As a bit of post script: regarding Abraham and Isaac, it's important to remember a few things: Abraham had received a promise that God was going to create a nation from him; Isaac was ultimately spared though Abraham didn't really know how that was going to pan out; and this predated Moses, the law, and the "modern" government body of Israel, so the notion of the State was not really well-defined at this point. But what are we to understand from the statement that God killed them, since God governs all life and death? The just and loving Creator of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful people and sent his Son, God in the flesh, to bear his wrath against sin on the[18] The Flood (Genesis 6-8) 2. Other than heat. In Leviticus 8-9 the priests did everything "as the LORD commanded" (Lev. The Gospel Coalition supports the church by providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. These numbers do not include women and children, so it's possible that Satan made up some of the slack punt-kicking Jewish children into the Dead Sea, but I tend to doubt it. What does the Bible mean when it refers to holy ground? Please note that God's kill count is 227,037% higher than Satan's. [3] The thought is that in the fall of Adam we made ourselves subject to the devil instead of God. What is a bridegroom of blood in Exodus 4:25? Visit the Bible online to search for words if you dont know the specific passage yourre looking for. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. Thus says the Lord of hosts, I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Metaphorically, it is as if Isaiah was saying: the LORD was pleased to receive Him as sacrifice. Indeed, the one place in Scripture where God allegedly appears to want sin to take place, is in the first part of verse 10 of Isaiah chapter 53: As the ark was being transported, the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, and a man named Uzzah took hold of the ark. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Jesus did not die for Gods sake, but for ours. Their judgment shows us our great need for a priest who perfectly keeps Gods law and always lives to intercede for us (Heb. He is author of. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. He and his wife, Carrie, have six children. All rights reserved. Here's every God-sanctioned biblical murder in the Bible -- every single one -- explained by an atheist.This is based on the book Drunk With Blood by Steve Wells and used with permission. Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. They said, What is that to us? The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. (Acts 3:14-15) He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32) Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children. 1:13). And he said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. We need Jesus. And I will fill its mountains with the slain. God hates sin, and loves the sinner, but if the sinner will not part from the sin, eventually God is forced to remove both together. What is more, the number of people recorded as being killed in the text whether directly by God, by people acting on orders from God, or people acting in God's name is quite high, by the document's own admission. When Jesus began his ministry, Satan worked through the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, motivating them to kill Jesus. God knew that we, fallen humans, would reject the Messiah, which means that He knew the only way for our redemption is for the Messiah to be rejected and die. 6:5). F V Go up, you baldhead! And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. My basic answer is that the Old and New Testaments present God as the one who has total rights over my life and over my death. Although the New Testament gave us a kinder, gentler God with a bellyful of butterflies who only wants humanity to surround him in one big group hug, the Old Testament God comes across as a guy who'd sooner kill you than look at you. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.. Early in Jesus' life, Satan influenced Herod to kill Jesus. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. Hundreds of years after Anselm, Europe changed, and people were challenging the ideas of its previous society. - Steve May 22, 2021 at 4:47 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Did God approve of that killing? God did not will the murder of His Son, He simply knew it would occur and allowed it. God approved of everything David did, including all of his killings, with only one exception: the killing of Uriah. And one called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. (Isaiah 6:3) Look at the verbs in Isaiah. It doesnt mean that I wanted my son to die, or that my son wanted to die himself. (NOTE: How could the soldiers know which women It was us, human civilization, who killed Jesus. But what about people who kill today and say God commanded them to? 11:23). However, history continued. I have the same fear for the church in our day. Yet it was the LORDs will to crush him (NIV) The stunning lack of theological discernment and biblical illiteracy in the modern church sets entire congregations up to dishonor God by offering strange fire as worship. Connor David Jones 41 2 1 Did you read this passage in context? The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. Being a gracious loving God, He allowed it considering the death of the innocent lamb as substitution for our lives. Did they use the wrong incense? The Death Toll In The Bible Is Higher Than You Think. He said to them, But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. Both numbers are well into the millions. Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.. Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. And the tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord. And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. What could Isaiah have meant when he declared the LORD was pleased to crush Him? Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. God commanded people to kill in the Old testament, does he still command people to kill today? Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christthis Jesus whom you crucified. (Acts 2:36) [20] Isaiah 46:9-10 Christianity Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for committed Christians, experts in Christianity and those interested in learning more. Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Remember the Flood. Go out. So they went out and struck in the city. yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." Old Testament Evidence of the Hypostatic Union. [4] Mark 10:45: For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. 6:4; Rev. Romans 13:1-7 tells us that God chooses a nation's leaders. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? But in our world sin does exists. John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. And after all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. This view, in my opinion, falsely portrays the Father as an angry, harsh, vengeful God. How can I delete in Vim all text from current cursor position line to end of file without using End key? Positioned above the knights was the King. God used the negative of human sin to bring out a His positive forgiveness, without compromising justice. And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. First, we must remember that Isaiah 53 is a metaphorical style of writing, of a prophecy which portrays Israels point of view. I understand that most of this makes sense in context of the Old Testament. 4:8). Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. He never wrongs anybody. The word that God uses for murder is different than the word that is used to mean "kill" when it is carried out in war. He crushed him! This principle was applied to the northern kingdom of Israel and to the southern kingdom of Judah because they were evil. Exodus: New American Commentary by Douglas Stuart. http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Examples_of_God_personally_killing_people Or, as the words of Professor N. T. Wright: As somebody said to me years ago, If you take a half-truth and make it into the whole truth, it becomes an untruth. And thats a very serious thing because then the vision of God that people have is distorted, and so many people are actually put off the gospel they just say, No, that sounds like a bullying God. When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. [1] John Piper, Future Grace, Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers (September 18, 2012), page 110 A Psalm of David. I don't want to try so hard that I'm forcing a fit through rationalization, but I think it could be argued that based on his role within his tribe, Abraham may very well have been acting as the appropriate agent of his State (tribal priest, for example? Jesus voluntarily cooperated from His own will. For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips (Isa. And the dead in Christ will rise first. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Question Why did God command the Israelites to completely destroy the Midianites in Numbers 31:17? What kind of perspective do you want? The penalty for sin is spiritual death; separation from God, not physical death. and the Babylonian Empire to defeat the southern kingdom in 605 B.C. This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. (Acts 2:23). God considered Jesus death to be the sacrificial atonement. Scenes like these teach an important lesson: there are no small sins against a holy God. Examples of God commanding people to Kill in the Old Testament: 1 Samuel 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that In their opening summary on penal substitutionary atonement, authors Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey, and Andrew Sach of Pierced for our Transgressions, explain that: He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. The passages about putting certain inhabitants to death are among the most difficult. And the Israelites went and did just what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. Article by John Piper Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org The sons of Judah, Er and Onan, were wicked men, and the Bible says, the Lord killed them. children and "kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for 2 Kings 2:23-24HelpfulNot Helpful. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. [24] For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Did they enter the Holy of Holies? Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. - Zipporah called her husband "a bridegroom of blood," referring to the circumcision. Incest, rape, murder, and even references to infanticide permeate the pages. God is an all-consuming fire who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the deadby this name this man stands here before you in good health. (Acts 4:10) The unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another is murder, and murder is a sin (Exodus 20:13). Yet for some reason, they shrugged off the warning and paid for it dearly. Insert records of user Selected Object without knowing object first. It is impossible for Him to delight, take pleasure, or want evil or sin. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. God hates sin because He is holy; holiness is the most exalted of all His attributes: And great fear came upon all who heard of it. in Alexandria, Virginia, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. Innovative worship, creativity, and cultural relevance are trademarks of modern trendsetters. