Questioner: "A"
Subject: God's cruelty in the OTQuestion:
- Hi Pastor John - I love the beard!
I was wondering if you could help me. I'm really interested in finding more about the Bible, and God, but have problems when I read the OT.
God seems incredibly jealous and cruel. Specifically, some of his laws just seem ridiculous. Deut. 22:29 describes how if an unmarried girl is raped she must marry her rapist! I can't see why a loving and just God would command this.
Similarly, Zechariah 14:1-2 describes "A day of the LORD is coming", when "the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped." There are many punishments for what seem really trivial things, and often where no one seems to have done anything wrong. Lots of them involve stoning people to death. E.g., If you sleep with a woman during her period, you should be stoned to death. (!)
I have 2 problems in all this. (1) Many of these laws and passages seem to come from God Himself, and are not human inventions. Jesus seems to agree with the OT laws.
Jesus says "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.." (Matthew 5:17-19)
And - "Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God." (2 Peter 20-21)
(2) Even if one somehow says they're not applicable now, they still were *then*. And whatever predicament humanity or certain groups of people were in, the laws seem so horrific, random and cruel that I can't find the love or justice of God anywhere in these passages. **So it's deeply troubling for me.** It's not the God I know, or the God I want to know. Reading the Bible for me really doesn't make me understand God!!! There are countless other examples besides that you probably know about. Slavery, rape, etc. Where is God's love and justice in the OT? I just can't see it.
I hope you can help!
Many thanks in advance on this matter. I really appreciate it.
John of AllFaith's reply
Hi Aaron,Thanks for the compliment on my beard ;-)
When we seek to understand the God of Israel as presented in the Tanack (the 'Old Testament') we need to consider how very different the culture of the ancient world was from ours.
According to Jewish tradition, God surveyed all the tribes of the ancient world and selected the most insignificant of them all, the Hebrews. Through this tribe God makes His will known to the human race and eventually restores Eden.
In the ancient world, religion was of critical importance. It still is of course, but was more so then. It guided the societies in every way. It was therefore essential that the Hebrews (later known as the Jews) be completely distinct from all other tribes. In those days most people believed in what we today might call demigods, celestial beings that managed various aspects of nature. If one needed rain therefore one would propitiate a god related to rain. For crops there were crop gods and so on. It was also common that when a people were conquered they would accept the god(s) of the conquerors. For the Jews however, the Chosen People, such practices were strictly forbidden by HaShem. To enforce this ideal of spiritual loyalty to HaShem ("The Name" the God of Israel), many strict laws of separation were demanded and enforced. Despite this, we frequently read of the Jews embracing other gods and of HaShem chastising them. This chastisement often seems harsh to us.
Deut. 22:29: To us, this sound horribly cruel, however understand the times and circumstances. For a woman to have a child outside of marriage meant the woman would forever live without any support and be, in many cases, a social out caste if she wasn't stoned to death. No one would marry such a disgraced woman and so she would be forever alone. Many such unfortunate women were pulled into a life of prostitution and so on. The idea here then, as I understand it, is to limit rapes and protect the victims and their possible children by holding the abuser responsible. We have a similar situation with slavery. Slavery was commonplace by human design and so God modified it and said, 'If you're going to have slaves, they must be treated humanely' and so on. To us this seem unacceptable, but in that culture and at that time it was a kindness. In Paul this goes to the next step. He explains that slaves and their owners are equals, something unheard of in the ancient world. He says, if you can be free seek freedom, if not, masters have certain obligations to protect you.
The Bible is a very practical book. In biblical times it dealt with the world as it was at the time. Today we should handle the Word with wisdom considering the world, for good and ill, as it now is. Today our society condemns slavery, rape and so on and the Bible is now seen as supporting this view.
We should not judge ancient civilizations by our current standards and sense of morality and justice. We must consider the historic context in which the Laws were given. In this way we can better understand them and the unknowable nature of God.
Zechariah 14:1-2: This is part of a larger prophecy, look back to 13:7-9. It is returning to the subject discussed at 12:10 and flushing it out.
In the future, I believe in the near future, all nations will gather in the Middle East to wage war. To understand this coming war one must consider all the related verses and synthesis them. Simply stated however, at this point in time, the Anti-Christ (a world ruler known as the Dijal in Islam who will rise to power from the EU) will be ruling most of the earth harshly. Following seven brutal years, which will begin with a peace treaty between Israel and its enemies, the armies of many countries, including China, Russia, parts of Europe and the Muslim Ummah based in Ethiopia, etc. will turn against this global ruler and a world war will result, the main battlefield being the Field of Meggido. To save the remaining Jews, the Messiah will come and fight the armies of the earth in what is known as the War of Armageddon. These armies are "brought" to Jerusalem by the sovereign working out of history as foretold by the prophets of Yah. These coming atrocities are 'God's will' but are a natural course stemming from human events and choices. These events are leading up to the coming of Shiloh, Messiah and his thousand year reign.
The victory of the coming Messiah at Har-Magedon (Armageddon, or the Mount of Sorrows) will establish a literal earthly government with literal laws etc. We don't know exactly how this theocratic government will manage its affairs, but as the Messiah will be ruling the earth from Jerusalem, we can be sure it will be a just and merciful kingdom.
As I mentioned, God chose the Hebrews (Jews) and set them aside as His hands in this world. There are two groups of righteous people presented in the Torah. The multitude are known as Noahides, the descendants of Noah. This group are given seven basic laws:
1. Worship Only Ha-Shem
2. Honor and Praise Ha-Shem
3. Respect and Protect Human Life
4. Respect the Family
5. Respect the Rights and Properties of Others
6. Respect the Sanctity of all Life
7. Pursue Justice
The other, smaller group is the Jews who are under the 613 Mitzvahs or laws.
Jesus was sent to his people, the Jews. Later his disciples and others carried his message to the Noahides. Christians are under the seven Noahide Laws as modified by Jesus into two:
Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
So... why was God so harsh in the 'Old Testament'? It is because the Jews are unlike any other people in history. They are the Chosen Priesthood of the planet. Priesthoods are always under stricter requirements than the laity. Also Paul speaks at great length about how the "Law" or Torah was our school master. In it we learn of God's holiness and so on. Jews like Paul were under the Law, Gentiles never were, but we can all learn from the principles of the Hebrew Torah.
The Bible is the eternal Word of God and God is unchanging, however we also find in the scriptures that God is progressively being revealed to humanity. Paul makes this clear:
I Cor. 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Jesus said so often, "you have heard it said... but I say unto you..." in other words, he gave us deeper understandings into the ways of God than were formerly available. We also read Jesus saying that he speaks in parables because the time is not yet right for the people to know the deeper things of God:
Matt. 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
As we now are entering into the Last Days we can better understand verses like this:
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan 12:4.
Those who sincerely wish to understand have always had the ability to understand the things of God more deeply. "Religious people" who have no real desire to understand God's ways, have ever sought to hide the things of God, to cover it with human reason and legalism, and in many cases prejudices and so on. But in the end:
I John 2:26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
If we are sincere, if we "rightly divide the word of truth" then the Holy Spirit will bring us into ever deeper wisdom.
Hope this helps, write back any time,
- ~John of AllFaith
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