15 January 2024
The real sin in suicide is cowardice.
Put it in context: This world is a lie. The only escape is death. But that escape must be earned, in the sense that it comes as a reward for valorous service to our Lord. It is the spiritual equivalent of a military pension.
The metaphor of Christianity as military service is thoroughly biblical. It was quite literal for those under the Covenant of Moses. Among so many other elements in Old Testament religion, the insistence on men wearing a head covering in worship was simply a reflection that the Nation of Israel was permanently mobilized against God's enemies on earth. They were under arms since before the Giving of the Law. The New Testament eschews taking up arms for any nation and we worship uncovered. Instead of a mobilized flesh, we are mobilized in our very soul. For us in the Covenant of Christ, the military image symbolizes that we get no breaks, no vacation from being a follower of Jesus.
We know that King Saul was a traitor to the Covenant. He began pursuing his own personal fame and reputation instead of Jehovah's. When the day came for him to die in battle, he didn't go down fighting. He chose suicide to avoid glorifying God, because it meant losing his own reputation as a warrior.
From ancient times, the issue of fighting as a soldier was not necessarily winning, but to die gloriously regardless of the outcome. This was part of the warrior's ethic throughout the Ancient Near East -- die like men for your Master's glory. You kept in the back of your mind that every engagement might be your last. You embraced the sacrifice before it came.
Suicide was the coward's way out, to avoid the hard death of battle.
For Christians, suicide is not "self-murder". That's a silly, legalistic notion. The Bible says nothing even close to that. However, it's not hard to understand the biblical outlook on the issue of warriors and how they would spend their last breath. Would you rather live as a slave of those who serve some pagan idol? No, you'd rather face the afterlife as a noble son of your own God.
Suicide is not a ticket to Hell. However, it will most certainly reduce your share of spiritual plunder, and dampen your retirement celebration. Scripture uses the terminology of victory crowns you win; it will reduce what you can throw at the feet of Jesus.
Suicide in the Bible is rare for a reason. The whole Hebrew society promoted noble manhood as the norm. Enduring the sorrows of life was simply a part of being alive. Having peace with God was everything. You had a mission from God and it ended when He said so, at which point He would take you from this world for your reward.
Suicide is avoiding your duty.
Comments
Jay DiNitto
There's a lot ("lot," relatively) of verses in the Pentateuch, Joshua and Deuteronomy, on being "strong and courageous" before going into battle. The "dying in battle" and being a positive concept isn't really spelled out, to me, but I assume, maybe wrongly, that it was implied in the Hebrew culture specifically. That's presuming that it's at God's direction, not just for wealth/expansionary reasons.
CatRez
It was implied. There are numerous verses about "the battle belongs to the Lord" as a theme to take the pressure off soldiers about the outcomes. Of course they aren't going to say, "You could die." Everyone knows that. But the expectation is that you would "acquit yourselves as men", a phrase that was common across the Ancient Near East.
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