Study of God
Presented, January 24, 2010 am
STUDY OF GOD (16)
Tough Questions (2)
Today, we want
notice some more challenging questions about God.
1) Why did God command Israel to utterly destroy the Amalekites
and other nations that way? 2) Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart? 3)
Will a just God really send people to hell?
a.
A
question about genocide that
included the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15: 1-3),but could also include the
Canaanites (which included at least 7 nations – Deut. 7:1-5), Sodom and
Gomorrah, the flood, etc. and other acts, whether by divine act or
divine command, which called for the utter destruction of these nations,
including those supposedly innocent.
Critics of God and His word question His goodness because of such
commands.
b.
Reminder
– In all the issues we discuss in this lesson, be careful in
questioning God! We
don’t know all the facts of these incidents and don’t have the ability
to know them.
However, that is not adequate in trying to answer the skeptic, the
Biblical critic or the HONEST searcher who is confused.
They want answers and are
entitled to something.
It
is a good thing to present a viable alternative to the negative
conclusions of critics.
I say this because since we don’t know God’s sovereign reasons
for what He does the best we can do is seek to find a solution that is
in accord with what we DO know about Him (i.e. His character, person,
actions, purpose, etc) based
upon all the evidence present. It
may or may not be the complete reason for why He does what He does, but
IF it presents a VIABLE ALTERNATIVE to the critics (which demonstrates
the possibility of His goodness, even with such SUPPOSED hostile and
“inhumane” actions), it renders the arguments of the critics as weak and
doubtful.
c.
Were the Amalekites and Canaanites really
innocent?
NO!
i.
Concerning the Canaanites,
Abraham was to be sent to Egypt for 400 years because the their
wickedness had not yet reached a point to which they deserved to be
destroyed.
Genesis 15:13–16, “’Then
He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be
strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they
will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they
serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great
possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace;
you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation
they shall return here, for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Also,
Deuteronomy 20:16–18 gives
another REASON for removing them from the land.
“But of the cities of these
peoples which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall
let nothing that breathes remain alive, 17 but you shall utterly destroy
them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite
and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded
you, 18 lest they teach you to do
according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods,
and you sin against the Lord your God.”
We find in this that the Canaanites were NOT innocent people. History records their pagan
religion with its immorality, their CRUELTY, utter destruction to THEIR
enemies, etc.
Is it possible that their
punishment was actually, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”?
ii.
The
Amalekites were condemned
because of their own actions against God and Israel.
We are given some specific details of their sins -
1 Samuel 15:2–3 says, “Thus
says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish
Amalek for what he did to Israel,
how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go
and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not
spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox
and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
Exodus 17:8 records that
when Israel Egypt, even before they arrived at Mt. Sinai, the
Amalekites came out against them.
Deuteronomy 25:17–19 gives
more details some 40 years later as they were about to enter Canaan.
“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming
out of Egypt, 18 how he met you
on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your
rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. 19
Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from
your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving
you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance
of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.
Judges 6:2-5 records the
harassment of Israel by the Amalekites when they were in Canaan.
The point is that the Amalekites were NOT at all innocent.
iii.
Other
examples of corruption include Sodom and Gomorrah and the pre-diluvian
world which were also judged for their wickedness, but the difference is
their Judgment was more directly the hand of God.
But the reason for destruction is the same – they were NOT
innocent!
d.
They
were given opportunity to repent.
i.
The book
of Jonah was written to warn the city of Nineveh (Jonah) as it was
developing into what would become the Assyrian Empire.
As a result of God’s warning, they repented with sackcloth and
ashes.
ii.
Could it
be possible that in Canaan there were prophets of God who warned the
people? We KNOW there was at
least 400 years from the time of Abraham until Canaan fell to His
descendents. During that
time, did God send prophets to call for them to repent?
Were they given opportunity to
serve the ONE true LORD?
