Questions about the Bible: 13. Aren’t there genocides in the Bible?
Aren’t there genocides in the Bible?
God is the author and the giver of life. His character is creative, holy, loving and just. Strangely we, who are the ultimate in all of God’s creation, have deliberately defied Him. There have been times in history when nations have become so perverse in their rebellion that all boundaries and restraint have been banished. (Sadly, we have seen this recur in the 21st century as old barbaric acts have revisited us). The Bible, which contains much history, has recorded some of these periods, when child sacrifice became the norm, along with gross brutality, beheadings, crucifixion as well as paedophilia and sexual perversions. There were occasions in the Bible when acting in justice God instructed that the continuation and spread of evil should be stopped. He commanded that the people be put to death, and so sent to a higher court to be judged, i.e. in death they would meet their Maker in judgement.
Though these times were very rare, they are reminders that we cannot mess with God forever. It is worth remembering though, that even in judgement, there is mercy. Mercy, in that God was ‘drawing a line’ under a nation so that succeeding generations would not continue in perpetuating wickedness. And mercy, where God rescued people from judgement, even at the last moment, when there was true repentance. The dramatic story of the prostitute Rahab in Joshua chapters 2 and 6 is an example of this. She was even to become an ancestor of Jesus, who is the ultimate example of rescuing men and women who turn from their sin and trust Him.
The word ‘genocide’ inevitably stirs up emotions of anger and cries for justice. And we rightly cry for peace and reconciliation. However, in the Bible there is nothing gratuitous about God judging nations for their outright wrongdoing. God is described consistently in all the Bible as patient and kind, whose love is such that He does not want anyone to perish but longs that all should come to know Him. But just as in recent years we have known such outrageously wicked acts whether in New York, London, Paris, Beirut, Moscow or Bali, that when those planning it are ‘taken out’ we sigh with relief, so too there have been times when God has put an end to nations who have become characterised by gross wickedness. God is love, but He is also just. And love is not true if it is not just.
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