Is the God of the Old Testament a bloodthirsty monster? A vindictive tyrant? This is a question some people have. How can a loving, benevolent God order the extermination of a race of people? Well, if He is indeed loving, perhaps there was a reason he destroyed that society. . .
The society I speak of were known as the Canaanites, which were several tribes living in the area of Canaan. These were the people living in the Holy Land before the Jews invaded. God had promised this land to Abraham's descendants, and after they left Egypt, it was time for them to move in. The 400 years that they were in Egypt was time enough for the Canaanites to repent, but they did not.
So as judgment, God ordered His people to overthrow the people of the land one city at a time. Most of the time, they were to leave no survivors. Not even livestock. The city and all its inhabitants were to be annihilated, along with, at times, the possessions. But why? Isn't God nice?
Who said God was nice?
Kind, patient, merciful, but I wouldn't say nice. He does come to a point where He must pour out his wrath. He is no pushover, folks.
In the Book of Leviticus there are a list of laws and prohibitions, such as:
1) Don't boil a baby goat in it's mother's milk
2) Don't lay with an animal like you would a person
3) Don't worship idols
4) Don't have relations with a close relative
5) Do not sacrifice your children
This is a short list, but you get the point. Why on earth would God put this in the Bible? Wouldn't the Jews have common sense about this? Who would boil a goat in it's own mother's milk or lay with their mother or sister or sacrifice their own child on the white-hot arms of a stone idol?
The Canaanites, that's who.
These nations had given themselves over to their wickedness. If a nation condones child sacrifice, they're toast. Their time is up. They were sexually perverse to the utmost, and it was offensive to Heaven. God told Israel not to be like the Canaanites, and He spelled it out for them in Leviticus. Why? He knew they would be tempted to do what they did! (Which did happen later.) So He made it idiot-proof for them. Some of those laws seem stupid to us, but He really did not want his people to be anything like the Canaanites. They were that bad.
Thus, they were destroyed. Men, women, children, and animals had become so corrupt that God wiped them out. He does get angry, you see. So no, He is not bloodthirsty. He would rather save than destroy.
But he doesn't have to.
The society I speak of were known as the Canaanites, which were several tribes living in the area of Canaan. These were the people living in the Holy Land before the Jews invaded. God had promised this land to Abraham's descendants, and after they left Egypt, it was time for them to move in. The 400 years that they were in Egypt was time enough for the Canaanites to repent, but they did not.
So as judgment, God ordered His people to overthrow the people of the land one city at a time. Most of the time, they were to leave no survivors. Not even livestock. The city and all its inhabitants were to be annihilated, along with, at times, the possessions. But why? Isn't God nice?
Who said God was nice?
Kind, patient, merciful, but I wouldn't say nice. He does come to a point where He must pour out his wrath. He is no pushover, folks.
In the Book of Leviticus there are a list of laws and prohibitions, such as:
1) Don't boil a baby goat in it's mother's milk
2) Don't lay with an animal like you would a person
3) Don't worship idols
4) Don't have relations with a close relative
5) Do not sacrifice your children
This is a short list, but you get the point. Why on earth would God put this in the Bible? Wouldn't the Jews have common sense about this? Who would boil a goat in it's own mother's milk or lay with their mother or sister or sacrifice their own child on the white-hot arms of a stone idol?
The Canaanites, that's who.
These nations had given themselves over to their wickedness. If a nation condones child sacrifice, they're toast. Their time is up. They were sexually perverse to the utmost, and it was offensive to Heaven. God told Israel not to be like the Canaanites, and He spelled it out for them in Leviticus. Why? He knew they would be tempted to do what they did! (Which did happen later.) So He made it idiot-proof for them. Some of those laws seem stupid to us, but He really did not want his people to be anything like the Canaanites. They were that bad.
Thus, they were destroyed. Men, women, children, and animals had become so corrupt that God wiped them out. He does get angry, you see. So no, He is not bloodthirsty. He would rather save than destroy.
But he doesn't have to.
Christians are often nicer then God. We don't want to offend, we must polite, politically correct but Bible heros did not behave this way. At times Paul was crass and sarcastic Jesus was angry and confrontational when dealing with the religious leaders of his day. It's nice to be nice but the truth will always be. Sometimes the truth is ugly.
ReplyDeleteNehemiah pulled a man's hair out. Can you imagine Joel Osteen doing that?
ReplyDeleteThis is an entirely new way of looking at this question for me. I've never thought about it from that perspective. Excellent post.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dusty. I appreciate the comment! Maybe one of these days I will post about why there is so much suffering in the world. That question most of all seems to keep people from trusting God. I'm not sure that I'm ready to tackle that one yet though!
ReplyDelete[ Smiles ] Maybe, people summed out the wrong impression about God throughout the years, because I find it very hard to fathom that God can be loving and bloodthirsty at the same time.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Mike. Don't forget that these people were sinning willfully. As Tsrael's fame grew do did knowledge about their God. People talked about their ways and how and why they were so different from the pagans around them. These pagans had chances to turn from their ways but they continued to keep on sinning and ignore the one true God and his ways.
ReplyDeleteThank you. And God does give everyone a chance to repent!
DeleteGreat post. God won't let Americans have her way either. Just look at laws that they passed this year that were anti -God. America is. Not immune to being judged either and it will happen quicker than you think
ReplyDeleteA lot of times people superimpose their own values and desires on the concept of God or gods. We have little way of knowing whether the real Creator, if there's one, is truly this way. Neither would we know whether He intentionally tolerates such misinterpretations, for reasons beyond us.
ReplyDeleteanother good thought provoker. wouldn't it be wonderful if people would start actually reading the bible so they would know exactly what is and is not in it? people will say the weirdest things, and then tell you it's in the bible. but, i want to say that you left one thing out of your explanation about the Father. the reason He must destroy when sin is unrepented is because He is totally righteous. God cannot tolerate sin because He is Love, and He is pure and Holy. He has no choice. man is the one who is given the choice, choose Christ who has paid for your sin, repent of it and you will be saved. it's so easy and simple no one wants to believe it. other than that, my google friend, your explanation is perfect. (as for the Osteen comment, man, i really want to respond, but i will not. hehe)
ReplyDeleteWell said, Shirley.
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