In the first part of our analysis of the problem of Violence in the Hebrew Scriptures, we discussed God's original peaceful intentions for Creation. Rather than a world created in violence and for violence, with violence as a natural fact of life, the world was instead created in peace for the sake of peace. God's original intention was for that unity in love which is true peace: unity between us and God and eachother and the rest of creation.

It was only due to the Fall that violence entered creation, poisoning the universe and the human psyche with alienation from God and others. The existance of violence, from the perspective of the Judeo-Christian worldview, is a problem to be resolved, not a fact of life to abide by. Any subsequent example of violence in the Hebrew Scriptures which seems to be ordained by God may more properly be understood as God expressing His "consequent will". Now that alienation and the symptom of violence exist and are being fully indulged by humanity, God directs the results of this violence to accomplish His ends. These ends are what we shall discuss in this article.

Though there is much violence in the Hebrew Scriptures, even to the point where some may say that there is no tenable religious arguement for Jewish pacifism, there is a thread of peace running through these Scriptures. One of the foremost of these is the exchange between King David and God concerning the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. David for all of his many faults, was considered the beloved of God and a man after God's own heart. God even proclaimed that He would bless the line of David forever by issuing from it the Messiah of humanity. But David did indeed have his problems, the most well known of which was his daliance with Bathsheba and the murder plot which grew out of her illicit impregnation. Another one of David's problems was that he was also a soldier. David reveals this dilema twice when molding his son Solomon to replace him as king:

I Chronicles 22:7-10

David said to Solomon, "My son, I had intended to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'"

I Chronicles 28:2-3

Then King David rose to his feet and said, "Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. But God said to me, 'You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.'"

Psalm 33:16-17

The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

Psalms 120

In my trouble I cried to the LORD,
And He answered me.
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips,
From a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?
Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning coals of the broom tree.
Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
For I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak,
They are for war.

Ecclesiastes 4:1-3

Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

Jeremiah 6:13-14

"For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain, and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely. They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, 'Peace, peace,' but there is no peace."

Micah 3:5-12

Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets Who lead my people astray;
When they have something to bite with their teeth,
They cry, "Peace,"
But against him who puts nothing in their mouths
They declare holy war.
Therefore it will be night for you--without vision, And darkness for you--without divination.
The sun will go down on the prophets,
And the day will become dark over them.
The seers will be ashamed
And the diviners will be embarrassed.
Indeed, they will all cover their mouths
Because there is no answer from God.
On the other hand I am filled with power--
With the Spirit of the LORD --
And with justice and courage
To make known to Jacob his rebellious act,
Even to Israel his sin.
Now hear this, heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And twist everything that is straight,
Who build Zion with bloodshed
And Jerusalem with violent injustice.
Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe,
Her priests instruct for a price
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the LORD saying,
"Is not the LORD in our midst?
Calamity will not come upon us."
Therefore, on account of you
Zion will be plowed as a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
And the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest.

Isaiah 2:4

And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.

Isaiah 9:2-6

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 40:15-17

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

Micah 4:3-7

And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.
Each of them will sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid,
For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
"In that day," declares the LORD,
"I will assemble the lame
And gather the outcasts,
Even those whom I have afflicted.
I will make the lame a remnant
And the outcasts a strong nation,
And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on and forever.

Zechariah 9:9-10

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
And the bow of war will be cut off.
And He will speak peace to the nations;
And His dominion will be from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Viewed in the context of the Prophetic hope and the original intentions of God to which the prophecied Messiah will restore, the problem of violence in the Hebrew Scriptures is not much of a problem at all. God did not wish violence in the beginning, and God will cure violence some day. It is this "some day" that poses some of the objection however. What are we to do, it is asked, considering that we still live in an unreconciled world steeped in violence? How shall we commit to the path of peace when so many around us are not? In many ways it is the same lament as the writer of Psalm 120: whenever we speak of peace, they speak of war.

The Christian faith makes the central affirmation that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah prophecied by Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Zechariah and the rest of the Prophets. It is in Him that our hope and peace and salvation rests, and it is to His teachings of peace that the majority of the Christian arguement for non-violence is based. Jesus establishes a world order that is based on very unmilitary qualities of meekness, gentleness, mercifulness, and peacemaking (Matthew 5:3-12). He COMMANDS us to love our enemies and to do good for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-46). Jesus lays down a groundwork for non-violent resistance both in the Temple (Matthew 21:12-16, Mark 11:15-18, Luke 19:45-46, John 2:14-22) and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38-42). When Jesus predicted the denial of Peter, it was then that He suggested buying swords, for those who reject Him must use the ways of the world (Luke 22:31-39). Yet after that He refuses to allow the swords to be used for Him, as He teaches that violence only breeds violence and that to use violence is to ensure one's own destruction thereby (Matthew 26:50-52). And He states that His kingdom is not of this earth, THEREFORE His followers do not take up arms (John 18:36-37).

