June 24, 2025

This morning we woke up at 5:30am to five volleys of ballistic missiles screaming through the sky. One after another. Non-stop. And then, after twelve days of war, a ceasefire went into effect.

It is a strange kind of silence, the quiet that follows missiles. The roar of sirens, the shaking of buildings, the blur of smoke and flashing lights — and then, suddenly, stillness. This morning, as Israel and Iran laid down their weapons, the quiet arrived like an unwanted guest. It isn’t quite peace. It isn’t quite relief. It’s just the absence of immediate violence.

The world calls for a ceasefire. But does the Bible call for one?

The Bible is not naïve about war. It does not romanticize it, nor does it pretend that evil will willingly lay down its arms when asked politely. In Ecclesiastes we read:

עֵת לֶאֱהֹב וְעֵת לִשְׂנֹא עֵת מִלְחָמָה וְעֵת שָׁלוֹם׃

A time for loving and a time for hating; A time for war and a time for peace.Ecclesiastes 3:8

The recognition that there is, at times, a time for war is a deeply Jewish understanding of the brokenness of this world. Not every conflict can be resolved with dialogue. Some enemies rise with an unrelenting desire to destroy. The Torah names them.

In Deuteronomy we are commanded:

זָכוֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה לְךָ עֲמָלֵק בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם׃

Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left EgyptDeuteronomy 25:17

אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וַיְזַנֵּב בְּךָ כָּל־הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִים אַחַרֶיךָ וְאַתָּה עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ וְלֹא יָרֵא אֱלֹהִים׃

how, undeterred by fear of Hashem, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear.Deuteronomy 25:18

וְהָיָה בְּהָנִיחַ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ מִכָּל־אֹיְבֶיךָ מִסָּבִיב בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה־אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ תִּמְחֶה אֶת־זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם לֹא תִּשְׁכָּח׃

Therefore, when Hashem your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that Hashem your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!Deuteronomy 25:19

King Saul learned this the hard way. In I Samuel God commanded Saul to annihilate Amalek completely. But Saul hesitated. He spared King Agag and preserved choice spoils. For this failure, God removed the kingdom from him.

The lesson is unflinching: incomplete victory against evil is disobedience; disobedience invites future danger.

Today, as the ceasefire takes hold, Israelis remain cautious. In one public poll, released just an hour after the ceasefire began, over 12,000 voters were against the ceasefire (compared to the 1,800 in favor). And yes, there were extraordinary military and quite frankly, miraculous achievements. The nuclear threat that once loomed over Israel and the Western World — threatening its very existence — has been smashed. This was achieved without a single plane shot down, and with all aircraft returning safely — something few thought possible at the outset. Israel dismantled Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure so thoroughly that it will take years to rebuild. On the home front, the civilian toll, though heartbreaking, was a fraction of what experts initially feared.

And yet, Israelis know that unfinished enemies don’t disappear. They regroup. They reload. The Bible gives language to that instinct. Evil must not be wounded; it must be dismantled.
There is nothing more dangerous than leaving a wounded lion. The Bible itself warns us. When you face a lion, you don’t simply injure it and turn your back. You finish the fight, or you will face it again—stronger, angrier, and more determined.ved peace.

King David Says:

לָמָּה אִירָא בִּימֵי רָע עֲוׂן עֲקֵבַי יְסוּבֵּנִי׃

In time of trouble, why should I fear the encompassing evil of those who would supplant me—Psalms 49:6

And of course, the prophets point us toward the ultimate vision of peace.

וְשָׁפַט בֵּין הַגּוֹיִם וְהוֹכִיחַ לְעַמִּים רַבִּים וְכִתְּתוּ חַרְבוֹתָם לְאִתִּים וַחֲנִיתוֹתֵיהֶם לְמַזְמֵרוֹת לֹא־יִשָּׂא גוֹי אֶל־גּוֹי חֶרֶב וְלֹא־יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה׃

Thus He will judge among the nations And arbitrate for the many peoples, And they shall beat their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks: Nation shall not take up Sword against nation; They shall never again know war.Isaiah 2:4

This is not a ceasefire. This is peace. It will come only when the root causes of war are destroyed, not when their missiles are temporarily silenced, but rather when their missiles become something entirely new.

So what does the Bible teach us about ceasefires? It teaches us to measure them soberly. A ceasefire can be a tactical necessity. It can save lives in the short term. But it is not peace. It is not resolution. Evil restrained is not evil defeated. When Israel lays down its arms today, it does so knowing that unfinished wars never stay quiet for long. We pray for the day when God Himself will make wars cease. But until then, we must never confuse stillness for safety, nor silence for peace.

Sara Lamm

Sara Lamm is a content editor for TheIsraelBible.com and Israel365 Publications. Originally from Virginia, she moved to Israel with her husband and children in 2021. Sara has a Masters Degree in Education from Bankstreet college and taught preschool for almost a decade before making Aliyah to Israel. Sara is passionate about connecting Bible study with “real life’ and is currently working on a children’s Bible series.