The Pre-Diluvial World Was Filled with Violence
Genesis 6 relates that the earth was “filled with violence”, pointing to an outcome counter to God’s creative purposes. That it is repeated (vss 11, 13), emphasizes the seriousness of the crime. The Hebrew word is חָמָס chamac, and it occurs 60 times throughout the Old Testament. It occurs in most of the books of the Old Testament and is employed by most of the prophets.
The Post-Flood Prohibition on Blood-Violence
Violence is a form of injustice, often accompanied by bloodshed. Following the flood, a covenant made with Noah affirms that the violence of Genesis 6:11, 13 was blood violence. The covenant included a strict prohibition upon eating meat with “lifeblood still in it” and violence against mankind would require “an accounting” whether by man or animal:
1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4 “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. Genesis 9
The covenant established with Noah was universal, applying to all mankind (cf. Proverbs 6:17). Biblical references to bloodshed fall into two general categories: Bloodshed committed by God’s people and bloodshed committed against God’s people by her neighbors.
The twofold focus suggests that while all will be held accountable, the highest accountability is with God’s people followed by a heightened accountability on those committing bloodshed against God’s people.
Blood-Violence Against God’s People by the Nations
Blood-violence was a frequent theme of the prophets, predominant in apocalyptic passages. Deuteronomy 32 sets the standard for God’s judgment on those opposed to God’s people, assuring that God will avenge the blood of his servants:
39 “See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. 40 I lift my hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, 41 when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me. 42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.” 43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.
God promises He will vindicate His people by taking judgment upon His enemies. Vs 43 gives the purpose of the judgment – it avenges God’s people and brings atonement to “his land and people”, fulfilling the requirement of the Noahic covenant.
This promise of judgment is portended upon Moab (cf. Isaiah 15; Jeremiah 48), the Ammonites (cf. Ezekiel 21:28-32), Egypt (cf. Ezekiel 32; Jeremiah 46) and Edom (Mount Seir) (cf. Ezekiel 35:1-6), revealing dependence upon the Abrahamic covenant. Though God appointed man (nations) to atone for the bloodshed of man (His people), often nations overstepped God’s mandate, demonstrating cruelty, or simply attacked Israel for gain.
These nations treated Israel improperly, heaping curse-judgments upon themselves for behaving in ways that cursed Abraham’s descendants. God however, seems to indicate that the ultimate vindication of His people will come directly from Him, to encourage and assure His people that He will not allow them to be swept away in total destruction to the nations. It may also portend the severity of judgments to fall upon His people at the consummation of the age. If so, He will miraculously deliver them by His hand.
Edom’s Blood-Violence as a Cipher for Satan
Judgments on the nations are divided, with some directed to specific nations bordering Israel and some applying broadly to all nations. Isaiah 34 speaks of judgments on the nations for their bloodshed with specific emphasis on Edom where armies of the nations have gathered, presumably to destroy Israel. [1] It appears that a great battle ensues in heaven (vs 5) before descending to earth to bring destruction on the armies gathered in Edom:
2 The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. 3 Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood. 4 All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. 5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed. 6 The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in Edom. 7 And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat. 8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause. 9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! 10 It will not be quenched night and day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again. 11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation.
The great desolation is planned, “God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation.” [2] The desolation recapitulates that of creation (cf. Genesis 1:2) where the same language is employed. God’s reason for the great bloodshed is found in vs 8 where God brings vengeance on Israel’s enemies and defends Zion. The great desolation of Edom in Isaiah 34 is followed by rejoicing in Isaiah 35 as Zion is restored and a highway to Zion is built for the redeemed, recapitulating the exodus motif. Isaiah 63 describes the triumphant savior over the nations after that great battle in Edom:
1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” 2 Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? 3 “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. 4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come. 5 I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. 6 I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.”
The bloody description ending symbolically with the act of pouring their blood on the ground fulfills the covenant and makes atonement for the land. Note the irony: Those who callously spilt blood on the ground have had their blood spilt upon the land. God has applied talion to those guilty of bloodshed. [3] The conflict is likely the same campaign presented in Revelation 14:
19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Judgment on Sidon, a Picture of Israel’s Restoration to God and the Land
Another nation called out is Sidon, accused in Ezekiel 28 of being a malicious neighbor that God will destroy with plague and bloodshed:
20 The word of the LORD came to me: 21 “Son of man, set your face against Sidon; prophesy against her 22 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘I am against you, O Sidon, and I will gain glory within you. They will know that I am the LORD, when I inflict punishment on her and show myself holy within her.23 I will send a plague upon her and make blood flow in her streets. The slain will fall within her, with the sword against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD. 24 ” ‘No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. 25 ” ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.’”