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. In this paper, I will assume Penal Substitution to be true, while exploring the question that is begged to be asked did God want mankind to reject, torture and murder the Messiah (ultimately making God the executer)? Why was Moses not allowed to enter the Promised Land. [Dwindling in Unbelief] (via Cynical-C), 2023 Cond Nast. 12:29). Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. Davids son is Davids Lord?! Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. [26] Josephus. Book XV, Chapter III, 1. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.' Is there any particular reason to only include 3 out of the 6 trigonometry functions? Would limited super-speed be useful in fencing? The Bibles pages are marked by small sins that cost people greatly. A Song. 22:4). Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness. There is no question that the Lord unleashed His wrath against the sins of the Canaanites. E That being said, the individuals acting on their own behalf don't have the same authority that agents of the State do, and most governments (AFAIK) don't follow the same theocratic model that early Israel did (so, I'm not aware of many courts of law -- especially, ostensibly Christian courts -- killing someone because "God told them to"). Second, the "utterly destroy . After Aaron's sacrifice, however, Nadab and Abihu offered "strange fire" before the Lordstrange because it did not adhere the His specifications or commandments. And many more. O What is the Christian view of circumcision? Derembourg, a modern Jewish savant, has remarked: A few priestly, aristocratic, powerful, and vain families, who cared for neither the dignity nor the interests of the altar, quarreled with each other respecting appointments, influence, and wealth.[30] This sacred office was given to the one that offered the most money for it, and mothers were particularly anxious that their sons should be nominated to this dignity[29].M. For you! The cross is both hideous and glorious, simultaneously ugly and beautiful. A Song. How can one know the correct direction on a cloudy day? (I Corinthians 15:20-28) The work of God now is to act through the church, for a kingdom that is not of this world, not to work through nations for the goal of conquering the world. Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. But this distinction shouldnt shrink any sin. Socially, great distance existed between knights and the common people. @Peter read 1 Samuel 15 for just one example. Doing this follows the way of Nadab and Abihu, who worshiped God according to their will and wisdom rather than according to his. The sons of Judah, Er and Onan, were wicked men, and the Bible says, the Lord killed them. Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. God uses the warning passages of Scripture to stimulate us to fight for faith. In other words, instead of God giving the cup to us (punishing us), He gave the cup (punished) to Jesus. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. All of a sudden, that dam was breached, and a torrential flood of water came crashing toward us. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. Either way, God showed everyone it matters how we worship him. I end up talking to my son, allowing him the choice, and he chooses to give his life voluntarily in order to save the lives of the others. N 20 Eli . Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Zoom did not set us free. Among those is Numbers 31. Their family pedigree was rich and their preparation extensive (Lev. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? TopicalBible Er, Judahs firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. (Genesis 38:7), What Onan did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. (Genesis 38:10). Did you notice it was a vision? And, since He is just and cannot justly ignore sin, He then, according to the view of many; must therefore punish sin. To say there are no sins are small doesnt mean all sins are the same. Dr. Roger E. Olson, Professor of Theology, explains it well: Men committed the violence against Jesus, not God the Father, and the actual suffering of the atonement was the rejection Jesus suffered by the Father. Eating a forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:6). I disagree. It isnt our sins that are small, but our estimation of God. Blood from their ordination offering was crusted on their ears, thumbs, and toes (Lev. I'm not sure that I gave it enough attention, but members of the armed service are agents of the state, as they are fighting on behalf of state interests; not just going out and shooting people for individual vendettas (or whatever). God wants us to pause, to ponder,What should we learn from their fiery death? You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms; with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer; with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman; with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders. For more on Tamar and Judah, check out: Why was Tamar more righteous than Judah 10:9)? And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. Meaning, the common folk served a knight who was charged with protecting the area in which they lived. Wired took things even further and compared the God-ordained deaths to those caused by, or carried out in the name of, God's antitheses, Satan. The conclusion is this: It was not God who killed Jesus. This may prove a useful analogy: imagine there are kidnappers who kidnapped 100,000 people, including my son. The Bible is clear that God cares how we approach him in worship. Dont interpret God withholding his consuming fire as him not caring about your sin. God laid down the power to intervene.