Man of War — Warrior+Priest

To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. – Joshua 17:1

As the Israelites settled the newly conquered land of Canaan, which had been promised to their forefathers for centuries, the Book of Joshua details the allotments of land reserved for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (see Genesis 48 for an explanation as to why there was no single tribe of Joseph but why, instead, his two eldest sons each received their own tribes, allotments and inheritance).

Joshua 17 begins with a stand-out verse pointing us to Joseph’s grandson, Machir, and his allotment of Gilead and Bashan, “because he was a man of war.”

While the Old Testament does not contain any specific account of what Machir did to earn such a designation, this verse certainly serves to function as an indication that he was not playing around when it came to the conquest of the Promised Land (consider Matthew 11:12). But, aside from what we don’t specifically know about Machir, is there anything we do know about the lands of Gilead and Bashan that would necessitate them being specifically allotted to a man of war? Is there a clue in their histories that would help us better understand this verse?

Gilead and Bashan were both part of an area known as the Transjordan. That is, they made up part of the territory east of the Jordan River. The southernmost boundary of Gilead lay just north and east of the Dead Sea and its territory extended north to the River Jabbok, which marked the dividing line between Gilead and the land of Bashan. Put simply, Gilead was in the east and Bashan in the northeast of the Promised Land.

The city of Heshbon lay in the land of Gilead. Heshbon was home to an Amorite king by the name of Sihon. During the final stretch of the Israelite exodus from Egypt before they crossed westward through the Jordan River (and into the heart of the Promised Land), Moses entreated King Sihon for peaceable passage through his lands. Sihon rejected Moses’ request and instead mobilized in a bid to stop the Israelites by combat. Israel defeated Sihon and possessed Heshbon and the rest of his cities (read Deuteronomy 2:24-37 and Numbers 21:21-30).

At the same time, the land of Bashan was ruled by a king named Og. Immediately following the dispatching of Sihon, Og decided to try his hand against Israel and was utterly destroyed, as well (read Deuteronomy 3:1-11 and Numbers 21:31-35).

King Og is an interesting and noteworthy character for what we are told about him in Deuteronomy 2 after the account of his defeat. We discover in verse 11, for instance, that he was the only surviving remnant of the Rephaim and that his bed was a massive nine cubits by four (about 13 feet long by 6 feet wide). The Rephaim, we know from Deuteronomy 2:10-11, were one of the descended bloodlines of the Nephalim, the giants the Israelite spies saw that frightened all but Caleb and Joshua into doubting the promise of God to deliver the land to His people (Numbers 13:32-33).

Notably, Joshua 11:21-23 records that part of the specific conditions for victory in the Promised Land was the destruction of the Anakim (another of the giant clans; see Deuteronomy 2:8-11). The giant Nephalim bloodlines were the offspring of demonic intercourse with human women (a blasphemy first mentioned in Genesis 6:1-4), and no doubt a significant part of the corruption of the land that Yahweh considered to be set apart for His own people (see Deuteronomy 32:9 and Genesis 15:16). Part of the Israelite mission was not just to occupy the Promised Land, but to cleanse it from the sinful degradations Yahweh’s enemies had practiced within it for centuries.

Additionally, “Bashan” is a name that, along with its Ugaritic equivalent, “Bathan,” can be translated “place of the serpent.” As Joshua 12:4 points out, it was home to Mount Hermon (the place where both Jewish tradition and the Book of Enoch teach that the rebellious deities of Genesis 6 congregated in order to execute their plan of copulating with human women to create the Nephalim), and the cities of Edrei (where Og was defeated) and Ashtaroth (probably named for the demon that was worshipped there and eventually captured the worship of King Solomon: I Kings 11:4-5).

