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Bible Genocide & A God of Love

Bible Genocide & A God of Love

Can you please explain the genocide that occurs in the Old Testament. For example God orders the Israelites to go and wipe out certain nations. The reason held is because if they don’t, then the influence on the Israelites will lead them away from God. How do you reconcile this order with the picture of a loving God?


Thank you for your question, one that has troubled many.

We have difficulty with these Old Testament events for a couple of reasons. One, we don’t get as much information as is available about what transpired at that time and two, we have a restricted view of time.

God’s intention for Israel was that they would be a nation of priests who ministered God’s remedy, love and truth, to bring salvation (life, not death) to the world, including the nations around them.

Although the whole earth is mine, you [Israel] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ (Exodus 19:5,6)

…For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. (Isaiah 56:7)

God’s plan was for Israel to be a source of truth, love, and life to all the peoples of the world, not an army that brings death. Remember how some who responded were brought into Israel, such as Rahab and Ruth?

Yet, when they left Egypt to go to the Promised Land, that land was occupied by others. How was Israel to possess this land without war and killing? God had a plan that did not require Israel to kill anyone:

I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. (Exodus 23:28-30)

But the children of Israel did not trust God and did not follow His plan. They insisted on going to war. They insisted on attacking the nations around them. Knowing they were bent on conquest, conflict and war, God sought to limit the pain, suffering and damage – to both the enemies of Israel and Israel itself.

Consider for a moment soldiers returning from combat and how they suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. War is damaging, not just to those killed, but to those who survive – the victors as well as the conquered.

God wanted to minimize the damage to all His children, Jew and non-Jew. God wanted as few people as possible to experience the horrors of war. But how when you have people bent on war?

What is the best course of action if one wants to limit the number of people impacted by war, when dealing with a people who insist on going to war, and when dealing with a people who refuse to follow God’s peaceful plan?

Would it not be to get it over and done with as quickly as possible? So God basically said, “If you insist on going to war, then don’t get into a war that drags on for millennia in which every generation is traumatized and damaged by war and thereby multiply by the millions the number of people brutalized and killed. No, if you insist on doing this, then get it over with now, in one generation, so we can have generations of peace.” Thus, God instructed them to wipe out entire nations. But even in this they refused to follow God’s directions. Thus, they experienced the worst of all of it.

Their refusal to trust God to drive out their enemies without war brought pain, suffering, and conflict to their generation. Their refusal to wipe out entirely the nations that opposed them has resulted in perpetual war and conflict that has persisted for 4000 years, affecting every generation and is now encompassing the world.

Finally, we must remember, what we call death is not the final end. All people will be resurrected. God’s ultimate goal is to destroy sin and death and restore His universe to perfect harmony with Himself where there is perpetual health, happiness, and eternal life. We have no idea how many from those other nations will ultimately be saved, even if they died in war. (Consider Naaman, an enemy soldier, yet one whom the God of Israel reached).

So my take is this: the genocide recorded in Scripture was an outworking of sin, rebellion, and distrust of God in the hearts of men, not the outworking of God’s intent or plan.

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Testimony 18

The Healing the Mind DVD set tarted me on a journey that has changed my relationship with our loving God more significantly than any other study, and brought me to your book and Bible study podcasts, which I now listen to daily, thanks to the availability of archived content on your site and on iTunes.

Anonymous

 

Testimony 66

I am incredibly grateful for the transformative impact you’ve had on my life, and words cannot fully express my appreciation. Over the years, I have been an avid listener and follower of C&R and extend my heartfelt thanks for creating the C&R mobile app. It has allowed me to immerse myself in your lessons repeatedly, enabling me to grasp the profound significance about the Character of God, Design Law, the protocols for life, the reasons behind the current chaos, and Christ’s mission to restore everything. They have deeply touched me. Having studied with various churches, I came away with the perception that God is no different from the deities of ancient Greek or Roman mythology—demanding sacrifices and taking pleasure in bloodshed. Thanks to your transformative teachings, I have experienced a profound awakening to the true nature of God and the immense power of His love. It is truly a remarkable and liberating sensation to finally grasp the truth and embrace the empowering nature of God’s laws. My self-perception has become brighter and more infused with love. My journey of growth continues on a daily basis.

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Testimony 36

Thank you and may God continue to bless you as you share with others the intricacies of how we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”. I must share that you have opened a whole new world to me, and I have found tremendous healing through what you have shared in two of your books, “Could It Be This Simple?” and “The God Shaped Brain.” I praise God for what you shared, what I have learned, and how I have grown and healed! My prayer is that My Precious Jesus will be seen by others in the way I live, act, talk, etc. and they may be encouraged to know He is truly a GREAT God of LOVE, desiring that no one should perish! God Bless you in your continued endeavors to present Him as He really is!

Joleen H. GA, USA

 

Testimony 65

I have been tuning into your weekly study classes for a while now and wanted express my appreciation for the teachings that ha been a huge blessing in opening up the true message of the word. Viewing scripture under an imposed law theory always, without fail, raised more questions, concerns, and conflicting scripture interpretations that were discouraging at the very least. Looking at scripture through the design law lens has brought more truth to light for me personally and an understanding of our Heavenly Father that places Him “above all others,” where I am now more than thrilled to witness and serve Him.  I “stumbled” across this ministry a year or so ago and would only watch a few minutes at a time. But the more I listened and the longer I paid attention, the more my spiritual eyes were opened to the ever present truths of scripture. The comprehension of the great controversy and it’s origin by the lies perpetrated and perpetuated throughout the Bible on the attack of God’s character and government is truly priceless. Keep up the Good Work! Your servanthood is desperately needed in such a time as this!

Jeff D., Reading, MA, USA

 

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Testimony 40

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M. W., Australia

 

Testimony 45

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Testimony 53

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Testimony 57

You have helped make sense of thirty two years of confusion. The material you freely provide reorganized so much of my life into such a beautiful pattern that has always been hinted at from within, but misguided with my training and what I was experiencing externally. My filipno parents, who were converted from Catholicism to SDA, were sincere and did their best to raise me the right way and I have deep respect for them. However, being immigrants and not understanding the language made for a difficult transition as I was growing up, which also applied to my spiritual growth as I learned the patterns of religion. I have been listening to as many bible study classes and reading blog posts as my time in a work truck will allow, searching for the practical applications of where spirituality and reality meet, and I thank you for helping me find that. You have helped me reach a point in which I can truly say that I love God, that I believe He loves me, and, like David, I delight in His law. God bless.

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Testimony 60

Just watched watched lesson 10 in the 1st quarter 2021 bible study classs on Isaiah. I want to thank you for your intellectual spirituality; it’s not an oxymoron! From the point of view of a teacher I also enjoy seeing how much personal pleasure you clearly take in not just tasting, but feasting on God’s word – it reminds me of Jeremiah not being able to hold it in! It makes me smile that your cup is so full and overflowing that you make it to Tuesday’s lesson (on a good day). It just goes to show the richness of God’s Word.

God bless the Come and Reason Team from our church here in Great Britain.

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Testimony 35

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Testimony 71

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Testimony 25

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