This principle deals with the natural matters of security and defense and includes those laymen who are involved in protection services such as police or military or the security industry. There is a divine protocol that governs the behavior and operation of warriors and these men should be involved in protecting the defenseless rather than being a strong-arm of enforcement for self-serving politicians.

Genesis 49:19 (NIV)

¹⁹ "Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.

Principle Gad deals with security and defense as is related to the rules of engagement which specify initiating the use of force against aggressors only. The prophecy given by Jacob for his son Gad in Genesis 49:19 specifies that Gad was first attacked by raiders but then he activates his security protocol and turns the tables on his former attackers and employs aggression against them as they retreat before him!

Deuteronomy 33:20 (NLT2)

²⁰ Moses said this about the tribe of Gad: “Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad’s territory! Gad is poised there like a lion to tear off an arm or a head.

The prophecy given by Moses for the tribe of Gad speaks of Gad poised like a lion ready to tear off an arm or a head. Tearing off an arm can speak of maiming or disabling an opponent and tearing off a head speaks of application of lethal force to terminate the threat completely! The idea here is to use a proper level of force as is dictated by the circumstances.

Exodus 22:2-3 (NIV)

² "If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;

³ but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. "A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.

If a thief is caught breaking into a home or residence at night and the defender of the home strikes and kills the thief then the defender is not guilty of bloodshed. But if the thief is struck down during the daytime then the defender would be guilty of bloodshed. However, if the thief is caught while stealing then he must make restitution for his thief or else he will be sold as a slave to pay off his debt by labor.

The principle here is that the intentions of the thief are determined by his actions. If a thief attempts robbery during the night (when the man of the house is home and in bed) then it could indicate that this thief harbors lethal intentions and is not afraid to strike down the owner of the household. Such an intruder should be deemed dangerous by the fact that his is brazen enough to attempt the robbery at night when the defender of the household is present. The man of the house should therefore employ lethal force without hesitation in order to save his own life because he must stay alive for his wife and children who need him as a provider and protector.

A brazen thief attempting robbery at night (when the man of the house is at home) should be treated as dangerous and as one who is willing to kill and should be dealt with using lethal force without hesitation. A moment of hesitation could cause the defender to lose his own life when confronting a dangerous thief displaying lethal intentions.

Breaking in at night is an indication that the thief has lethal intent and should be dealt with in decisive manner without hesitation. If the defender is hesitating trying to determine the intentions of the dangerous thief then he could get himself killed. There should be no hesitation in employing lethal force during a nighttime break-in for this reason. This is the principle of a lion taking off a head (employing lethal force) against dangerous aggression.

Employing Non-Lethal Force

Exodus 22:3 (NIV)

³ but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. "A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.

If, however the break-in occurs in the daytime (when the man of the house is at work) this could indicate that the thief does not have lethal intentions but only intends to steal some goods for himself. To apply lethal force in such a situation would be deemed over-kill (using more force that is necessary). If such a daytime thief is caught then he will be required to pay for his theft or be sold as a slave to work off the debt he has incurred because of his theft. But forcing the thief to make restitution is a lesser penalty than execution! Such a thief has to pay for his crime but at the same time he is not paying for it with his life!

However, if the same thief comes at night then he is indicating by his brazen manner that he is not afraid to kill the defender of the household. The man of the house should employ lethal force to save his own life and protect his family under such a circumstance!

But executing a thief in the daytime is considered overkill because paying for it with his life is a penalty that should be reserved for a crime like murder (which is the shedding of innocent blood).

Numbers 35:33 (NIV)

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.

A murderer is one who sheds innocent blood such as killing a household defender or the members of his family. A murderer who sheds innocent blood pollutes the land by committing murder. The crime can be paid for only by shedding the blood of the murderer in order to pay for the innocent blood he has shed upon the earth.

Genesis 9:6 (NIV)

⁶ "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

Whoever sheds innocent human blood by murder, this murderer's blood shall be shed by the civil authorities. Humans are created in the image of God so their lives are considered sacred in God's sight and the crime of murder requires a death penalty for this reason. It is not true of animals because only human life-forms are created in God's image and only shedding innocent human blood requires the death penalty (but not for shedding animal blood).