The promise of God to eliminate all of Israel’s troublesome neighbors together with the promise to regather Israel hints that Sidon’s ultimate destruction occurs at the end of the age.[4]
Joel 3, a Picture of the End of the Age
Joel 3 refers to God’s judgment on the nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat at the end of the age in contrast to the blessing of Israel:
18 “In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias. 19 But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. 20 Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. 21 Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon.”
Joel specifically calls out destruction on Egypt and Edom “because of violence done to the people of Judah in whose land they shed innocent blood,” echoing back to earlier judgments brought in response to the mistreatment of God’s people and violation of the Noahic covenant.
Amidst the judgments on the nations is a secondary motif: both the land and people of Israel. Isaiah, who assured the Israelites that God would break the curse of death on the land, spoke extensively of the devastation and desolation that would precede God’s intervention. Isaiah 26-27, a great eschatological song of praise for deliverance and restoration transitions in vs 20 to predictions of bloodshed that precede deliverance, the defeat of Leviathan in chapter 27, then returning to promises that Jacob will take root and Israel will blossom. The language of Isaiah 26:20-21 suggests a recapitulation of the Passover and exile:
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. 21 See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer.
The bloodshed of the slain is disclosed and brings the wrath of God. The phrases “enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you” and “until his wrath has passed by” evoke the Egyptian exodus where the Israelites were commanded to remain in their homes all night while the angel of death passed over. This new exodus leads to Israel’s re-gathering, a heightening over its Egyptian prototype, involving a far greater number of people dispersed throughout the earth. There is heightening in the punishment as well, with all the nations punished and the earth disclosing the blood shed upon her.
In Zephaniah 2, repentance is urged “before the appointed time arrives” with words that also seem to recapitulate the Passover:
3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.
In this “end-time Passover”, repentance seems to be the protection offered from the bloodshed and destruction which will fall upon Philistia, Moab, Ammon (2:8-11), Cush (2:12) and Assyria (2:13-15). “The remnant of my people will plunder them”, “the survivors of my nation will inherit their land”, “the nations on every shore will worship [the Lord] . . . each one in its own land” (2:9-11). The verses reinforce these judgments are not fully completed until the Eschaton.[5]
Consistent is judgment of bloodshed upon the perpetrators of bloodshed, in keeping with the Noahic covenant. Also consistent is that God will protect His people and vindicate His name by bringing the nations opposing Israel to justice, bringing an end to their violence at the Eschaton.
Blood-Violence by God’s People in the Land
The standard of behavior cited to Israel upon entrance into Canaan is found in Numbers 35 (cf. Deuteronomy 19:10). It introduced a unique relationship between Israel and “the land” while warning the Israelites that bloodshed pollutes the land.
33 “‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.’ “
Numbers 35 reflects back to Cain’s fratricide, providing explanation for his complaint that others would seek his death. Noteworthy is the warning that the land upon which blood had been shed, would require atonement. To remove the pollution caused by the blood, the blood of the perpetrator would be required as atonement. It reveals God’s view of the severity of the crime. To commit blood-violence against one in the image of God, is to attack God. Though often the focus of blood-violence is upon the innocent, King David learned the consequences of shedding blood when he proposed to build a temple for the Lord in 1 Chronicles 22 (cf. 1 Chronicles28):
7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8 But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.
David was a man after God’s heart, yet also a man of war and his numerous campaigns annulled his plans to build the Temple:
Nowhere in the Bible is David criticized for any of the wars that he waged. His wars were just, fought on behalf of God and in defense of the Jewish people. Rather, the passage needs to be seen as a comment on the spiritual ramifications of killing another human being. The act of killing another human being may be justified, and even necessary at times. Nonetheless, as the ultimate destructive act, killing – even when justified – leaves an individual spiritually tainted. It is in this vein that the Torah declares, concerning the construction of the altar: ‘If you make for Me an altar of stones, do not build it of hewn stones; for by wielding your sword upon them you have profaned them’ (Exodus 20:22). The prohibition of carving stones for the altar applies to all metal tools. However, by using the word sword, the Torah lends insight into the rationale of the prohibition. Metal tools resemble a sword, and a sword, as an instrument of death, is antithetical to the spiritual perfection symbolized by the altar. [6]
David’s justifiable bloodshed was not without consequences. It precluded his undertaking a project of intense importance to him. Bloodshed of the innocent however, had far-reaching consequences. The requirement to avoid innocent bloodshed was so important that provision was made to atone for unsolved murders, with the intention to purge those nearby the murder scene of having shed innocent blood.
