Imperial work v. imperial conquest

“Taking dominion” sounds violent but in the Bible is is a primal description of working for a living and more than a living.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.”

When humanity sins, this work becomes much more onerous and required for survival. Nevertheless, even before sin is in the picture, humanities means of reaching their goal of rule and kingship is to spread out, work for a living, and have families.

That’s it.

Using weapons is not in the picture as a way of achieving these goals.

Of course, with sin in the world, and therefore soldiers, it becomes necessary to defend one’s family and fortune.

But even here one notices some interesting lessons in the Bible. Consider the book of Judges, which has many military conflicts.

After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.

But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.

Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower. And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home.

Oxgoads, hammers and pegs, and millstones are the tools of production, not professional warcraft. The implements of real dominion are used to overcome the weapons of warriors. Don’t trust in chariots or horses.

(Of course, with the walls of Jericho and many other stories, we also see God granting victory through prayer.)

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