God delegated this authority to human governments to carry out the death penalty in obedience to God's commands. But godless liberals will seek to abolish the death penalty and thus no atonement is made for the innocent human blood spilled by murderers. This innocent human blood cries out to God for justice and brings a curse until retribution has been made.

2 Samuel 21:1-6 (NIV)

¹ During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death."

² The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to [spare] them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.)

³ David asked the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? How shall I make amends so that you will bless the LORD's inheritance?"

⁴ The Gibeonites answered him, "We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death." "What do you want me to do for you?" David asked.

⁵ They answered the king, "As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel,

⁶ let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and exposed before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul--the Lord's chosen one." So the king said, "I will give them to you."

Joshua was commanded to exterminate all of the heathen nations dwelling in the Promised Land because of their wickedness. But the Gibeonites secured a treaty with Israel which forbade them to be exterminated. Even though they employed deceit to obtain this treaty God still honored that treaty which was affected by the faith of the Gibeonites to save themselves. When King Saul tried to destroy the Gibeonites and ignored their treaty then Saul was in fact shedding innocent blood. The spillage of innocent blood brought a curse to the land which caused a drought for three successive years and a famine. The Gibeonites requested for seven descendants of Saul to be executed to pay for the trespass of Saul in shedding innocent human blood. When the descendants of Saul were executed and hung up this made atonement for the land and resulted in the end of the curse of drought and famine.

Normally it would not have been wrong to execute the Canaanites (including the Gibeonites) but the Gibeonites had made a treaty with Israel and God honored that treaty and to kill them who are under treaty ratified by oath is to shed innocent blood. It is only innocent blood shed upon the earth that brings a curse and demands retribution.

Genesis 4:9-12 (NIV)

⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

¹⁰ The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.

¹¹ Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

¹² When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."

God said the innocent blood of Abel was crying out to God from the ground and this speaks of innocent blood crying out for justice to be done! The shedding of innocent blood brought a curse to Cain (the first murderer) and so the land was cursed and would not produce its yields for him.

At that time there was not yet any civil governments set in place because the entire human population was comprised only of a few people including Adam and Eve and their sons (one of which was killed by Cain). So, Cain was marked as a murderer and lived under the curse for the rest of his life.

But under present times civil governments have been given authority to execute murderers who shed innocent human blood.

Romans 13:1-4 (NIV)

¹ Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

² Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.

⁴ For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

Also, under the New Testament era the believers are admonished to respect civil authority because all authority has been ordained by God. Civil authorities (such as police and military forces) are sent to protect the innocent and they do not bear the sword in vain. The use of the sword speaks of lethal force because the sword is used to kill not to spank! The civil authority is ordained by God to employ lethal force against those who commit murder by shedding innocent blood.

Humans are a higher life-form than any animal so if innocent human blood is shed then restitution must be made by shedding the blood of the murderer by the civil authorities.

Genesis 9:5-6 (NIV)

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.

Whoever sheds human blood must be executed in order to pay for their crime of shedding innocent human blood upon the earth. When a civil authority executes a murderer, he is not shedding innocent blood because a murderer is not innocent. Humans are made in the image of God so shedding human blood is a serious crime that calls for the death penalty in order to make atonement for the innocent blood they have shed as a murderer.

Animals that Kill Humans

Exodus 21:28-29 (NASB)

²⁸ "If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall surely be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall go unpunished.

²⁹ "If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.

If an animal kills a human (like a bull that gores someone to death) then that bull which shed human blood was to be killed. The owner will not be punished if it was a first-time offense for the animal. But if that animal was known to have a habit of goring and the owner of that bull did not keep it penned up then the owner of that bull will be guilty of human bloodshed by his negligence in not restraining his violent animal. The owner of the bull under that circumstance is liable for murder and the owner of the bull is to be executed for the crime of murder because his negligence resulted in the shedding of innocent human blood when an aggressive bull killed a person (and it had been common knowledge that this animal was dangerous).

