I want to try to connect two ideas that may seem like unlikely companions. First is the concept of Holy War that we discussed last Sunday in our study of the sixth commandment, and the second is the issue of abortion and the observance of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.

First, the issue of Holy War. I mentioned last Sunday that the prohibition against murder that constitutes the sixth commandment does not in fact condemn the taking of human life for any reason. The two primary examples of taking human life that God in fact commands are capital punishment and holy war. That second category is often unsettling to many because of the cultural climate we live in today. When we hear Holy War, our most immediate context is typically the Islamic notion of Jihad and the many atrocities committed worldwide under that doctrinal impulse. It may be an over-simplification, but for many people it is fair to say that Holy War is synonymous with the activities of ISIS.

So what do we make of this? Is there moral equivalence between that genocidal activities of extremist groups such as ISIS and the Holy War of Israel against the inhabitants of Canaan?

The answer is no, for at least three important reasons.

First, there is no moral equivalence between Yahweh and Allah. The God of Scripture possesses graciousness and lovingkindness that simply is not true of Allah.

Second, there is no moral equivalence for the motive of Holy War vs. Jihad. Jihad is a war for conversion. The followers of Islam are to continue to press a global conflict until all people are defeated or converted. Holy War in Scripture was a limited condemnation of a particular people for gross wickedness over generations. Israel was never commanded to destroy or attack any of the many other unbelieving nations around them. They were instead to live in peace.

Third, there is no moral equivalence between the localized and singular nature of Holy War vs. the global and perpetual nature of Jihad. God’s Holy War for Israel was to be a single campaign of judgment. Israel does not have the right today, nor do the followers of Jesus, to engage in Holy War. In fact, Christians are commanded to submit to our governing authorities (even when they are evil), to live in peace with all men, and to be willing to suffer and die (not kill and conquer) for the sake of the Gospel. You cannot directly equate the campaign of Israel in Canaan to the ongoing efforts of Islamic extremism.

So where does Sanctity of Human Life Sunday fit in?

There were a number of reasons that God chose the nations of Canaan for destruction, but one issue in particular was brought up repeatedly. From Leviticus to Jeremiah, God repeatedly singled out the horrific practice of offering infants on the altar of Molech. Nations such as the Amorites were so callous to the value of human life that they intimidated the surrounding nations by ripping open the bellies of their enemies’ pregnant women (Amos 1:13) and placing their own infants upon the red-hot, fire-heated hands of their metal idols to Molech (Lev 20:2).

It is sickening to read. And that is why it is also sickening that we need a Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in our country. We have been a nation for 88,586 days. Averaged out, we have killed 700 babies for every one of those days.

We still sing, God Bless America, but what we deserve is a Holy War.

Pray for repentance. Stand up for life.