Scripture is filled with models the reader is intended to avoid or follow. Every portion of Scripture functions to teach, reprove, correct, and train in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). This pedagogical function includes examples throughout the Bible; they are there to instruct and encourage us (Rom 15:4). For example, Job’s patience in suffering is to be followed (James 5:10), the idolatry of the Israelites is to be avoided (1 Cor 10:1-11), and Sodom and Gomorrah are anti-models of morality (2 Pet 2:6; Jude 7).
In the Pauline epistles, “imitate” (μιμηταί) and “pattern” (τύπος) are two common terms directed toward believers (1 Cor 4:16; 1 Tim 1:16).[1] Paul uses the imperative when calling his churches to follow his pattern and imitate his actions. As believers imitate Paul, they become examples to be imitated by others (2 Tim 4:6; 1 Thess 1:6-7, 2:14; 2 Thess 3:7, 9; Phil 3:17; 1 Cor 11:1; Eph 5:1).
Called to run the race set before them, Christians are not left without examples from which to draw encouragement and practical guidance. Hebrews 11, often referred to as a cloud of witnesses, is also a congregation of models who provide concrete examples of practical faith. As runners of the same race, believers are admonished to be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb 6:12). This includes godly warriors, who by faith “became mighty in war and put foreign armies to flight” (Heb 11:34).
The warrior might learn strength through weakness in the life of Gideon.[2] Samson may say something to temptation in the deployed environment.[3] Joshua may provide insight into fear in combat.[4] Might there be solidarity for the morally-wounded in the life of Saul?[5] Perspective for the female commander in the life of Deborah?[6] Tragic lessons in warfighting and family in Jephthah?[7]
Biblical narratives are thick with embedded guidance for the people of God. Stories are vehicles of God’s molding and shaping instruction (2 Tim 3:16). Training in godliness for the warrior includes the dos and don’ts from the lives of warfighters past and present. The following posts will approach the Davidic narrative through this lens with an eye to the marks of spiritual health in the warfighting vocation.
[1]“While the noun μιμητής and the verb μιμέομαι can indeed mean imitator or to imitate, these forms also convey a broader, less mechanical meaning, in the sense of emulate, follow, or use as a model…perhaps nearest to conveying the nuance of the Greek-in-context is take your cue from me.” Anthony C. Thiselton, New International Greek Testament Commentary: The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 370–371. According to William Mounce, τύπος has the basic meaning of “type, example.” Paul is “an example to the church (Phil 3:17, 2 Thess 3:9).” William D. Mounce, Word Biblical Commentary: Pastoral Epistles (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000), 58.
[2]According to Hebrews 11:32-34, Gideon was a man who was made “strong out of weakness.” Daniel Block states, “if anything positive happens to Israel in the period of the judges in general or through the agency of Gideon in particular, it has much less to do with the character of the human agents that God has at his disposal than with the character of him who would say in another time and in another place, ‘I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’” Daniel I. Block, “Will the Real Gideon Please Stand Up? Narrative Style and Intention in Judges 6-9,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40, no. 3 (1997): 359, 366.
[3]Brian Peterson argues that Samson’s function in the book of Judges was to “juxtapose the kingships of David and Saul.” He shows that a negative view of Samson has been the dominant voice in biblical scholarship and argues for a balanced perspective on this warrior. He suggests that Samson is both hero and villain, an imperfect vessel in God’s hands. This paradigm is helpful for warrior theology as it captures the real dynamic of human beings. Samson is definitely an illustration of what not to do; at the same time, there may be more to glean from him on the positive side as well. Brian N. Peterson, “Samson: Hero or Villain? The Samson Narrative in Light of David and Saul,” Biblotheca Sacra 174 (2017): 24.
[4]The commission of Joshua is built around the courage motif found in Deuteronomy 31. Thomas Dozeman observes that the Hebrew phrase in Joshua 1:6, “strong and courageous,” is repeated inJosh 1:6, 7, 9, 18; and 10:25. The phrase also appears in Deut 3:28; 31:6, 7, 23. The Hebrew verb often occurs as an adjective in the phrase “strong arm,” to indicate the exercise of power in war (e.g., Deut 4:34, 5:15, 6:21, 7:8, 9:26, 11:2). The verb also likely indicates courage in the setting of war in Josh 1:6. L.L. Rowlett concludes that the phrase is part of the military terminology within the Deuteronomistic History. The LXX translates the phrase as “be strong and manly.” The linkage between Joshua and Deuteronomy place combat courage in the vein of torah obedience. This framework introduces Joshua as a fierce, courageous, God-fearing military leader. Thomas B. Dozeman, Joshua 1-12 : A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary: The Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015), 196, 209-214.
[5]“Perhaps the story of Saul, with its often-cited tragic dimensions, provides a resource from the Hebrew Bible that can contribute to this kind of examination, even as moral injury offers a new interpretive lens for reading Saul’s narrative and other Hebrew Bible war texts.” Brad E. Kelle, “Moral Injury and the Interdisciplinary Study of Biblical War Texts” in Worship, Women and War: Essays in Honor of Susan Niditch, ed. John J. Collins, T.M. Lemos and Saul M. Olyan (Providence: Brown University, 2015), 31. Edward Tick suggests the same, “Saul, ancestral founding king, presents a vivid portrait of a severely traumatized warrior, dangerous to his loved ones and irrational, impulsive and violent in his rule, destroying others and finally himself.” Tick, Warrior’s Return, 91-93. Joab is another candidate for an internally wounded warrior (2 Sam 3:27-39, 11:14-17). Caleb Henry, “Joab: A Biblical Critique of Machiavellian Tactics,” Westminster Theological Journal 69 (2007): 343.
[6]Tyler Mayfield reviews volumes of research on the Deborah narrative and concludes that a large slice of scholarship views her role in Judges as positive. Her roles in the book of Judges include judge, prophet, military leader, wife, mother, and woman, all of which “make her a model in her contemporary setting.” Tyler D. Mayfield, “The Accounts of Deborah (Judges 4-5) in Recent Research,” Currents in Biblical Research 7, no. 3 (2009): 315, 327-329. Gale Yeeargues that Deborah is the model feminine warrior navigating the challenges of a dominantly masculine vocation. Gale A. Yee, “By the Hand of a Woman: The Metaphor of the Woman Warrior in Judges 4,” Semeia 61 (1993): 105-106.
[7]Robin Baker discusses the tragic consequences of syncretism, idolatry and warfighting on the family of Jephthah. Jephthah is an example of a misguided warrior who literally sacrifices his family on the altar of his aspirations. Robin Baker, “Double Trouble: Counting the Cost of Jephthah,” Journal of Biblical Literature 137, no. 1 (2018): 50. Scott Amos states, “His victories aside, he is a judge who is known principally for following through on a rash vow, with tragic consequences. One suspects that had his name not appeared among the faithful lauded in Hebrews 11, he would have been subjected to universal and unsparing condemnation.” Scott N. Amos, “‘Do to Me According to What Has Gone Out of Your Mouth’: A Reformation Debate on the Tragedy of Jephthah and His Daughter,” Journal of the Society for Reformation Studies 21, no. 1 (2019): 22-23. The fact that he is mentioned in Hebrews 11 speaks to the existence of faith amidst heinous and morally injurious action.