[2] And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. That's a pretty commanding lead on Jehovah's part. God did not want men to kill the Messiah, He wanted to allow Him to be killed. You can follow him on Twitter. All rights reserved. Can we deny their claim? this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. (Acts 2:23) God used the opportunity (perhaps provoked by Jesus himself by his triumphal entry) to carry out his great plan to suffer the penalty for sin by making HIMSELF the sacrificial lamb led to the slaughter by sinful menthe scapegoat sent out of the camp bearing the sins of the world. The priesthood looked promising for Nadab and Abihu. In Anselms day, most of Europe had become a feudal society. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. There is no injustice with God, is there? 8:9; cf. This is the climactic question of the Bible, and the answer is the cross. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. In many ways, we, like Nadab and Abihu, have ignored Gods commands. A soothing aroma that God smells. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The great plan of the cross was not an attempt to change Gods mind about us, but an attempt to change our minds about God. OpenBible.info So, how does God work redemptively between siblings, and how might parents do their part to promote peace. Is it possible to "get" quaternions without specifically postulating them? There are people who claim God commanded them to Kill. 17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord's sight, for they[ a] were treating the Lord's offering with contempt. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Why was God going to kill Moses in Exodus 4:24-26? [12] Evidently Nadab and Abihus deceitful hearts tricked them into thinking their disobedience was trivial. Go up, you baldhead!". [31] The Republic, Book II, p. 37, The ceremony of circumcision for young boys is usually referred to as, Many psalms are labeled A Psalm of David, but one of the, Eid al-Adha literally means The Feast of the Sacrifice in Arabic. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Sibling rivalries have fractured families since Cain and Abel. The biggest single instance of mass death in the Bible is the Great Flood. Amen. He unjustly murdered the Gibeonites and the nation suffered. were presumably raped. Do We Need WeightWatchers Anymore? Holy! You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. Southern Baptist Pastor, C. J. Mahaney, summarizes his view on Isaiah 53:10 similarly to this of Platt: Who killed Jesus? Remember Sodom and Gomorrha. (NOTE: How could the soldiers know which women were virgins?) (David Platt). The LXX has the servants disability removed by translating 53:10 as Yet the LORD determined to cleanse him [the servant] of his disease. The translation suggests a very different meaning than the Masoretic Hebrew text.[13]. And not one of them is forgotten before God. 30:9). 6:7). May it never be! (Romans 9:14). [15] Genesis 8:20-21, Exodus 29, Leviticus 1-8, 17, 23, Numbers 15, 18, 28, 29. Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work? For he is God's servant for your good. why does music become less harmonic if we transpose it down to the extreme low end of the piano. "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" ( Job 1:21 ). Therefore, Jesus paid the debt for our sin in satisfaction of Gods holiness and justice. Jesus was sacrificed by the Father only in the sense of the Father sending his Son into human civilization in order to reveal to us how corrupt and sinful we are so sinful that we even murdered God Himself. [21] Hebrews 2:9 After all, there is no hovering arm of God floating from the skies touching people (verse 1), Jesus is not a root (verse 2), we are not sheep (verse 6), Jesus was not always silent (verse 7), and He did not have babies (verse 10). In that holy moment, all the righteous wrath and justice of God due us came down rushing like a torrent on Christ himselfOne preacher described it as if you and I were standing a short hundred yards away from a dam of water ten thousand miles high and ten thousand miles wide. His kindness shouldnt lead you to be comfortable with sin; rather, it should lead you to repentance (Rom. God killed them on the spot in dramatic fashion. [12] to make clean, to cleanse (G2511 Strongs Greek Lexicon) - at that point, "the Lord let him alone" ( Exodus 4: . @H3br3wHamm3r81: Depends on context, but probably yes. And His absolute freedom from blemish of any kind: But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?. Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? Where does the Old Testament mention "the devil"? Leaders will be judged more strictly (James 3:1; cf. The misconception that "killing" and "murder" are synonymous is partially based on the King James mistranslation of the sixth commandment, which reads, "Thou shalt not kill" ( Exodus 20:13 ). The End of HistoryMessiah Conspiracy, Vol. And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men. When Jesus went to the cross, he wasnt just enduring the penalty of sin; he was standing in the place of sinners. The Case for Messiah, Eid al-Adha and the Switched Sacrifice of Abraham. It appears there is a wide semantic range for the word in question () appearing in Isaiah 53:10, and therefore one should be careful when developing a world-changing theology, which is not explicitly stated in the New Testament, based on one single word. We can be certain, however, that they knew the clear command concerning the altar: You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it (Ex. Is this legit? Here are the clues: - God was seeking to kill Moses. [closed], http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Examples_of_God_personally_killing_people, http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/page/bible-atrocities, from your pastor, priest, or other trustworthy counselor, Starting the Prompt Design Site: A New Home in our Stack Exchange Neighborhood, Statement from SO: June 5, 2023 Moderator Action.