way they so pleased. For instance, they were not permitted to engage in a scorched earth methodology but were instructed specifically to leave fruit trees standing (verses 19-20). Without doing a full exegesis of the chapter, the important point to note is that God is concerned with how warfare is to be engaged in. Since God had appointed Israel to go to war, we know that not all war is sinful. But we know that violating the law of God is sinful, and therefore war may be fought either lawfully or sinfully. Warmongers who violate the Law of God will be judged on the last day.
Included in this chapter are certain stipulations in regards to who may be eligible for military service:
“Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit. And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.’ And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’ And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, then commanders shall be appointed at the head of the people.” - Deuteronomy 20:5–9 (ESV)
It is a fascinating thing to note that after reminding the people to trust in Him as they go forth (verses 1-4) the very first thing the Lord speaks about is who may not be eligible for military service. There are two main reasons for this, one is practical considerations toward an effective army and the second is compassion and concern for individuals and their families.
If a man has other obligations at home that will be distracting him, he is to go home and take care of his duties. If a man is fearful and fainthearted, such that he does not have the frame to fight in a war, he is to go home “lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own”.
The other aspect of these stipulations, as previously mentioned, is God’s concern for the individual and his family. It is not right, that a man plant a vineyard and another man enjoys its fruits (verse 6) or that a man be married and yet not go into his wife (verse 7). Both of these considerations concern the home and the family. These are the things war is to be fought in defense of, and it is morally wrong to sacrifice these things for the pragmatic purpose of winning a war. If you sacrifice one’s land, home or family to be more expedient in pursuit of warfare, you are at this point fighting war for war’s own sake. It is also not right that a man be made to fight in a war if he is fearful and fainthearted (verse 8). Though the practical consideration is here mentioned of not bringing the spirit of the other soldiers down, one must not neglect the very basic concern that God has for the hearts of individuals. He is the One who forms the heart (Psalm 33:15) and makes men differ. It is obvious that not all men are capable or qualified to fight in combat, and someone who is not suited to this task ought not be made to fight.
Another thing worth mentioning about this passage is that there is no standing army in Israel. Verse 9 reveals that after speaking to the people concerning who would or wouldn’t fight commanders were to be appointed.
When one examines other portions of Biblical Law, he discovers other qualifications concerning who may or may not serve in the military. Numbers 1:1-46 show us that those who serve in the military are to be men “from twenty years old and upward”, therefore women and children would both be excluded from military service. Another group of people excluded from military service are those who function in the service of religious worship. Verses 47-54 show us that the Levites (the priestly tribe in Israel) were not to even be considered for military service. The United States government has historically recognized this divine principle as it has granted ministerial exemptions from the draft.
All in all, when the Biblical data for military service is examined, one finds that military service was in no way coercive or conscriptive, as Samuel warned against (1 Sam. 8:11).
“It is clear from all this that military service was voluntary, not compulsory. The covenant people were to place their hope in God, to use godly soldiers, and to eliminate from the ranks of the volunteers all men who might be for any cause double-minded… Instead of a drafted army, the soldiers are the people, come together to defend their cause or their homes… Instead of a state decreeing war as a matter of policy, we have a people ready to fight for their cause. Instead of men drafted, made soldiers by compulsion, we have a gathering of the clansmen to defend their cause. The first step before battle is to send home some of these men.” - Rousas John Rushdoony, Commentaries on the Pentateuch: Deuteronomy (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 2008), 294–295.
Making Application to Our Day
Since the governing authorities are ordained by God to be His servant (Romans 13:1-7) it is responsible to be obedient to His law in terms of all of its functions, including how it engages in war. Biblical Law mandates that military service is to be strictly voluntary, and the idea of enrolling citizens into the armed forces by compulsion is viewed as the action of a wicked king who pays no respect to God’s authority. Therefore, when in times past our nation has engaged in compulsory conscription (the draft) for military service it has been in violation of the law of God. Christians who seek to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16) in this world are to prophetically testify against such injustice.
The necessity of this Biblical reminder is extended even further when one examines the kinds of wars this country engages itself in. If wars are to be fought defensively, for the protection of citizens in the nation’s jurisdiction, then this nation has absolutely no right to set itself up as the police force of the world, enforcing its values (or economic and political desires) upon nations outside of its jurisdiction. Violating principles of just war theory is already wicked enough, but to take other people’s sons and force them to serve your political ends is exceedingly wicked. In the Old Testament Law, if you steal a person and force them against their will to due your bidding, that is considered a capital offence (Exodus 21:16, Deuteronomy 24:7). Just because the state has the power to do this, does not mean that the state is above the law of God.
When we look at our present-day circumstances, and we see people in our government wanting to involve themselves in conflicts that do not belong to them (a violation of Proverbs 26:17), whether war in Ukraine or the Middle East, this alone should be denounced by Christians. How much more should the government be denounced if in order to fund these unjust wars (fought for political purposes, not defense of the homeland) they not only steal its citizens money (through unjust taxation, see 1 Samuel 8:14-17) but goes so far as to steal your children. Christians, under these circumstances, are to both prophetically testify against this injustice, as well as engage in a form of civil disobedience, as we seek to “obey God, rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
“When a magistrate goes to war for an unjustified cause, then the Christian who follows the Westminster Confession has the duty (not merely the right) to resist this practice of murder.” - Dr. Greg L Bahnsen, Theonomy in Christian Ethics (Nacogdoches TX: Covenant Media Press), 503-504.
Some Important Qualifications
Due to the heavy nature of the topic, it would be necessary for me to give a few important qualifications, as we seek to make practical guidance to the challenging issues of our day.
The position argued for in this article is selective conscientious objection to military service in particular. This article is not arguing for a blanket, or universal conscientious objection to any and all wars. The position of the author is not an anabaptist form of pacifism, but rather a traditional form of just war theory that has found its place in the historic reformed confessions of the Christian church. This means that there have been (and sadly will continue to be) wars fought under just and necessary circumstances. The Christian, in principle, has no objection to serving in these wars. However, the standards of eligibility given in Scripture are still to be a guideline (for example, newlyweds ought not to serve in military service) and service should still be on a voluntary basis.
Christians absolutely must make a distinction between those who are warmongers in authority declaring unjust wars and individual men who (whether voluntarily or under compulsion) serve in these wars. It is very sad to think about how military veterans have been shamefully abused and treated by the American population, especially by those men who fought in Vietnam. While I do believe that America’s involvement in Vietnam was unjust, those men who fought are to be regarded with the same Christian love and charity we would show to any of our neighbors. Veterans, as well as those currently engaged in military service, do not deserve contempt, barring cases where these men are personally engaging in sinful activity.
Civil disobedience is to be conducted only in ways that our Lord Jesus Christ would approve of. Harassment, rioting and violence are all things the Christian should shun.
The Christian’s ultimate prayer is for the day when the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) speaks peace to all nations (Zechariah 9:10) and the people will beat their swords into plowshares, no longer practicing war anymore (Isaiah 2:4).