1 If someone is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who the killer was, 2 your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 3 Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke 4 and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5 The Levitical priests shall step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord and to decide all cases of dispute and assault. 6 Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall declare: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. 8 Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, Lord, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent person.” Then the bloodshed will be atoned for, 9 and you will have purged from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the Lord (Deuteronomy 21). [7]
Tragically Israel and Judah were found guilty of bloodshed where the perpetrator was known. In the account of King Manassah in 2 Kings 21, there is a laundry list of egregious sins which included rebuilding the high places, erecting altars to Baal, setting up Asherah poles, worshipping the stars, building altars to the stars in the temple courts, sacrificing his son in the fires of Molech, practicing sorcery and divination, consulting mediums and spiritists, setting up a carved Asherah pole in the temple and leading the people astray in these same sins. It brings the promise of judgment upon Judah and destruction of Jerusalem. Following the pronouncement of judgment is the inclusion of one last sin by Manassah that seems to summarize his evil heart:
16 Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
2 Kings 24 records the judgment on Judah and Jerusalem:
2 The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him [Jehoiakim]. He [Nebuchadnezzar] sent them to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, 4 including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.
The lengthy list of Manassah’s sins from 2 Kings 21 compressed into “the sins of Manassah”, yet one sin stands out: shedding innocent blood. It is called out separately to emphasize its great magnitude. The land was polluted with innocent bloodshed. The Jewish nation was removed from the land, “from the presence of the Lord”, sent into exile to the surrounding nations having lost her national standing. Like Cain, God’s people were going out from the place of the presence of God (Jerusalem), banished from the land (their Palestinian Edenic garden), distant from God’s presence. This was the punishment for the bloodshed of the innocent. As grave as Manassah’s sin was, it was not an isolated case. Bloodshed was a frequent theme of the exilic prophets.
Isaiah’s Warnings Against Blood-Violence
Isaiah complained vehemently about Judah’s and Jerusalem’s bloodshed. Isaiah’s opening sermon chastised Judah for her sins, charging Judah had blood on her hands, calling Jerusalem a harlot within which dwelt murderers (Isaiah 1:15, 21). Isaiah then prophesied of the coming branch that would wash away Jerusalem’s blood-guilt (4:4) before moving to prophecies of Judah’s destruction because of bloodshed (5:7).
Both here as in chapter 1, bloodshed was contrasted with justice, revealing it was innocent blood – there was no justice found in Judah or Jerusalem. Isaiah continued his reprimand in chapters 23-27 from which Watts summarizes and offers the following insight:
But another concept describes processes much less personal by which the land is defiled by the broken covenant ([Isaiah] 24:5), by a curse that consumes the earth because of blood-guilt ([Isaiah] 24:6). This concept speaks of the floodgates of heaven opening and the foundation of the earth being shaken ([Isaiah] 24:18b-20) because of the guilt. It pictures the royal banquet for all peoples where it is announced that Yahweh of Hosts will swallow up (בלע) the cursed shroud of permanent death – a shroud that has covered all the peoples and nations because of the reproach that lay heavy on the land ([Isaiah] 25:6-8). It speaks of the land revealing the blood-guilt that it had hidden until that time ([Isaiah] 26:21). This second concept is like that of Genesis 4:10-12 where the ground (אדמה) was under a curse because human blood had been spilled on it. The same view is found in Numbers 35:33-34: ‘Bloodshed pollutes the land . . . Do not pollute the land.’[8]
Isaiah 23-27 ties back to the flood and the covenant God established with Noah (heaven’s floodgates open and the earth’s foundations shake). Isaiah envisions guilt for widespread bloodshed in the land as a recapitulation of the times leading up to the flood.
