The mother of all Genocides

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]

24,000+ killed

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.

A Universal Hierarchy

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.

If you marry a divorced woman, you're committing adultery!

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.

Set up by God?

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?