Indication of Lethal Intent

Employing the use of locks on the doors and windows is using wisdom because if a thief forcibly breaks into a home then the broken doors or windows provide evidence of forced entry. This forced entry can indicate that the thief had lethal intentions because he was brazen enough to break the door in order to gain entry. This can help the defender in court of law showing that he was forced to employ lethal force against an intruder. Under such a circumstance this was a case of self-defense not murder. Murder is shedding innocent blood and self-defense is shedding the blood of a potential murderer so these situations are not the same thing in God's sight!

The intentions of a thief are discerned by his actions so that is why a night break-in indicates lethal intent while a daytime break-in indicates only simple theft. One can be met with lethal force (taking off head) the other with non-lethal force (maiming) represented by taking off an arm.

Horns of Altar

Exodus 21:12-14 (NASB)

¹² "He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.

¹³ "But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee.

¹⁴ "If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die.

Grabbing the horns of the altar in the tabernacle or the temple indicates that the person has shed human blood by accident (manslaughter) not murder. So those who accidentally killed a person are not liable to the death penalty. But if a man intentionally kills someone, he is a murderer and grabbing the horns of the altar does not protect him from execution because all murderers are to be executed to pay for the innocent blood they have shed in murder.

1 Kings 2:28-34 (NIV)

²⁸ When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.

²⁹ King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, "Go, strike him down!"

³⁰ So Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, "The king says, 'Come out!'" But he answered, "No, I will die here." Benaiah reported to the king, "This is how Joab answered me."

³¹ Then the king commanded Benaiah, "Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my father's house of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed.

³² The LORD will repay him for the blood he shed, because without the knowledge of my father David he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them--Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army--were better men and more upright than he.

³³ May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the LORD's peace forever."

³⁴ So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried on his own land in the desert.

Joab was formerly the commander of the army of the nation of Israel and as such he shed much human blood to destroy foreign aggressors who threatened his nation. That was righteous bloodshed to protect God's people from invaders which were bent on harming God's people. However, Joab went beyond his duties as a civil authority when he murdered both Abner and Amasa who were appointed to replace him as commander. Joab killed these two men to protect his own position as army commander so this was murder. He was not destroying evil invaders to protect the citizens of Israel but was murdering his competition in a selfish move to protect his own job! That was murder and it was shedding innocent human blood!

When the time came to execute Joab, he ran to the tabernacle and took hold of the horns of the altar (as if he was an innocent man seeking protection from being executed). But in fact Joab was not innocent because he shed innocent human blood when he murdered two men assigned to replace him as commander. Therefore, King Solomon sent the warrior Benaiah to strike Joab down (as he was still clinging to the horns of the altar). Joab could not claim amnesty by clinging to the horns of the altar because in fact he was guilty of murder! Benaiah struck Joab down where he was at (still clinging to the horns of the altar). This means that murderers have no protection or rights to avoid execution in the manner that someone is protected who accidentally kills a human.

Deuteronomy 19:4-6 (NIV)

⁴ This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life--one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought.

⁵ For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life.

⁶ Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought.

If a man is felling trees or chopping wood in the forest and his ax-head flies off the handle and accidentally strikes his companion in the head and kills him then this would be an example of someone who is not deserving of the death penalty. Such a man did not have malice aforethought (meaning he did not hate his victim nor plan to murder him). He killed the man by accident unintentionally and therefore such a man is not guilty of murder and should not be executed as a murderer. God judges these cases by the intention of the heart and if someone accidentally kills a human, they are not murderers and should be protected from being executed.

Provision Made for Sin Nature of Unregenerate Humans

All security and defense operations are based on the premise that God’s word states clearly that humans have a sin nature. This means humans have the propensity to do evil and as such provision should be made for protection against them. Security protocols can be set up for personal protection and for family protection and for protection of property and business assets as well as corporate protection for a group of people or company or civil protection involving City, State, Federal or national levels of defense.

If no defense spending is allocated whatsoever then it would not be long before such a breech of security will result in the display of the human sin nature which will result in robbery and rape and pillage and theft of intellectual or physical assets or wealth or lives of innocent people.

God’s word states emphatically that humans have the propensity to do evil and so provision should be made for security and defense for this reason.

Genesis 8:21 (NASB)

²¹ The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.