Generations of violence had brought blood-guilt on the land. Like the land before the Flood (Genesis 6), it was destined to devastation and destruction as the Vision had already described in great detail and summarized in [Isaiah] 24:1. Truly this was a curse of perpetual death on all the land and all its inhabitants, a curse that fed on itself as new bloodguilt was incurred for each vengeful and rebellious act. [9]
The shedding of innocent blood is a gross violation of that covenant. The place of that violation – Palestine, a model of Eden during the interim ages, only served to make the covenantal violations more nefarious as Palestine was the place of Yahweh’s dwelling. The reference to Jerusalem’s sins seems to emphasize their atrocity given the location (and the location of those murderers), is within view of the Temple, the visible emblem of God’s holy presence. [10] It is this bloodshed twice mentioned in Isaiah 59 that will separate Judah from the land and from God, much like Cain was separated from the ground and from God’s presence to the land of Nod. [11] The bloody nature of this removal seems foreshadowed, if not predicted first in God’s accounting man responsible for bloodshed (Genesis 9:6) and second in Numbers 35:33 where it is clear atonement cannot be made for the land apart from the shed blood of those responsible.
However, God promised Judah that He would personally intervene and break the curse of death on the land. He would swallow the shroud of death that hung over the land and covered the people with disgrace. These great heroic acts seem to begin with Jesus’ crucifixion, breaking the curse of death, continuing with a healing on the land at the Parousia and ending when death itself is swallowed up at the consummation of the new heaven and new earth.
But first there must be desolation and devastation on the land (Isaiah 24:1-6, 18-23), devastation that began with Judah’s exile and seems to continue till the end of the age. Accompanying this desolation would be the scattering of the Israelites that began with Nebuchadnezzar and continued beyond the destruction of Herod’s Temple. The judgments that brought both the desolation of the land and scattering of the people serve to atone for innocent bloodshed Israel brought upon herself and the land (cf. Psalm 79:1-3).
Ezekiel’s Warnings Against Blood-Violence
The initial wave of judgment is seen in Ezekiel’s day with the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of many Jews to Babylon. Like Isaiah, Ezekiel charged Judah and Jerusalem with innocent bloodshed. Ezekiel 5 accused Jerusalem of rebelling against the Lord, failing to conform to even the standards of the surrounding nations. Famine, pestilence, wild beasts and bloodshed are decried on Jerusalem in vs 17.
Ezekiel 16 allegorically compared Jerusalem to a prostitute guilty of bloodshed in offering her children to the fires of Baal (Ezekiel 16:21, 36; cf. Psalms 106:34-39). Ezekiel 16:38 declared God’s judgment on Jerusalem: their blood would be shed to satisfy God’s anger and jealousy. Jerusalem’s indictment continued in Ezekiel 21 predicting judgment and bloodshed on Judah and Jerusalem while Ezekiel 22 called Jerusalem the “city of bloodshed”.
Within the lengthy list of Jerusalem’s sins, Ezekiel 22 raises the sin of bloodshed eight times (vs 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 13, 27) with the prediction that Judah would be scattered among the nations (vs 15). Ezekiel 23 also levied the charge of bloodshed on Samaria and Jerusalem. Twice there is an accusation that blood is on their hands (vs 37, 45) and twice charges they sacrificed their children to the Baals (vs 37, 39). Ezekiel 24 adds dire prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem to follow Babylon’s siege, again calling Jerusalem “the city of bloodshed.”
God exposes Jerusalem’s bloodshed stating, “I put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered”, signifying God’s refusal to forgive or cover their bloodguilt. In Ezekiel 33 Jerusalem is charged with “eating meat with the blood still in it” (a Noahic covenantal violation), shedding blood and relying on the sword. Ezekiel asks, “should you possess the land?” He answers, prophesying that the land will become desolate; many will fall by the sword, wild animals and plague. Ezekiel 36:18 predicts that Judah will be scattered among the nations for idolatry and bloodshed.
Jeremiah’s Warnings Against Blood-Violence
Jeremiah also charged Judah and Jerusalem with shedding innocent blood. Jeremiah 2 recounted Israel’s abandonment of Yahweh, indicting Jerusalem for slaying the prophets (vs. 30) and accusing Judah of having innocent blood of the poor on their clothes.
