The Old Testament is violent. That should not be surprising, after all, the New Testament is also violent, just as our evening news is full of violence. The truth is, and it is foolish to deny it, the totality of human history is violent. Therefore, it is amazing the number of well-intentioned people who want to reject the Old Testament because of the violence committed by God’s chosen people.

They read about Gideon and the Israelites destroying the Army of the Midianites and are appalled. They are even more upset when they read that Gideon killed two kings who were already his prisoners. The Geneva Convention outlaws killing of prisoners taken in battle, and we believe that is a good thing, even though we know that the truly wicked among us still do not obey the rules.

Gideon did not have the luxury of living in the 21st century. He did not have the Geneva Convention, and he did not have the benefit of living in a world that God has been working for thousands of years trying to civilize. After all of God’s effort, and even after the sacrifice of His own son, the world is still very far from being a peaceful and civilized place. Gideon lived in a world where mercy was a sign of weakness and invited an enemy to attack again. He lived in a world where betrayal, if it were not punished, would only lead to more betrayal.

Gideon’s world was brutal and violent, and it was in the very midst of that world that God was going to establish a nation that would demonstrate what it meant to live in righteousness. God’s nation would have laws to protect the weak, and would be made a blessing to the world. God’s righteous laws would benefit no one if his people were not strong enough to enforce them or godly enough to obey them. The Old Testament is a story of a violent journey to a destination of a land of peace.