The Amorites, on the other hand, met a fate worse than Egypt. How do we read it? Christian archeology why is it important? King David was a man of contrasts. And you realize there were cats in Egypt, right? According to the Bible, the Egyptians enslaved the Jews, but the Jews had God on their side, if you kind of ignore God letting his people be enslaved in the first place. This story actually has a happy ending, in that right before Abraham drove a knife into his son's throat, God yelled "Psyche!" Now, you could argue that God demands that intercourse be used specifically for procreation, but given how much God loves killing babies and children, I don't think his motives here are exceptionally pure. Here is my list of the 10 worst Old Testament passages, in reverse order. And theres more. Job, having finally done something wrong, pleads for mercy, and God eventually gives him back animals and children new ones, because the old ones are still dead. It's generally understood that Lot's wife was looking back in a wistful kind of way at her angel-raping hometown, but the fact is there's nothing in the Bible to suggest this. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness. 16 The mere use of the word perversion (found in Leviticus 18:23) is regarded as inappropriate and unacceptable. If what I believe makes God look like a jerk, Im going to assume Im wrong. Lets be honest, the Old Testament is bloody. 29:8). - is a horrible thing. I have to think Eliseus was looking for something along the lines of a spanking, or maybe the poetic justice of having the kids go bald, but nope, God went straight for the bear murder. 11 For the scripture says, Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. 12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12, emphasis mine). 21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff. Jesus repeatedly told His disciples that they would not understand His words at the moment, but that they would understand them later on.26 Why is it we think that we must have instant understanding and immediate application for our Bible reading? Why should you die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:11). Hes the King, I tell you. So Abraham tricked his unsuspecting son up a mountain onto a sacrificial altar and prepared to murder him. So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. (Genesis 38:1-10), 9) Helping Samson Murder People to Pay Off a Bet, More evidence that God is possibly a low-level mobster: When his pal Samson got married, he was given 30 friends, and he posed them (a completely insane) riddle. Put your email in the box below! Late one night I could see a dim light coming from the kitchen, and when I investigated, what I feared was happening. The New Testament just feels so different. Sign up for Rethink Updates and youll also get access to 3 exclusive articles! Can we just be honest for a moment? The Bible makes clear there is only one true God (Verses here: One God Passages). The patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (Genesis 12-50), The exodus of Israel from Egypt, and the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 1-15), The bizarre characters and actions depicted in the Book of Judges, Stories of Samuel, David (and Goliath), Jonathan, and Solomon. 5 Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their sacred Asherah poles, and burn up their idols. Abraham got off better than Jephthah, who had to follow through with murdering his daughter (burning her alive, specifically) in order to get on God's good side before battling the Ammonites. Afterward they will come out with many possessions. Course he isnt safe. 9 I was pleased to see that J. I. Packer agrees on this point. When the LORD your God brings you to the land that you are going to occupy and forces out many nations before you Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you 2 and he delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate them. His father, Ahaz, had been one of the worst kings in Israel's history . The annihilation which God ordered was that of a highly corrupt people (the Canaanites), whose presence contaminated the land, and threatened the Jews near them. (NIV), 1 Samuel 18:7-8As they danced, they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands." God made a bet with Satan that Job, a good man, would remain faithful even if he killed his children and ruined his life. We should not be surprised when Paul has some very strong words to say against legalism: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel 7 not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. 1 An initial response to this claim can simply be, "How can the atheist or non-Christian say God is harsh, brutal, and evil when they deny the Bible, the very book that defines harsh, brutal, and evil?" David lived a frustrating life, first in the shadow of his brothers, then constantly on the run from vengeful King Saul. ( Isaiah 5:20) The intent of many of those who make such claims is to make a good God look evil to justify their position of rejecting Him, His Word, or even His existence. God ultimately allowed them to be conquered by the Assyrians and Babylonians (Psalm 106). We should, especially when someone has the wrong picture of what is happening. God's crazy. Sheesh God! It lasted from the prophet Malachi's time (about 400 BC) to the preaching of John the Baptist (about AD 25). Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/king-david-man-after-gods-heart-701169. But do not suppose that while the Old Testament is bloody, the New Testament is not. Was this not an opportune time to launch His ministry by granting such healing? The truth is, the Old Testament saints were not as saintly as we would like to think.9 Just look at some of those listed in Hebrews chapter 11, in the hall of faith.10 Some of the folks listed there I would never have expected to see in heaven. Lucy, a young girl, asks Mr. Beaver about him. He left us an example of the passionate love of God and dozens of psalms, some of the most touching, beautiful poetry ever written. And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? God destroyed a good family "for no reason". (NIV), 1 Samuel 17:50So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. Because there was no prophetic word from God during the period from . God required the shedding of blood as a sacrifice for sin. Rather that theres something happening here that we need to take notice of. Only a true friend would help you commit mass murder to settle a completely stupid bet. 15 Bible Verses about God Hating People. (Romans 6:14-15, NET,2 emphasis mine). Yahweh judged His own people harshly, as well. We should read it. God declares acts of homosexuality and bestiality to be not only sinful, but contrary to nature. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. The truth of that statement is becoming more and more clear in our country and beyond. Here we see God . He found such favor in the Lord's eyes that God answered his prayer and added 15 years to his life. 5, 2023, learnreligions.com/king-david-man-after-gods-heart-701169. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. You could call it equal opportunity punishment. We live in the New Testament, under the New Covenant. He's literally just hanging out with Satan which is kinda weird when you think about it when he starting bragging about how awesome Job is. So a guy named Eliseus was traveling to Bethel when a bunch of kids popped up and made fun of him for being bald. King David was a great military conqueror, but he could not conquer himself. In such cases, we see yet another manifestation of the fallenness (sinfulness) of mankind. To understand the Bible we need to understand how the law worked. The cities of the plain, including Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18-19) 3. But God in wisdom dealt with this easygoing, unheroic figure to such good effect that not merely did he faithfully fulfill his appointed role on the stage of church history, . Church Planter. Even after he became king of Israel, David was engaged in almost constant warfare to defend the kingdom. But thats an oversimplification and doesnt take into account everything thats going on. Its not just Christians that have noted this difference. No More Excuses: Read Your Old Testament! I am the LORD your God (Leviticus 19:33-34). 