This scripture above states clearly that the intentions of human hearts are evil from their youth meaning that humans are born with a sin nature and so they have a natural propensity to do evil. If provisions are not made for security and defense then those who created such a void of security will suffer the consequences of the crimes perpetrated against them by wicked men. The propensity of humans to do evil is the basic Torah-principle upon which all forms of security and defense are established.

Human Sin Nature Corrupted Entire World Population

God destroyed all of humanity during the flood of Noah because humans are intrinsically evil and the intents of their hearts are wicked from the time they are born and this sin nature is evident as soon as they are old enough to express themselves.

Genesis 6:11-13 (NIV)

¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.

¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

¹³ So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

All of the people on earth had corrupted themselves and the earth was filled with violence. Anarchy and lawlessness reigned as wicked people would just take whatever they wanted and did what was right in their own eyes without any restraint. These wicked people did not fulfill the plan of God which God had intended for humanity in obeying God's laws. Therefore, God destroyed these wicked people and saved only Noah and his sons and their wives as “human-seed” to start over again and repopulate the earth.

The principle here is that God has given humans a freewill to choose which way they will go but because of their sin nature, humans will typically follow after their father the devil who inspires them to do evil.

John 8:44 (NASB)

⁴⁴ "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Jesus said that unregenerate people are of their father the devil and they will carry out the plans and agenda of their father who is Satan.

John 10:10 (NASB)

¹⁰ "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Satan has no other agenda other than to kill and steal and destroy and cause human suffering and misery on earth. He accomplishes his goals by inspiring unregenerate men to do evil and wickedness! These wicked men cause crimes and start wars and create violence on the earth. Therefore, it is both naive and ignorant for anyone to suppose that humans are basically good and there is no need for security or defense. This is a lie which is contrary to the truth of God's word which states emphatically that humans have a sin nature and unless they are spiritually regenerated, they will follow that sin nature and carry out the plans and agenda of their father Satan to kill and steal and destroy. The propensity of humans to do evil is the basis of why every community should setup their security and defense system by the best means available to them.

Judges 1:34 (NASB)

³⁴ Then the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley;

After Joshua had brought the children of Israel into the Promised Land, it was up to each of the 12-tribes to conquer their own portions of the Promised Land and dwell in it. But the sons of Dan seemed to display a lack of faith or tribal initiative and were unable to conquer their allotted inheritance. The Amorites squatting on God's land had driven the Danites into the hill country leaving them with only a few miles of territory. This failure to occupy their given territorial allotment caused the Danites people to migrate looking for a new place to live.

Judges 18:1 (NASB)

¹ In those days there was no king of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel.

The Danites were not able to take their given inheritance because of their inability to overcome the Amorite squatters in that sector of their allotted territory.

Judges 18:7 (NIV)

⁷ So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, unsuspecting and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.

Five Danite scouts were sent out in search of new territory and they came across a valley where the city of Laish was located. These people lived in the manner of a “hippie-love-commune” and behaved as if they had women-leadership. Women will typically presume that if they show love to others then such people will reciprocate so that they will also receive love back in return. This is why women are unfit for leadership positions (dealing with security and defense) when they cannot see or comprehend the most basic principles such as the propensity of humans to do evil.

These people of Laish behaved like a women-led hippie commune because they made no provision for security or defense. They falsely assumed that there was no danger and if they showed love to others then others would surely reciprocate and show love back to them. But in the real world of dog eat dog if someone loses out to a stronger rival the losers will seek out a weaker victim to dominate themselves. It is like a bunch of pigs fighting over some slop in a trough until all of the strong ones have secured a place at the trough while the weaker ones are left out with nothing. The fallen human sin-nature is like this because it is selfish and self-centered and unregenerate people will generally not behave themselves or be good and peaceful unless there is a show of force. It is for this reason security and defense are essential parts of any community planning.

Judges 18:7 (NIV)

⁷ So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, unsuspecting and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.

