An Armed Citizenry and Self-Defense in Nehemiah

I don't often talk about political issues. Really, the only one to which I have devoted much attention is the issue of abortion.

However, there is another issue that is timely, and for which the Bible provides some applicable widom: mass shootings and gun control.

"But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night" (Nehemiah 4:7-9). After their return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile, the Jews were defenseless, because the city wall remained in disrepair from the Babylonian destruction. They began to rebuild it, creating consternation among their enemies.

"So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, 'Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes'" (Nehemiah 4:13-14). The response of Nehemiah, the governor, was to station armed men, civilians, at the gaps, and then to reassure the people of their now-defended safety. This passage is the origin of our saying, "Trust in God, and keep your powder dry."

As a result, armed opposition to the rebuilding of the wall ceased. While Sanballat and his cohorts attempted subterfuge later, they never again made a military attack on these Jews.

My point in referring to this story is that it was by the ability to defend themselves that these Jews established peace. Their own weapons cancelled out the power differential in favor of their enemies. Think of the contrast to the public efforts now, which are to disarm the victims of violence, while the perpetrators retain their power to harm. The rational response, the biblical response, is to empower the victims to defend themselves. Maybe the public response isn't really intended to end violence...