Consider how in Joshua 2 when the 2 spies were hidden by Rahab in
Jericho, we read in Joshua 2:8–11, “Now
before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the
men: “I know that the Lord has
given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that
all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10 For
we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you
when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the
Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom
you utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we heard these things, our
hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone
because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on
earth beneath.”
This text points out that they HAD been warned.
Certainly they had opportunity to repent.
iii.
Could the
Amalekites have been warned?
Consider the example of Canaan above and that the land of the Amalekites
with in the same area (southwest of the Dead Sea and between Egypt and
Canaan). They would probably
have been warned to repent often.
Further consider the time from their attack of Israel in the
wilderness (Ex.17) until the command of king Saul to destroy them was
some 400 years (the wilderness dwelling + the conquest + the period of
judges, etc.).
iv.
Furthermore, Abraham & Isaac dwelt in Canaan and the people knew that
Jehovah God blessed them (Gen. 12:1-3, cf. Gen. 21:22-23, 26:28, etc.).
Righteous Lot dwelt in Sodom (2 Peter 2:7).
Noah preached to a condemned world for 120 years while preparing the
ark.
v.
There is
evidence that these condemned nations had opportunity to repent but
chose not to. Therefore
their destruction could be just.
e.
Another
argument: (I admit this is weak, but worthy of mention)
It was the way of nations back then. We are now under a new law, where
God does NOT any longer command such.
That is an example of the law of Grace vs. the Old Law, etc.
f.
What
about the children and those who were innocent?
If we are speaking of infants and young children, know that even
though they died, God would take care of their souls.
Those who were innocent had NOTHING to fear as they stand before
God.
g.
A
lesson in divided loyalties.
Many of God’s laws to Israel really don’t make logical sense –
don’t wear mixed garments, breed mixed animals, sow fields with mixed
seed (Deut. 22:9-11, Lev. 19:19).
But they DO teach a lesson in distinction and separation!
See
2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
God DEMANDS loyalty to Him.
The destruction of the ungodly is a warning to serve Him with
your whole heart!
h.
One
final thought: Why is this
world in such a depraved state?
Why are nations becomingly increasingly ungodly? (Psalm 2:1-2)
I contend one reason is because
we do not deal harshly enough
with crime and disorder.
We defend criminals and let them go on technicalities.
We tolerate gang activities and mischief in our communities.
We have watered down accountability! Instead of swift and
appropriate punishment we want to “counsel them” and “build up their
self-esteem”. (That way they
can become confident criminals – TT) And
our prisons are too comfortable.
They are not places that people dread returning to.
In some cases prisoners have better conditions and benefits that
struggling families trying to do the right thing.
What kind of deterrent is that?
Society has failed to teach our
children the need for real morality and respect for authority.
The result is a corrupt society that is getting worse and worse.
The world can only tolerate so much evil before it spews it out!
History reveals this.
Friends the solution is NOT to just slap someone on the wrist.
Murderers need to be put to death! (Rom. 13, Gen. 9:5-6 – God’s
law after the flood, Lev. 24:21, etc.) It needs to be done swiftly,
Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, “Because
the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore
the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
Num 35:33-34, which is
addressing intentional murder, advocated putting the guilty to death, “So
you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the
land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is
shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore do not
defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I
the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.'"
Criminals need swift and appropriate punishments that will DETER future
misconduct. Stealing in some
places, used to result in the loss of a hand.
Other crimes resulted in the loss of other body parts.
While I am not necessarily advocating such, I do believe we
coddle our criminals and reward their bad behavior.
What is the solution to gang violence?
Get RID of the gangs!!! Whatever it takes!
The communities they infest will not thrive.
I realize that being human, we make mistakes in our judgments and
often let the wicked go and occasionally punish the innocent.
But that is no excuse to do nothing.
But GOD DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES!
His solution,
with perfect knowledge was
designed to preserve the righteous and remove the wicked.
The failure of Israel
to destroy both the Canaanites and the Amalekites resulted in their
eventual downfall as they adopted the very corrupt ways God wanted them
to avoid. IT seems to me
that God KNEW WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT!
DON’T QUESTION HIS ACTIONS!