Jeremiah 7 complained that Judah’s confidence was falsely in her past standing and in the temple, pointing to false religious practice. Jeremiah urged repentance, including not shedding innocent blood, requisite for staying in the land. Jeremiah 18 predicted famine and death by the sword for Jerusalem’s refusal to follow God. Jeremiah 19 predicted the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for the bloodshed of the innocent – offering their sons to the fires of Baal. [12]
In Jeremiah 22, the complaint of violence and bloodshed (vs 3, 17) was extended to the King while warning of Jerusalem’s destruction and the exile of the king. Lamentations 4 extended the charge of bloodshed to the prophets and priests and attributed the destruction of Jerusalem to bloodshed. [13]
Warnings of the Minor Prophets Against Blood-Violence
In questioning God, Habakkuk learned of Judah’s unfaithfulness to the covenant, with bloodshed thrice mentioned in Habakkuk 2 (vs 8, 12, 17). Hosea also levied charges against Israel including bloodshed that followed bloodshed (Hosea 2:2). Hosea 6:8 describes Gilead as “a city . . . stained with footprints of blood” while Hosea 12:14 prophesies that the Lord will leave upon Ephraim “the guilt of his bloodshed”. Micah 3:10 implicates Zion as built with bloodshed.
Zephaniah spoke of the judgments of the Day of the Lord, prophesying punishment of Judah, from the greatest, the “King’s sons” to the least, those “clad in foreign clothes” (1:8). Zephaniah warned that God would search Jerusalem “with lamps” and punish the “complacent” (1:12) – “their blood will be poured out like dust” (1:17d). Zephaniah 3 returns to judgments to fall on Jerusalem (3:1-8) that precede their glorification (3:9-20) showing that the judgments on these nations were in part brought as a sign of God’s commitment to Judah in the hope that she would repent:
6 “I have cut off nations; their strongholds are demolished. I have left their streets deserted, with no one passing through. Their cities are destroyed; no one will be left—no one at all. 7 I said to the city, ‘Surely you will fear me and accept correction!’ Then her dwelling would not be cut off, nor all my punishments come upon her. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did. 8 Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord, “for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them—all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger.
The focus of Zephaniah 3 is on Jerusalem’s repentance (vs 7). Judgment comes upon Jerusalem for oppression, rebellion, defilement, lack of faith, arrogance, treachery and unrighteousness. Like the Passover, Jerusalem can escape judgment (vs 7) but she will not accept God’s correction. The breadth of prophetic accusation emphasizes the extent of Israel’s covenantal failures. With such extensive discussion, it seems likely Israel’s bloodguilt portends church covenantal failures.
Blood-Violence & its Implications – Relevance to Christians Today
All the judgments associated with the exile of Israel, her scattering among the nations and the horrific bloodshed that accompanied the military campaigns that routed the Israelites from Palestine are all explained as consequences of Israel’s failure to honor the covenant. The warnings from multiple prophets show the overarching importance of the Noahic covenant. That Israel’s punishment by exile precedes the judgments upon many of the nations is expected given Scripture’s stance that judgment comes to the house of God first. The judgments upon the nations appear inaugurated in Christ’s coming, awaiting consummation at His Parousia. It offers important warnings for the New Testament church and its accountability before God.
Also important is a realization the captivity and exile of both Samaria and Jerusalem brought great violence and bloodshed to the population of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar may have been particularly motivated to send a brutal message after Judah’s rebellion against his hegemony. Those who had shed blood upon the land – often in offering their children to the Baals, had their blood shed as atonement on the land, fulfilling the terms of the Noahic covenant. That the invasions of Israel were described as floods (Daniel 9:26; 11:10, 40) sharpen the prophets’ accusations as they recapitulate the violence of the days of Noah.
A secondary effect of the captivity was that Israel found herself under the hegemony of Gentile nations (see Daniel 2, 7-12). Jerusalem and her temple were trampled by the Gentiles, fulfilling the Sinaic curse-judgment that they would serve nations that hated them (Leviticus 26:17; Deuteronomy 28:48).
It recapitulates Eden and the Fall, where Adam and Eve were subjugated by the serpent. This connection is important as Daniel envisioned the Gentile empires of the world as composite beasts, signaling that Israel’s enemies were more than physical peoples, nations and governments under whom they would serve. These empires were animated by unseen spiritual powers in the heavens.
