D20-8: How Do You Reconcile Merciless Holy War Protocol With Yeshua’s Command To ‘Love Your Enemies’?

I need to address a question that inevitably comes up during a discussion of Holy War protocol as outlined in God’s Torah.

Recall a while back when I was discussing the Torah principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, I mentioned that the application of this principle was meant to be restricted to God’s civil and criminal justice system.

In other words, I made it clear that this principle was not to be applied to one’s personal relationships.

You can read my post about it here.

This is a problem many pastors, preachers and Bible teachers have when trying to interpret that particular Torah verse and other similar instructions.

They confuse those instructions meant to only be applied in a legal context with those instructions that are only to be used in our personal relationships.

And actually, Yeshua often expounded on the difference between the two.

A perfect example of how people mix up these two and become confused is when they try to square God’s Holy War rules with Yeshua’s famous command to “love your enemies”.

Here’s the difficulty people have.

Holy War calls for absolutely zero tolerance and mercy towards those whom God has sealed for destruction.

That’s right.

In a Holy War, the Lord calls for the merciless destruction of animals, property and human life down to the very last man, woman and child.

But how does that square with the Messiah’s admonition to “love your enemies”?

The common and mistaken view promoted by the Christian world is that “the God of the Old Testament is different than the God of the New Testament“.

Now that’s just retarded.

Are you saying we’re dealing with two gods here or a schizophrenic God who has a personality disorder?

Let’s nip this misunderstanding in the bud right here and right now for all time and forever.

First, let’s take a look at what Yeshua actually said.

“You have heard that our fathers were told,
‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’
But I tell you not to stand up against
someone who does you wrong.
On the contrary, if someone hits you
on the right cheek,
let him hit you on the left cheek too!
If someone wants to sue you for your shirt,
let him have your coat as well!
 And if a soldier forces you to carry his pack
for one mile, carry it for two!
When someone asks you for something,
give it to him; when someone wants to
borrow something from you, lend it to him.
“You have heard that our fathers were told,
‘Love your neighbor— and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you, love your enemies!
Pray for those who persecute you!
Then you will become children of
your Father in heaven.
For he makes his sun shine on good
and bad people alike, and he sends rain
to the righteous and the unrighteous alike.
What reward do you get if you love only
those who love you?
Why, even tax-collectors do that!
And if you are friendly only to your friends,
are you doing anything out of the ordinary?
Even the Goyim do that!
Therefore, be perfect,
just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
-Matthew 5:38-48

When you read the above verses, I want you to carefully notice the context within which the words “love your enemies“ were used.

What Yeshua is saying goes above and then against “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” but does NOT reverse it.

He is NOT overturning this legal aspect of God’s justice system.

Remember, “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” is all about making sure the punishment matched whatever crime was committed.

We’re talking about appropriate proportionality in the Lord’s legal justice system.

However, here Yeshua was talking about personal relationships.

Therefore, from this perspective “your enemies” is referring to acquaintances, neighbors and/or relatives who have something against you or are giving you a hard time (whether justified or not).

“Your enemies” could also refer to those in authority over you such as a manager who treats you badly or does something that offends you or really hurts your feelings.

So understand that in this context, “Your enemies” is NOT referring to a criminal who robs your house or murders your mother.

When Yeshua said “if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you on the left cheek too”, he wasn’t talking about assault or battery crime.

To slap someone on the cheek was actually a Hebrew idiom.

It meant to unjustly humiliate or insult someone.

Here’s what you need to know about the ancient Middle East and even Asian cultures today.

When you humiliate someone, you cause them to lose face and when that happens the one whom you have humiliated feels like he has no choice but to seek revenge in order maintain his honor.

And when I say seek revenge, I’m talking about blood feuds and murder man!

I see American businessmen with their straight shooting aggressive style come to Japan (where I’m living now) and just totally botch up a potential business deal because they don’t understand this facet of Asian culture.

So again, understand that Yeshua was NOT talking about someone committing a crime such as stealing personal property.

There are cases of civil and criminal violations that are to be turned over to God’s established justice system AND…

…there are personal offenses that the Lord leaves up to you to deal with on a personal level.

It is towards those personal offenses that Yeshua is encouraging us to step up, be the better man and not hold any grudges against the one who insulted you.

Think about it.

Who’s the stronger man?

The one who takes a punch and punches back.

Or the one who takes a punch and responds not with violence but in love.

To conclude, when Yeshua said “love your enemies”, he was talking about how to deal with personal offenses directed towards you.

This has nothing to do with Holy War protocol.