Many respond to this by agreeing that Jesus taught these things, but that in this unreconciled world, to actually follow these teachings would be folly. The world is unprepared for the path of peace that Jesus teaches, and therefore Christians must be "realistic" in how they address the reality of violence. To that end, Christians are to engage the Myth of Redemptive Violence as though the Myth of Redemptive Violence were true; that is, Christians are supposed to protect themselves, their family, property and nation through superior application of violence. In effect, the Christian ends up becoming funcationally and practically no different from the "lawless" and "violent" which they claim to theologically oppose. Only a weak sentimental notion of Jesus as Saviour but not Lord, His reign of peace defered to a later date, identifies any difference.

As it stands though, neither Jesus or the Apostles left us this particular venue. Jesus' teachings were meant to be followed in this world, and as the Messiah, His reign of peace is not defered to some later date. Jesus' "coming out" in the synagogue makes the present reality of Jesus' Messiahship evident:

Luke 4:16-21

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
"THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
TO PROCLAIM THE YEAR OF THE LORD'S FAVOUR."
And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

The Apostles Paul and Peter both make references to the Prophets when he discusses the peace and unity which Christ brings, declaring at the same time that the life AND death of Jesus are meant to be imitated in His followers. The message is clear from the two foremost Apostles that Jesus' Messiahship and His Messianic age are present realities, experienced in the now.

Ephesians 2:11-18

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands-- remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

I Peter 2:21-24

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

I Peter 3:8-17

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

For, "THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS,
MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.
HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD;
HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.
FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS,
AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER,
BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL."

Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

Justin Martyr

And when the Spirit of prophecy speaks as predicting things that are to come to pass, He speaks in this way: "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." And that it did so come to pass, we can convince you. For from Jerusalem there went out into the world, men, twelve in number, and these illiterate, of no ability in speaking: but by the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the word of God; and we who formerly used to murder one another do not only now refrain from making war upon our enemies, but also, that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners, willingly die confessing Christ. For that saying, "The tongue has sworn but the mind is unsworn," might be imitated by us in this matter. But if the soldiers enrolled by you, and who have taken the military oath, prefer their allegiance to their own life, and parents, and country, and all kindred, though you can offer them nothing incorruptible, it were verily ridiculous if we, who earnestly long for incorruption, should not endure all things, in order to obtain what we desire from Him who is able to grant it. (First Apology 39)

Justin Martyr

And we who were filled with war, and mutual slaughter, and every wickedness, have each through the whole earth changed our warlike weapons, - our swords into ploughs, and our spears into implements of tillage, - and we cultivate piety, righteousness, philanthropy, faith, and hope, which we have from the Father Himself through Him who was crucified. (Dialogue with Trypho 50)

Origen

And to those who inquire of us whence we come, or who is our founder, we reply that we are come, agreeably to the counsels of Jesus, to cut down our hostile and insolent wordy swords into plows, and to convert into pruning-hooks the spears formerly employed in war. For we no longer take up sword against nation, nor do we learn war any more, having become children of peace, for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader, instead of those who our fathers followed, among whom we were strangers to the covenant. (Against Celsus 5 33)

Irenaeus

For the Christians have changed their swords and their lances into instruments of peace, and they know not how to fight.

Now the Christian is left no recourse for violence from the pages of Hebrew Scriptures. As we have seen in our first part, violence was never God's original wish for Creation, and the existance of it is a poison. The indulgence of violence only further compounds this problem. And as we have seen here, despite the prevalence of violence throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, there is also an ongoing hope for a new age of peace under the dominion of God as Messiah, Lord and Saviour. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is this prophecied Messiah, Lord and Saviour, and that His teachings are meant to be followed in the here and now, in this fallen world of violence.

And so, the problem of violence in the Hebrew Scriptures is resolved, and poses no further impediment to the progress of Christian non-violent action. The violence of the Hebrew Scriptures remains only as a recourse for those unable or unwilling to follow the teachings of Jesus or to acknowledge His Messiahship.