Reinterpretation is completed in John’s Apocalypse, in which God’s people are pursued by a composite dragon, and composite beasts from the sea and the land. For John, it is not merely Gentile nations that will trample the holy city. It is powerful demonic forces behind the Gentile nations that seek to destroy God’s people through bloodshed. [14]
Bloodshed of the righteous is seen in the martyrdom of the saints (Revelation 6:9-11; 11:7; 12:17; 13:7, 10; 14:13; 16:6; 17:6; 19:2) with the dragon and beasts as the primary instigators of the bloodshed. There is a two-fold purpose in their martyrdom: first, it brings purification to God’s people through the tribulation, and second it serves as a glorious display before the world of the love of God that will lead many to Christ.
Often overlooked, is the possibility that included within the purification of the saints, is the parallel purification of the earth, upon which so much innocent blood was shed, much of which the saints may bear some culpability. In parallel, bloodshed of the unrighteous is also seen in John’s visions (Revelation 6:4, 8; 8:11; 13:10; 14:14-20; 16:21; 17:16; 18:6-8; 19:15-21). There is no reason to expect that their judgment is not also in fulfillment of the Noahic covenant, particularly in light of the innocent blood of the righteous that was shed for which all the unrighteous bear a measure of culpability.
A further observation is found in Revelation 12. With the dragon’s expulsion from heaven, he can no longer attack God or His heavenly Hosts. His only remaining target are the people of the earth. Ironically, Scripture opens with the pronouncement of man, made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), an assertion that at times seems shrouded in mystery. Man was God’s earthly representative and thus, when man was attacked, it was an assault on God.
The dragon’s final global assault upon all people on the earth (and most importantly God’s people), brings rich meaning to this opening claim. The dragon seeks to attack God, and being thrown down from heaven, executes his attack the only way he can – through God’s representative, man! This alone provides a compelling rationale for the ferocity and scale of the global assault conducted throughout our eschatological age. The only thing that has prevented its globalization, is “what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time” (2 Thessalonians 2:6).
Given the global scale of the assault upon God’s people, and John’s predictions that the beast will conquer the saints, it is clear that the beast has determined to completely destroy God’s elect. This knowledge reflects back to the Noahic shadow where widespread violence before the flood likely jeopardized God’s seed (including the Protevangelium).
Given the widespread bloodshed and the goal of Satan to destroy God’s people/creation, it is unsurprising that there is heightening in the eschatological fulfillment of these Old Testament prophecies (Figure 1). There is heightening to all nations from Israel’s immediate neighbors. There is heightening of judgments coming from God’s temple rather than through other nations. Judgments fall for heightened reasons: it is not just for the bloodshed of the Israelites but all saints. The flood cleansed the earth. Heightening is seen in the tribulation which cleanses God’s cosmos.
Given the heightening, church leadership should reconsider its role in opposing (or supporting) blood violence. Supporting “righteous” wars is dubious when one acknowledges the reality that all wars bring deaths of innocent people. Failing our responsibilities to bring social, political or religious justice can also bring persecution of the innocent, if not death through starvation, famine, disease or inadequate hygiene.
Failure to speak in opposition to environmental pollutants or unsafe medical treatments or drugs may also bring culpability. Israel’s bloodguilt in her Edenic garden brought exile and blood-violence against her in keeping with the Noahic and Sinaic covenants. John’s vision of exile and death of the eschatological covenant-community (Revelation 13:10) points to a heightened judgment for bloodguilt upon God’s people in the tribulation. Given Israel’s failure in their Edenic garden, the church should seek to avoid similar mistakes in her true eschatological Edenic garden.
