“One should remember that only the people living in the Land that was promised to Abraham are placed under the threat of death (called the “ban”) by the Lord, and even then the conquest is only appropriate when their sin has reached its full (Gen 15:16). As in the new covenant, if the enemies of God repent, then the ban is avoided and they are absorbed into the people of God (see, for instance, the case of Rahab).”

Throughout Old Testament God tells Israel to defeat, kill, and plunder their enemies. How does that comport with the biblical notion of a merciful God?

First of all, the Lord identifies himself with his people through the act of covenant-making. As a result, he considers a curse against his people to be a curse against him (Gen 12:3). We acknowledge this type of arrangement in current international treaties like NATO, in which an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. Divine identification, of course goes, deeper, since to curse the Lord is to curse the one true God, the maker and sustainer of the universe. Remember that this covenant arrangement persists in the New Covenant of Jesus. If a person is an enemy of God (or, by covenantal extension, his people), their just punishment is death, either in the death of Christ for those who repent or in the final judgment.

Second, one should remember that only the people living in the Land that was promised to Abraham are placed under the threat of death (called the “ban”) by the Lord, and even then the conquest is only appropriate when their sin has reached its full (Gen 15:16). As in the new covenant, if the enemies of God repent, then the ban is avoided and they are absorbed into the people of God (see, for instance, the case of Rahab).

Nations outside of the Land are not to be put under the same threat of judgment. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses teaches that, if Israel is in an actual conflict with countries outside of the Land, it should always sue for peace (Deut 20:10). Warfare should be a last resort. Elsewhere, kings are honored for engaging with other countries through diplomacy and trade. For instance, we see King Solomon’s wisdom and prowess on display through the alliances that he makes both with kings to the north (Hiram) and countries to the south (Egypt, Sheba).

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