The Grotto of Pan in Caesarea Philippi (photo from biblelandpassages.org)

In summary, these lands were places of great evil to the ancient Israelite mind. So much so that when Christ walked the earth, He made His famous “gates of hell” statement in the town of Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13, 18), which was located at the foot of Mount Hermon. The land of Bashan and Caesarea Philippi, with its ominous Grotto of Pan, were considered to actually be the very “gates of hell” – the entrance to the underworld itself – in the ancient Middle Eastern mind. (When Christ made the statement, it is provocative and not altogether unwarranted to think of Him and His disciples actually standing on the rock above the “gates,” and to realize that, spiritually speaking, Peter’s confession and Christ’s affirmation of it were both made on what can only be considered enemy territory.)

Furthermore, both of the invasions of Israelite Canaan (by Assyria in 722 BC and Babylon from 605 to 586 BC, respectively) came from the Mesopotamian region to the north (see Jeremiah 6:22, 50:41-43, and, perhaps most poignantly in contrast to Christ’s words in Matthew 16, Jeremiah 1:14-15). And, in Ezekiel’s prophecy of God’s future battle against Gog and Magog, we are told that Israel’s foes “will come from… the uttermost parts of the north,” (Ezekiel 38:15; 39:2).

Throughout the Old Testament, the lands to the north were conceived of as evil, corrupt, threatening and dangerous.

So, while hoping not to extrapolate too much or see things that are not there, it seems safe to conclude that these regions were given to Machir, the man of war, precisely because they were places of such great evil. Both through the Israelite conquest (over Sihon and Og) and then, in their occupation of Canaan, it must have been understood that whoever took on the responsibility of holding lands with such a profound history of demonic corruption and such a deep connection to spiritual darkness would have to be a warrior of significant seriousness and resolution: a man ready and willing to go to battle both spiritually and physically; a man with the reputation and record to prove his capacity for handling some of his people’s most intense challenges.

There’s a lesson there.

In a society consumed with naïve notions of peace, unity, and tolerance, the idea of any Christian filling the role of a man of war seems to many to be backwards, archaic, or even sinful. Verses about peacemaking and loving one’s enemies are used as proof texts against such an attitude and militaristic metaphors are criticized within the ranks of safe, comfortable church goers and their academic leadership.

But the Bible knows better. The Bible knows that the Church needs men of war just like the Kingdom of Israel did. The Bible realizes what this life – in both its physical and spiritual realities – actually is, and teaches us how we ought to handle the opposition that is no doubt coming our way.

It is wise to place men of war in the places where danger lurks. It is wise to deploy those who are comfortable with confrontation and combat on the front lines of our spiritual battles. It is wise to recognize that even if we seek for peace and unity, the rebellious spirits around us do not and will use our best intentions against us if given even the smallest opportunity (Ephesians 4:27). It is wise to realize that the Church has enemies both external and internal, both foreign and domestic, and that part of “do[ing] good to everyone… especially to those who are of the household of faith,” (Galatians 6:10) is making sure that they are defended from wolves that intend to feast on the sheep (Matthew 7:15).

The Bible is not ignorant of the threats which believers will face, even if believers are. The men of war in the Church will not only face the threats themselves, but will be the subject of baseless ridicule and criticism from those they rightly identify as dangerous. They will be castigated for not being Christlike or spiritual. They will be told to chill out, calm down, and to stop heresy hunting. They will be chastised for making people uncomfortable and chided for picking fights.

But the men of war should be listened to by their brothers and sisters. They are men of war for a reason. And that reason is that the evils of places like Bashan still exist, though they may assume different forms in order to press their attack (II Corinthians 11:14; II Peter 2:1). The issue is not whether the Church has enemies: it is identifying the correct ones and responding appropriately (Ephesians 6:12).

Machir inherited lands in Gilead and Bashan precisely because he was the right man to confront the threats Israel knew they would face. The Church today would be wise to follow his example.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. – I Corinthians 16:13

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and have done all, to stand firm. – Ephesians 6:13

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. – Matthew 11:12

For more on the history and spiritual significance of Bashan or the Nephalim, check out The Unseen Realm by Michael Heisler and Last Clash of the Titans by Derek P. Gilbert.