[1] It is tempting to interpret Edom only as a location and limit this prophecy to the nations. The judgment descends “on Edom” with a sacrifice in Bozrah, an important city-center in Edom. It seems Isaiah has Esau’s descendants in mind, contending with Jacob’s descendants given the history of Edomite hostilities toward Israel and the uninhabitability of the land following the judgment. But there appears to be more at work than Edom’s descendants. Just as there was a unique relationship between God, “the land” (Palestine), and the Israelites, there appears to be a parallel with Satan (called “the angel of Edom”), the land of Edom (where Satan’s forces gather after being defeated in heaven) and Satan’s people (the rebellious nations who gather in Edom to destroy the Israelites). Further, there is a stark difference in promises made regarding the people and the land. Israel will be regathered in the land, with the land being healed, becoming like Eden. Satan’s forces will be gathered then destroyed in Edom, with Edom becoming a perpetual desolation. The prophecy regarding Edom may also be recapitulative (also possibly the prophecies of Ammon and Moab). When the Israelites post-exodus were about to enter Canaan, the spies came back with a bad report, claiming they saw the sons of Anak, who they said were Nephilim (Numbers 13:33). These Nephilim were apparently encountered near Hebron (Kiriath-arba) (Numbers 13:22), adjacent the land of Edom. The Anakim were also known as Rephaim (Deuteronomy 2:11) who were known for their giant stature and seemed to inhabit Moab (Moabites called them the Emim) and Ammon (Ammonites called them Zamzummim) (Deuteronomy 2:10-11). If the Rephaim were Nephilim, it suggests a subsequent post-flood descent of “Sons of God” who also rebelled against God. This descent, while possibly involving intermarriage that produced the Rephaim, would have been designed to thwart God’s plan by withstanding the entrance of God’s people into Canaan. The report of the Nephilim brings a recapitulation of the flood narrative and their opposition to God’s creation. In his Edomic prophecy, Isaiah recapitulates the flood and Israel’s Palestinian eisodus, showing a greater angelic/demonic gathering at the end of the age in Edom to oppose Israel’s regathering and re-entrance into the land.
[2] Aune notes that Edom became a codeword for Rome, suggesting that later Judaism reinterpreted Isaiah’s prophecy to apply to Rome. If true, it reinforces the motif of destruction of the final world empire for which Rome was a model. Aune, David, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 52, Revelation 17-22, Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998, p. 1050
[3] Isaiah 49 also seems to apply a judgment of talionon Israel’s oppressors in language (vs 26) particularly graphic, with the nations eating their own flesh and drunk on their own blood, which seems to point to their bloodguilt against Israel.
[4] Sidon’s destruction likely is inaugurated in Christ’s first coming with consummating judgment at the end of the age. Note the contrast: Jerusalem’s humiliation will be met with Sidon’s destruction. Judah’s regathering and security in the land cannot be thwarted. It is guaranteed by Yahweh and Israel’s troublesome neighbors will meet with bloodshed per the Noahic covenant.
[5] Determining if the judgments of Zephaniah 2:4-15 are aligned with the eschaton is difficult to ascertain. It is possible some of these judgments begin from the time of Zephaniah while others are unfulfilled or uncompleted until the eschaton.
[6] Berman, Joshua, The Temple, Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now, Northvale, NJ, Jason Aronson Inc., 1995, p. 74. Berman makes an interesting argument that the Temple was to be built in times of peace and security (cf. Deuteronomy 12:9-11). For those who would claim the temple will be rebuilt before the end of the age, the typology of this passage warns those who shed blood, will not be the Temple builders. A Jewish temple cannot be built during times of strife and war.
[7] The Noahic covenant establishes accountability between God and those who shed blood, with God stating “I will demand an accounting”. The method of accountability that God will use is men – “by man shall his blood be shed”. This is seen in the prophecies on the nations where God predicts that other kingdoms will be used as His instrument of accountability. God’s people were redeemed and set apart from the nations. Thus, their accountability is higher given God’s presence with them in the land. Hence the requirement of Deuteronomy 21 as well as the cities of refuge. With the higher accountability, Israelites not only experienced bloodshed “by man”/other kingdoms, but also forfeited the land and experienced the removal of God’s ceremonial presence from the Temple (cf. Ezekiel 10:18-19) before being scattered among the nations, losing their national standing as the priestly kingdom for the nations.
