God specifically instructed Israel as they took possession of Canaan to =
kill every man woman and child of certain peoples. He did this as a =
judgment on those peoples. =20
"Deuteronomy 7
1 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- 2 and when the Lord your God =
has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must =
destroy them totally.=20
"Deuteronomy 9
3 But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across =
ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue =
them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them =
quickly, as the Lord has promised you.=20
4 After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to =
yourself, "The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land =
because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of =
these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you."
Certainly Babylon of Psalm 137 qualified as a wicked nation.
How can God, who is love, decree such things? Perhaps the question is =
more properly who are we to question his sovereign will.
=20
We too often impress our delicate human sensitivities upon a Holy God. =
Where we see the surface only, he sees the heart. He also sees all time =
like a table, a created thing lying before him complete from its =
creation to the passing away of time itself. The images of people under =
the full wrath of God set forth in Revelation does not draw a =
distinction between babes in arms and adults. =20
We either trust his judgment or we cannot trust him at all. =20
When we give man's reason latitude in deciding what portions of the =
Bible are legitimately "God breathed" and which are not, the Bible =
becomes just another book.=20
Thomas Jefferson's ideas on the subject I found less than persuasive. =
Such editorial latitude creates a mercurial rather than a stable moral =
code.
We are always trying to add to or detract from Jesus' finished work on =
the cross and show how smart we are or how righteous we can become =
through our own efforts.
Respectfully submitted,
Jay
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Jul 01 2002 - 22:37:16 EDT