The Way God Fights

Book excerpt: Since conflict and war continue to threaten and destroy us, how do we find peace? And how do we understand the teaching of the bible about war and peace? In fifteen brief chapters, Lois Barrett explores the themes of war and peace in the Bible. She examines how God worked with the nation Israel in Old Testament times. Peace was found, not in waging war, but through faith in God. Security was won, not through human effort, but through trust in God’s actions. “Instead of trusting in modern weapons [horses and chariots], Israel was to trust God to win the battle,” the author writes. After Israel made a covenant with God at Schechem, God said, “I gave you a victory . . . . Your swords and bows had nothing to do with it” (Joshua 24:11-12. TEV). Can the way of love really overcome enemies? Explore in the author’s easy-to-read style how the weapons of God’s kind of warfare can lead to peace.