Kids Feedback: If We Go to War, is that Murder?

If we go to war, is that murder?

In the Bible, there is a distinction between killing in war and murder. We are commanded not to murder in The 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17), but murder being wrong actually goes back to the early pages of Scripture because it was wrong for Cain to murder his brother Abel in Genesis 4 (see also 1 John 3:12).

Sometimes God uses war or armies to judge people who have been wicked, evil, and violent. Let’s use the Canaanites again. This was the case when Joshua was sent with an army into the promise land (the Land of Canaan which became the Land of Israel). The Canaanites were sinning and being evil for a long time and even though God’s had been patient with them, he ordered Joshua to destroy them for their sin. A list of the Canaanite’s sin is in Leviticus 18.

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