Thursday, March 5, 2009
Way Too Far!
Deuteronomy 2:34 "We conquered all his towns and completely destroyed everyone-men, women, and children." So sad. They seem to be bragging. And how in the world did they think they had the permission-even the blessing of God-to do such a thing. This sounds way more like Pol Pot than the children of God. I'm not saying it was not God's will to defeat the King and take the land. Maybe it was. But to not only defeat the army, but also kill those who did not fight and women and children? Horrible. And blasphemous for them to say God led them to do that. What a cautionary tale for us, Jesus followers. Every cult begins with the gospel. But every cult leader at some point strikes out on his or her own and takes the faith taught there into strange and hateful territory. It is a dangerous thing to get a "go" from God and not be careful along the way to hear "stop now" or "slow down" or "enough". It is dangerous for our Jesus centered life-our true following-and if history repeats itself (and it does) it's dangerous for those in our lives as well. That is why communion with the Lord has to be constant. We don't get a direction and stop listening; we stay in constant communication or we will find ourselves in a place that is dark and dangerous and unfaithful in the extreme.
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Its been said that as in all worth while things we are roller skating up hill if we stop we only go backward, we do not stand still.......much evil has been done in the name of God as twisted by mere man.
ReplyDeleteThis reading sounds like a lot justifying, rationalizing, and avoiding ultimate responsibility to me. (Hey, people really haven't changed that much in 3000 years!) If you're going to do 'your' thing & not God's, then at least step up, admit it, and accept the consequences. Makes me sick reading this and seeing them trying to pawn it off on God!
ReplyDeleteHere's a thought- what if God knew that King Sihon and his people were a particularly influential people. We all read how easily sidetracked Israel could be when it came to idolatry. What if He knew the only way to avoid another Mt. Sinai incident was to give the orders to completely wipe out these people. I know it sounds cruel and was cruel, but if it saved Israel from the wrath of God, in the long run maybe it was justifiable to God. Kind of like a parent looking out for their spoiled, whiny, bratty children by eliminating a potential problem so they won't have to discipline the unruly little urchins.
ReplyDeleteGreat thought, all. What a joy it is to be able to share faith in this way about the bible. It would not have been allowed in the church of my upbringing-or in several I have served as pastor. The freedom of thought and faith we enjoy at Heartsong is a rare and precious commodity. I thank the Lord to be sharing it with you!
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