God hardens the King of Heshbon's heart then commits genocides

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 ]

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]

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?

Yet another genocide of the resilient Amalekiates

1 Samuel 27:8-9,11 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish... He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, 'This is what David did.' " And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

Earlier we read that Saul was instructed by God to totally destroy the Amalekites. However, Saul spared the life of the King and the best of the livestock. This caused God to regret making Saul King of Israel. Samuel had to personally kill the King of the Amalekites to complete the destruction of this people. However, in the above passage, the next King of Israel, David, kills off the Amalekites once again. You would think after being utterly destroyed twice, it would be the end of the Amalekites. However, in 1 Samuel 30 (while David was still King), the Amalekites invaded Israel once again. Resilient bunch, these Amalekites.

RELATED READINGS

- Genocide of the Amalekites

85 Priest killed then all the men, women, children, infants, cattle, donkeys, and sheep from their town

1 Samuel 22:18-19 The king then ordered Doeg, "You turn and strike down the priests." So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19 He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

Thank goodness they had no goats.

Men, women, and children killed but virgins spared

Judges 21:1-14 The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: "Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite."

The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. "O LORD, the God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?"

Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.

Then the Israelites asked, "Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the LORD ?" For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah should certainly be put to death.

Now the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites. "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel," they said. "How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?" Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.

So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. "This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin." They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.

Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon. So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

This breaks down the theory that God kills everyone (including babies) to keep evil from spreading.

Genocide at Jericho (well almost)

Joshua 6:20-21 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

I still can't comprehend God directing the killing of babies. BTW, Rehab and her family were spared.

God instructs his people to commit genocide

Deuteronomy 7:1-4 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you- and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

"... then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy."

Yet Another Genocide (well, almost)

Numbers 31:1-18 The LORD said to Moses, "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people." So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the LORD's vengeance on them. Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel." So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. Moses sent them into battle, a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.

They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man. Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals, and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.

"Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them. "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people. Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

In Did God Approve of the Extermination of Humans?, Dave Miller, Ph.D., gave the following reason for these genocides: "The facts of the matter are that the Canaanites, whom God’s people were commanded to destroy, were destroyed for their own wickedness."

This view is shared by many. However, the above passage does not support this view since somehow the female virgins were not destroyed for their wickedness but were saved for the men of battle. Were the young virgin boys wicked but the girls were not?

A Killing Spree!

Ezekiel 9:5-7 As I listened, he said to the others, "Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. Then he said to them, "Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!" So they went out and began killing throughout the city.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

Please note Exodus 20:13, one of the 10 Commandments, states "Thou shalt not kill (murder)." I'm assuming killing these individuals, including the elders of the temple, was somehow justified and should not be considered murder.

[Click Here for more Killings]

Kill everyone in the town if they worship other gods

Deuteronomy 13:12-19 - If you hear it said about one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you to live in that wicked men have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. Destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. Gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt. None of those condemned things shall be found in your hands, so that the LORD will turn from his fierce anger; he will show you mercy, have compassion on you, and increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your forefathers, because you obey the LORD your God, keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

Why not just kill the "wicked men?"

Genocide of the Amalekites

1 Sam.15:2-3 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation--men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys."

PERSONAL COMMENTARY

We define God as kind, merciful, loving, and compassionate. However, we have to come to terms with the fact (since the Bible is accurately 100% the Word of God) that God has another side to his character.