So help us square that seeming contradiction between these God-given acts or commands of violence and then also these commands to love your enemy.

Yeah, that's a good question.

And I think as we come to the text, having done those things that I said in terms of posture, we're still left with those hard questions.

There are deep tensions, I think, that we're meant to feel in many ways.

So there are a couple of ways that I approach those difficulties.

One is to recognize, so the command to wipe out everyone, show them no mercy, is given in the book of Deuteronomy in chapter 7.

And that law seems to lack any nuance or qualifications or exceptions.

Would you give us some coaching when we find ourselves in those circumstances? What are some ways in which we might invite our counterpart to think with us about how we're going to apply these texts?