Difficulty
A friend of mine posted recently a question on Facebook about “difficult” passages in the bible and how that affects our conception of God. Specifically he was talking about 1 Samuel 15 when God orders the complete destruction of the Amakelites by Saul. The Israelites were to destroy all the men, women and children in the village and then kill all the livestock. Saul had no problem killing all the people, but the best of the livestock was kept for “sacrifice.” Samuel rebukes Saul for not fulfilling all of God’s orders. The Old Testament is littered with the bodies of the enemies of Israel as well as disobedient Israelites.
I find these passages extremely troubling to say th eleast. In our modern times, we regard the destruction of innocent life as one of the greatest sins and yet here is at least one (of many) moments when God demands the immediate death of an enemy, women and children and infants included.
When I read and reflect on passages like this I have to be honest, it can shake my faith to the core. This God doesn’t sound like my God. My God judges, but he is just. My God wants to welcome ALL into His family. My God wants us not to destroy, but to make disciples.
So I have not good answer for why my God at one time ordered the death of a guy for gathering sticks on a Saturday, and yet forgave the very soldiers crucifying Him. I find myself wrestling with the scriptures and trying to puzzle out the true meaning of the words. And far to often it takes a lot to reconcile my God with the picture of Him that comes through in His word.
So what about you? Are there parts of the Bible that you just can’t figure out? Are there parts you ignore or just accept blindly and move on? What do you do when you come to a passage or story that doesn’t’ seem to mesh with how you picture God?
The destruction of entire people groups does have at least one explanation: “Genesis 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”
I think it safe to assume we are not always given complete information in the Bible concerning God’s perspective on all people groups, so that even though the passage above mentions Amalekites and the passage I cite mentions Amorites, it is not a stretch to think that God had given them their fair share of chances to repent as well.
Who knows what measures God went through before He ordered their utter destruction? In fact, what about Noah and the ark? Why not bring this up as well? Was not the entire earth destroyed – women and children included – when God destroyed the earth by flood? Were they not given hundreds of years to repent?
I do not pretend to have all the answers, but I am not one to second guess the righteous judgment of a holy God. That all of us immediately deserve nothing less than death in hell for sin, and that on our best days we are completely contemptible, seems enough to put any shaken faith in God back in its proper perspective.
“Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
To me, it is not a matter of ignoring or blindly accepting certain passages of the Bible that may be difficult to accept from a purely humanistic perspective. For me, the passages of the Bible most difficult to understand and grasp happens to be the ones that go along the lines of “Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
I understand the perspective of difficult passages in my human mind, but in light of the absolute right of God to condemn the whole of humanity, yet choose to even allow the possibility of forgiveness through His own death is even more difficult for my human mind to understand.
You know, I had not thought of it quite that way. I should have! On another note, one phrase you use sticks out to me and that is the idea that we “second guess” God sometimes. I think there is a difference between second guessing and questioning. I think God doesn’t mind questions or when we wrestle with some of His attributes or the way He does things. I do think that when we decide to stop listening, give up on Him and make our own decisions is when we get in trouble.