These people of Laish lived like Sidonians who behaved in an unsuspecting and secure manner as if they did not suspect anyone would harm them and they assumed that they could continue to live in unmolested secure manner forever. It is probably the reason why these Sidonian people are today extinct as a race of people and their “hippie-love” mentality has perished together with them! These people made no provision for defense and had no military training and also did not make any alliance with any other family clans in order to secure themselves militarily. This is in great contrast to Abram who was well-aware of the human propensity of do evil and therefore he made provision for the protection of his family clan.

Genesis 14:14-16 (NASB)

¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

¹⁶ He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

Abram heard that his relative Lot had been taken by an invasion of four kings that looted the cities of the valley where Sodom and Gomorrah were located. It is interesting to see that Abram did not subscribe to the hippie-love type of "feminine-thinking" that falsely assumes there is no evil on earth and that humans are basically good. Abram made advance plans for security and defense by training his own standing army of 318 men for the protection of his family clan. This defensive preparation also would necessarily mean spending on a military budget for creating weapons to arm his defense forces.

Genesis 14:13 (NASB)

¹³ Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram.

Not only did Abram the Hebrew train his own defense forces but he further secured his protection by making allies with three other family clans. At this time Abram was alone so he allied with Mamre the Amorite and the brother of Eschol and the brother of Aner. These three family clans combined their forces together with Abram so that if any of the four family clans within their security federation were attacked then the others within the alliance would join together to defeat the enemies. Abram and his three allies joined together to attack the raiding party that had invaded the valley of the salt sea and together they defeated these four invader kings and they gained back all of the spoil that was lost and also rescued Lot and his family.

Again, this is in great contrast to the people of Laish who provided no defensive training for their own security forces. Possibly they did not want to spend the time of training defense forces or spend the money to equip them with weapons. Furthermore, they also failed to make any allies with anyone else so that in the event of an invasion they could rely on others to protect them.

Danites Slaughtered the Hippie-Love People

Judges 18:11 (NASB)

¹¹ Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out.

When the Danite spies reported about the unsuspecting people of Laish (who had no military alliance with anyone) they immediately set out with 600-Danite soldiers to take the land and vineyards and fields and livestock of the unsuspecting people of Laish.

Judges 18:27-29 (NASB)

²⁷ Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire.

²⁸ And there was no one to deliver them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it.

²⁹ They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish.

After totally destroying the city of Laish and killing all inhabitants, the Danites renamed the new city they rebuilt as Dan. The demise of these people of Laish provides a lesson in preparing security and defensive measures. If these people had prepared defenses and trained soldiers and also strengthened themselves by outside military alliance, they could have withstood their attackers.

Yes, God did give the Promised Land to his people (the children of Israel) but when the Danite tribe could not overcome the Amorite squatters (who held their allotment) then they sought a new place to live and displaced those who were weaker than themselves. The Amorite people (occupying the original Danite inheritance) could not be dislodged because they were well-armed and had organized defenses. But the hippie-love type of people of Laish (who think like women and liberals) were completely annihilated and lost everything including their lives.

It would be better to have spent some money on defense training and weapons for their own young men than to lose everything to pirates later. Such people were basing their faulty logic on the assumption that humans are basically good. This was a lethal mistake which Abram did not make. Abram knew the propensity of humans to do evil so therefore Abram trained his own defense forces and he made necessary alliances with three other family clans so that together they could fend off any outside attack against their alliance.

Abram was rich in livestock and silver and gold and he had a beautiful wife and all of these things were in danger of being raided and plundered by wicked men who do not want to work for their own prosperity but who will eagerly seize the wealth or assets or women of others. Abram had a different perspective of life because of his fellowship with the God of Israel who made it clear to Abram that the sin-nature of humans will cause them to do evil and so he must make advance preparations for defense. Just having a system of defense present is often enough to cause the pirates to look elsewhere for easier victims.

Security and Defense

It is the propensity of humans to do evil which should govern the actions of any group in preparing their community security and defense. This is the basic premise of why locks should be installed on doors to protect families and possessions from intruders. This same principle also can apply to protection of innovations from technology thieves. I have personally met people whose innovations were stolen and the technology pirates made millions of profits while the original inventor was left penniless and gained nothing from his own invention. Inventions can be worth millions and should be protected by encrypted hard drives and other security measures installed on computers. The blessing produced from such innovations should be preserved for the innovators and their families rather than being allowed to be exploited by technology pirates to use for their own greedy gain.

