Deuteronomy 7:10 But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Aren't we suppose to love those who hate us?
Deuteronomy 32:21-26 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God;
They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols.
But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.
For a fire is kindled in My anger,
And shall burn to the lowest hell;
It shall consume the earth with her increase,
And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
‘I will heap disasters on them;
I will spend My arrows on them.
They shall be wasted with hunger,
Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction;
I will also send against them the teeth of beasts,
With the poison of serpents of the dust.
The sword shall destroy outside;
There shall be terror within
For the young man and virgin,
The nursing child with the man of gray hairs.
I would have said, “I will dash them in pieces,
I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,”
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
This applies to the young man, virgins, nursing children and old men.
Exodus 21:17 Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Do you think this is a bit extreme?
1 Corinthians 10:10 And do not complain, as some of them did — and were killed by the destroyer.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
In a previous reading we read that some were "Burnt to death by God for complaining." Is this what Paul was referring to here? If so, is he referring to God as "the destroyer?"
Deuteronomy 2:24-34 "Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you."
From the desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying, "Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left. Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot- as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us." But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.
The LORD said to me, "See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land."
When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz, the LORD our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army. At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed them — men, women and children. We left no survivors.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
I'm seeing a pattern here. God hardens the heart of someone then proceeds to punish them by killing them. Where is the justice in this?
[ Click here for other genocides ]
Jeremiah 13:12-14 "Say to them: 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.' And if they say to you, 'Don't we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?' then tell them, 'This is what the LORD says: I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. I will smash them one against the other, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them.' "
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
The more I read these types of passages, the more I have to tell myself that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. He so loved the world. He so loved the world.
Genesis 6:17-23 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. Every living thing that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
This story is one of the more popular Bible stories for children. If you really think about it, it's not a very good image to put into the minds of our children.
[Read the story of The Flood in The Brick Testament - An Illustrated Bible]
Numbers 25:1-9 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them.
The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD's fierce anger may turn away from Israel."
So Moses said to Israel's judges, "Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.
Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Someone told me recently that we all deserve death. In other words, God was totally justified in all the killings since it's what we all deserve.
Please also see doc's comments on this blog entry.
1 Corinthians 11:3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
LITERAL INTERPRETATION
1. Head of woman is man
2. Head of every man is Christ
3. Head of Christ is God
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
This passage gives a hierarchy to the universe.
1. God
2. Christ
3. Man
4. Woman
I'm sure there are many women who won't appreciate being at the bottom of the totem pole.
Matthew 5:32b ...and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
(See also Matthew 19:9)
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
If your wife was previously divorced, you're in a perpetual state of adultery.
I'm not sure what to recommend to those in this situation. Please don't attempt to divorce your wife to free yourself from this sin. We'll show later that God hates divorce (which could be also considered a sin). This is truly being between a rock and a hard place.
Joshua 11:19-20 No one in this region made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites of Gibeon. All the others were defeated. For the Lord hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites. So they were completely destroyed without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
How can the genocide be justified when it was God who "hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites" in the first place?
2 Chronicles 25:12 Also the children of Judah took captive ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were dashed in pieces.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Of course this does not specifically state that God commanded the children of Judah to commit these violent acts. However, earlier in the chapter, it does state that Amaziah, who was leading Judah's efforts here, "did what was right in the sight of the Lord." This is one of the verses from the Old Testament I try not to meditate on.
Matthew 5:29-30 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
1. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out
2. If your hands cause you to sin, cut it off
Of course, if you read this as a principle, it can be applied to any body part. Guys, please be careful.
Judges 9:22-23 After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech.
See also 1 Samuel 18:10 & story of Job
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Many modern day Christians believe this concept, which has several Old Testament references and even demonstrated through the life of Judas in the New Testament, is not in the character of God.
Joshua 7:19-26 Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me."
Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath."
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.
Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today."
Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
I continue to be a amazed as to how much God is like a man and subject to the same emotions as man. In this story, Achan took some of the loot that normally goes into the "treasury of the LORD's house" for himself. God gets angry so he allows 36 Israelites to be killed in the next battle. To appease God, the perpetrator and his entire family were stoned and burned.
Numbers 24:8 “God brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall break their bones
And pierce them with his arrows.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
KJV says unicorn instead of wild ox. Great image, eh?
Jeremiah 5:6 Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them,
A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;
A leopard will watch over their cities.
Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many;
Their backslidings have increased.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
In case you're wondering, God does use animals to fulfill his plans.
Numbers 21:32-35 After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there. Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.
The LORD said to Moses, "Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon."
So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
There were no such thing as "Prisoners of War" in these days.
1 Samuel 14:13-14 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
Not bad for a first slaughter.
Exodus 19:12-13 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain.”
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
I have to admit when I stared the blog I did not expect to make it through January without running out of scriptures to post. Boy was I wrong.
