Harsh Commands, Harsh Times: Why God Ordered the Death of Children in Tribal Warfare

Harsh Commands, Harsh Times: Why God Ordered the Death of Children in Tribal Warfare


One of the most disturbing topics in Scripture is God’s command for Israel to completely destroy entire populations—men, women, and even children—especially in cities like Jericho, Ai, and among the Amalekites (Deut. 20:16–18; 1 Sam. 15:3). To modern Western minds, this seems unthinkable. But to understand these commands, we must abandon our sanitized lenses and step into the ancient Near Eastern world—a world of tribal honor, vengeance, and generational warfare.


These weren’t peaceful agrarian families just minding their business. These were honor-driven clans where children were raised with one goal: restore the family’s legacy, avenge their people, and never forget who killed their fathers. These weren’t “cute kids with coloring books.” These were future warriors—trained early to hate Yahweh and His people, much like we see in modern terrorist training camps where young boys in Afghanistan or Syria are taught to wield RPGs and wear suicide vests. 


The ideology is planted young, and the thirst for vengeance grows with age. Crucially, the Israelites didn’t have massive fortresses or walled cities to fall back on like their enemies did. They were vulnerable. They lived in tents for generations during the wilderness period and later in scattered, small towns throughout the land. They couldn’t afford to leave behind ideological enemies to grow up and retaliate. This wasn't cruelty. It was survival.


We even see how this danger plays out in the story of Hadad the Edomite (1 Kings 11:14–25). As a child, Hadad escaped the slaughter of Edom under King David. He grew up in Egypt, was protected by Pharaoh, and later returned to become a thorn in Solomon’s side. His survival as a child led to long-term political and military consequences. Imagine this multiplied across dozens of Canaanite cities and clans.


This is why God commanded total destruction in specific cases. It wasn’t blind genocide—it was God's wisdom of what would happen if even a remnant of hostility was left behind. These were not “innocent children” in a modern sense, but ideological time bombs in a culture where vengeance was sacred duty.


Conclusion


Was it harsh? Yes. But so was the world. To show mercy to the next generation of warriors, trained in hate, would have been to sign Israel’s death sentence. God’s commands, while offensive to modern sensibilities, were perfectly suited to the honor-shame world of tribal warfare. They ensured the survival of a covenant people who had no political alliances, no walled cities, and no backup plan—only God.

Comments

  1. Stuart StevensonNovember 27, 2025 at 1:19 PM

    I appreciate the effort to place these difficult passages in their historical context, but I don’t believe we can say that God ever condones murder or delights in the destruction of children. Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly reveals Himself as “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love” — and this character cannot be set aside when we interpret the most troubling texts.

    It’s also important to recognise that Scripture often reflects the worldview, cultural assumptions, and literary practices of its time. Ancient Near Eastern warfare accounts (including those in the Old Testament) frequently use hyperbolic language about total destruction, victory, and divine sanction. This was a common way for ancient peoples to describe conflicts — and the people who wrote Israel’s history, naturally, described events from their own perspective as the victors.

    Acknowledging this doesn’t diminish Scripture; rather, it reminds us we must handle it carefully and humbly, recognising the human element within the text.

    Across the whole Bible, God consistently calls His people to protect the vulnerable, including children, foreigners, and enemies. Jesus explicitly rejects retaliation, violence, and vengeance, revealing God’s true heart most fully. Whatever we make of the Old Testament war narratives, they must be understood through the lens of God’s character as revealed in Christ, who teaches mercy, enemy-love, and the sanctity of all human life.

    So while I understand the attempt to explain those ancient passages, I don’t believe we can conclude that God endorsed the killing of children as an expression of divine justice. At the very least, we need to allow for the complexities of ancient historiography — and the real possibility that some accounts reflect the worldview and rhetoric of the time more than the literal command of God. Bringing Scripture as a whole into the discussion helps us resist interpretations that make God appear inconsistent with His own nature of love, compassion, and justice.

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