Like Abram believers should understand the Torah-principle that humans have a sin nature and it is the propensity of humans to do evil that should initiate their defense spending.

Luke 22:36-38 (NASB)

³⁶ And he said to them, "But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.

³⁷ "For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in me, 'and he was numbered with transgressors'; for that which refers to me has its fulfillment."

³⁸ They said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough."

Jesus spoke to his disciples and mentioned the coming time of lawlessness and spoke of himself being numbered together with transgressors. This means a time is coming when those who worship the God of Israel will be considered transgressors and will be counted as an offense to the godless society. This will happen when wickedness covers the earth and when the ungodly will pass laws to ban the worship of the God of Israel.

Predicting a coming time of animosity for godly people, Jesus told his disciples of the importance of personal defense. In a time when lawlessness abounds, a man should have a means to protect himself and his family. Jesus said that whoever did not have a sword should sell their coat to buy one. This means a time of violence would come when the importance of having a weapon for defense is more valuable than owning a coat. A person could survive longer without a coat than he could survive without a weapon under dire and violent times such as these.

The weapon of defense can become more important than even an essential thing like a coat to protect oneself from cold. The disciples told Jesus that they had two swords with them and he said that this was enough. So, based on this statement, if twelve disciples had two swords among them this would be a ratio of 2/12 = .17%. Following this percentage would mean that if a community allocated about 17-20% for security and defense that would be a reasonable figure for defense spending.

If a community of people do not invest anything in security and defense then they will face the risk of being plundered like the hippie-love liberal-types of Laish who did nothing about defense training or weapon manufacture or the making of military alliances. The prospects of doing nothing for defense preparations would result in the risk losing everything (including their lives) to pirates.

John 18:10-11 (NASB)

¹⁰ Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave's name was Malchus.

¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, "Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?"

Simon Peter attempted to defend Jesus during his arrest and sliced off the ear of a slave named Malchus. Jesus told Peter to put away his sword because it was in fact God's will for Jesus to be arrested and be crucified and to give himself as a sacrifice for sin for all humanity. This was not a time to be using the sword for defense because Peter was resisting the plan of God when he drew his sword and struck the slave at this time and occasion.

But this should not be misinterpreted that believers should not have any means of defense. This same Jesus also said that those who had no sword should procure one even at the great expense of trading their only coat for it.

Also, Abram trained and armed his own security forces because he knew the propensity of humans to do evil and the tendency for evil men to prey upon those who are weak and defenseless. Part of being a man is to provide security and protection for one's own family. The measures taken to accomplish this goal can include defensive training, weapon procurement and the making of alliances to form an organized defense force. A number of communities united together can repel the attacks of the most powerful invaders.

Abraham Understood the Human Propensity to do Evil

Genesis 20:11 (NASB)

¹¹ Abraham said, "Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.

God revealed to Abraham the principle of the human propensity to do evil. This was the same evil tendency that caused humans to be destroyed in the flood of Noah. Humans did not lose their propensity to do evil in the time of Abraham and this is why Abraham feared for his life when he was in the presence of those who were ungodly. Only those who fear God will obey God's commands and refrain from doing evil. Abraham feared that he was not safe in the presence of evil men who had no fear of God among the Philistines. He thought that they would probably kill him in order to take his beautiful wife Sarah for themselves. Those who do not have any fear of the Lord will typically not hesitate to kill someone and take whatever they have for themselves.

Judges 17:6 (KJV)

⁶ In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

The time of Judges was a period of the dark ages during the history of Israel. They had no king and men became lawless and did whatever they wanted to do without fear of the Lord. They would just take whatever they wanted and could kill anyone to get it. This is why the period of the Judges was marked by lawlessness and anarchy and violence.

When government order collapses and water and food become scarce and there is no one to keep law and order then any nation will fall into the same lawlessness and anarchy and violence as was depicted in Israel during the time of the Judges. It is during these times that a man must use the same commonsense and wisdom that Abraham possessed when he trained and armed his own defense forces and made the necessary defensive alliances needed to protect his family and for the protection of their possessions (which were necessary for survival).