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. Sports Betting Hits a New High: A Crisis in the Making? But he unwisely chased the Hebrews across the Red Sea to his own doom and the annihilation of the Egyptian army. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God (Deuteronomy 6:7). It started with Cain shedding the blood of his brother Abel.5 God took the shedding of animal blood seriously, and the shedding of human blood (murder) even more seriously.6. . Richard Dawkins in his book The God Delusion, says, "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megaloma. This lasts a long time until finally Job wonders why a just God would be so shitty. Here's the people God does not want coming into his churches: People with blemishes, blind people, the lame, those with flat noses, dwarves, people with scurvy, people with bad eyes, people with bad skin, and those that "hath their stones broken." The New Testament, however, makes it clear that observation of these Old Testament food laws for religious reasons is no longer required in the New Testament era. April 3, 2009 Why Was God So Harsh In the Old Testament but More Forgiving In the New? The most common explanation for the indiscriminate killing is that they had sin therefore they must pay for that sin. Why was Israel cursed with forty years of wilderness wandering. There is an important distinction to be made between God controlling evil and God creating evil. 6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. He is the author "Hope for Hurting Singles: A Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges. The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:1-6, emphasis mine). The city was saved from Gods wrath. Absolutely not! Related Topics: Bible Study Methods, Bibliology (The Written Word), Christian Life, Old Testament, Spiritual Life, Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. Here are the 12 craziest, most awful things God did in the Old Testament, back before that wacked-out hippie Jesus softened him up. He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he . Learn Religions, Apr. Still, it's Moses' son who's the real victim here. Ephesians 4:29 says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what it is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.". So Moses summoned the three tribal elders who had made the complaint to a Monday morning staff meeting, but two of them didn't come. Perhaps David's greatest accomplishment was to be called a man after God's own heart by God himself. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare (2 Peter 3:7-10). I believe this is where faith comes in. Leave a comment below! Hell, God once helped some Israelites kill 500,000 other Israelites. Yahweh hears the cries of His people and unleashes His violent hand en masse via ten nationwide plagues. God ordered him to sacrifice his son to God (God was a fan of human sacrifice at the time). Ive read many explanations, but still it doesnt fully add up. in 1971. ". God required the Israelites to deal kindly with such folks, reminding them that they had once experienced the injustices and cruelty of an oppressive nation (Egypt). Thats faith; when things dont make sense, Im going to choose to trust God. But Jacob still won't let him out of a headlock until God blesses him, because Jacob has figured out who this bizarre man is. We know Abraham loved his son, so he was probably kind of upset with this, but hey, God's God, right? The difference between the Old Testament and the New is the Cross. We dont need to do that. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes: Its Not About Winning Football Games. Richard Dawkins in his book The God Delusion, says, The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.. Im not saying we shouldnt address and talk about why/what God did. Neither Moses nor God cared for that, and God opened up the grounds beneath their people's tents, killing both tribes (God also set fire to 250 Israelite princes who'd made the same complaint). But I will never have all the answers. 3 You must not intermarry with them. He had received the promises, yet he was ready to offer up his only son. Why would God act so differently? Its in the Bible. Satan does. In short, because hes operating under different covenants. For example, God sent Jonah to warn the city Nineveh of His coming wrath. But when we read the Old Testament we need to recognize that God is operating under a different set of rules. Gods not dealing with mans sin as we think He should, was really Gods grace: But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. Dont forget to share your thoughts! Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More. Well except Jesus. This is a (mostly) safe place. Bob is a pastor/teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has contributed many of his Bible study series for use by the Foundation. But keep these things in mind. Quite frankly, the excuses I have heard for why Christians dont read or study the Old Testament are almost as laughable. They see this God as an absolute contrast to the loving Heavenly Father of the New Testament. I am reminded of what we read in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1: So he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. God states in the Book of Amos, For three sin of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. When Obadiah saw Elijah he bowed to him and they started to talk. This is like the God of the Old Testament. It depicts a great deal of violence and blood shedding. The Bible declares that God created all mankind as either male or female, and it is as such that they are created in His image.17 He distinguishes male and female roles, and defines appropriate relationships. Alright, lets tackle some of these issues in a little more detail. It is not until the coming of Christ and the birth of the church that we are given the model for marriage in Christ and His bride, the church.15. He distinguishes between Adam and Eves responsibility in the fall of mankind in the garden of Eden, and also in the consequences which fall upon all men and women because of their sin.18. But if the servant should declare, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free, 6 then his master must bring him to the judges, and he will bring him to the door or the doorposts, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever (Exodus 21:5-6). And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? He wants him to desires, honesty, and truth in your prayers and in your worship towards him. At times he was single-mindedly devoted to God, yet at other times he failed miserably, committing some of the most serious sins recorded in the Old Testament. Before Jesus arrived and his divine father chilled out, the Old Testament God was, ironically, kind of a hellraiser. Skepticism is understandable. 15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Do We Really Have the Power to Speak Things Into Existence? Aliens (foreigners, immigrants) are relatively powerless and vulnerable, and thus they may suffer abuse, even slavery. These texts . 26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on the reward.
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