[8] Watts, John D. W., Isaiah 1-33, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 24, Waco TX, Word Books, 1985, p. 294
[9] Watts, John D. W., Isaiah 1-33, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 24, Waco TX, Word Books, 1985, p. 294
[10] The pinnacle of the bloodshed and violation of the eternal Noahic covenant by Israel seems to be found in the accusations of Jesus from Luke 11:50-51 who heightened the charges to include “Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary” (cf. Matthew 23:35). The prophets’ prior complaints of murderers in Jerusalem (i.e., within sight of the temple) now moves to Zechariah killed between the altar and the temple. Jesus’ charge against the religious leadership seems to anticipate even greater bloodshed in His own death, “this is my blood . . . shed for many” (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; cf. Luke 22:20). Jesus offers His blood as remission of sins, also allowing the removal of the curse on the land (cf. Isaiah 25:7-8) but placing blood-guilt for His innocent blood shed upon that generation present in Jerusalem at His sentencing. Note Matthew 27:25 “All the people answered, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children!’ “
[11] Watts points to a close relationship between Cain and the ground. Cain’s bloodshed separated him from the presence of God (i.e., he “went out from the presence of the Lord”). Cain was cursed from the ground האדמה to be a vagabond in the land ארץ. Watts notes a significant shift in emphasis starting in Genesis 6:11 where the relationship of man, prior with the ground האדמה, now shifts to a relationship with the land ארץ. Prior to Genesis 6:11, there is no mention of blood-guilt. After, there is regular reference to violence and bloodshed. The Flood was God’s judgment on blood-guilt and also brought judgment on the land while washing and cleansing it of blood-guilt. It was after the Flood that the Lord promised never again to curse the ground האדמה. But in Isaiah 24:6, a curse had devoured the land ארץ, a curse that Yahweh will annul. Before the curse is annulled however, Judah becomes a vagabond in the earth and the land becomes desolated. That land will also be replaced with a new land (earth) [and a new heaven], much like after the flood. Watts also shows the special relationship between curses and the land, noting the criteria of blessing and cursing established in Abraham, who left his land for a new land, Canaan. Noteworthy is the curse on Canaan (Ham’s son) post flood and his relationship to the land of Palestine. The word play with Ham’s son seems significant as does God’s promise to Abraham to give him Canaan. Finally, one can note that as Cain left God’s presence, turning east to Nod, Israel’s scattering from the land that resulted from Nebuchadnezzar’s campaign similarly turned God’s people east to Babylon (in captivity), paralleling Cain’s exile.
[12] While it is tempting to dismiss the offering of children to the fires as irrelevant to current times, one wonders if God does not view abortion similarly among His people, where elevation and worship of self, lead to innocent bloodshed. Abortion is often fought on the grounds of the rights of the unborn versus the right of sovereign choice. In light of these Old Testament scriptures, there are limits (and consequences) to sovereign choice, particularly when bloodshed is involved. Perhaps the abortion debate is better framed as a violation of God’s eternal Noahic covenant where the consequences are clearly known.
[13] The close relationship of bloodshed to the land can be seen in these passages. The judgment brought upon God’s people is striking and follows God’s warning from Numbers 35:33-34: “Do not pollute the land . . . Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land . . . except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do not defile the land . . . where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.” It is not merely “do not defile the land” but “do not defile the land where I dwell”. Note the close relation between “the land . . . where I dwell” and “for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.” The land and the Israelites are closely linked by where Yahweh dwells. After numerous warnings from the prophets, Ezekiel 9-10 records the vision of Jerusalem’s destruction and God’s abandonment of the Temple and land. Ezekiel 9 shows “the glory of the God of Israel” moving to the threshold of the Temple where the command is given to mark the foreheads of the righteous. Following this, comes the order to go throughout Jerusalem and kill and slaughter those without the mark. The order is prefaced to begin at “my sanctuary” with the elders. Then the order is given to “defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain.” Judgment comes to the house of the Lord first, and the judgment is bloodshed in talion against those appointed to prevent the bloodshed. Brokenhearted, Ezekiel intercedes only to learn “the sin of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed . . .” (emphasis mine). The glory of the God of Israel is seen to depart the temple in Ezekiel 10:18-19, symbolically completing the program. The land where God dwelt had been defiled with bloodshed. God divinely orders atonement for the land by the bloodshed of Jerusalem’s residents – ironically also defiling the Temple and the courts with the slain to drive home their sins. Then God’s glory departs the Temple, the symbol of God’s presence among the Israelites. The program’s completion, it would seem, is that God no longer dwells in the land with His people the Israelites, as symbolized in the departure of His glory.
[14] The reinterpretation that brings spiritual powers to the fore as the animating forces behind evil kingdoms, must be seen as an expected development. The recurrence of Nephilim at Israel’s entrance to Palestine signals that evil spiritual powers oppose Israel taking possession of the land of rest. Similarly, evil spiritual powers (including the spirits of the Nephilim should be expected at the eschaton when God’s people take their true rest in God’s heavenly land.