{"id":39047,"date":"2013-05-28T21:48:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-29T02:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=39047"},"modified":"2021-10-24T21:51:39","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T02:51:39","slug":"how-can-god-kill-people-and-steal-their-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-god-kill-people-and-steal-their-stuff\/","title":{"rendered":"How can God kill people and steal their stuff?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

As a new Christian, I’m now studying the Old Testament.\u00a0 I am struggling with all the killing and death that God either does himself or makes his people do. I find it extremely difficult to wrap my head around the fact that he sent Moses up the hill and gave him the 10 commandments two of which are “Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shall not steal”.\u00a0 He then sends his people to the promised land and commands to kill everyone there and take their stuff!\u00a0 Is He not breaking His own commandment and ordering his people to do the same?<\/p>\n

Is there a hidden list of exceptions after each commandment?\u00a0 Such as, Thou shalt not kill (except when I say so, etc.).\u00a0 We look at Islam and say how could they kill everyone who does not believe their way, and yet that is exactly what our God constantly <\/b>said in the Old Testament.\u00a0 Worship idols, ZAP!\u00a0 Bow to other Gods, ZAP! Don’t do what I say? ZAP ZAP.\u00a0 Look at how many people he killed during the exodus.\u00a0 This is not the God I want to worship.<\/p>\n

This is driving me crazy and is really burdening me.\u00a0 I feel my Christian life is in jeopardy.\u00a0 I desperately seek answers before I walk away.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

It appears you don’t grasp the serious nature of sin. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord<\/em>” (Romans 6:23). From the very beginning, God warned men that sin carries a severe consequence: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die<\/em>” (Genesis 2:16-17). That death penalty has been perpetuated by every one of us. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned<\/em>” (Romans 5:12).<\/p>\n

People were not killed arbitrarily. Every one of the Ten Commandments carried the death penalty. By the way, the command was “You shall not commit murder.” The King James translation of “Thou shalt not kill” was not a good translation of the Hebrew. See Is the commandment “You shall not kill” or “You shall not murder”?<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, let’s take a look at the Israelites conquering of Canaan. The reason they were given the land was because of the sins of those currently occupying the land. “But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete<\/em>” (Genesis 15:16). Israel was specifically told that they weren’t given the land because they deserved it.<\/p>\n

“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 7:6-9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There wasn’t anything particular about the Israelites which caused God to pick them as His chosen people. A big part of the reason they were picked was that God made a promise to Abraham and He keeps His promises.<\/p>\n

“Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you. It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 9:4-5).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There really wasn’t anything particularly attractive about the Israelites. They were given the land of Canaan because the nations which occupied it before them were evil, not because the Israelites were righteous. The truth was that God found dealing with the Israelites a burden. “Furthermore the LORD spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed they are a stiff-necked people’<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 9:13). The only reason they survived in the wilderness is that Moses intervened on their behalf.<\/p>\n

Basically, you are claiming that God has no right to punish sin, but such cannot be true and is not true. If there was no punishment for sin, then God would not be just. See Judge of All the Earth<\/a>. For example, what right does the country have to impose a fine when you break a law? Isn’t that “stealing” your stuff? The answer is “no.” It is a penalty for breaking the law. If you can see that in the flawed system of man, why do you refuse to see it in the justice of God from whom men model their laws?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: As a new Christian, I’m now studying the Old Testament.\u00a0 I am struggling with all the killing and death that God either does himself or makes his people do. I find it extremely difficult to wrap my head around the fact that he sent Moses up the hill and gave him the 10 commandments…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-39047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-apologetics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29105,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-about-the-ten-commandments\/","url_meta":{"origin":39047,"position":0},"title":"What about the Ten Commandments?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jerry Blount It seems a constant source of confusion among Christians to determine our relationship to the Ten Commandments. How do we sort all this out? On the one hand, Paul said,\u00a0For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/MosesTablets.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24166,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-one-permitted-to-interpret-gods-commandments-to-bolster-ones-point-of-view\/","url_meta":{"origin":39047,"position":1},"title":"Is one permitted to interpret God’s commandments to bolster one’s point of view?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I came across your web site and find it interesting that We are not to add to or take away from God\u2019s commandments. and God also sanctioned self-defense as we read of the young David slaying both lion and bear in defense of his flock in I Samuel 17.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29113,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-law-and-the-gospel\/","url_meta":{"origin":39047,"position":2},"title":"The Law and the Gospel (Kiser)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by M. W. Kiser via, The Sower, Vol. 53, No. 5, Sept\/Oct. 2008. \"Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29595,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-god-kill-so-many-humans\/","url_meta":{"origin":39047,"position":3},"title":"Why does God kill so many humans?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why does God kill so many humans? And why does this website try and make excuses for killing those humans? Surely such an amazing supernatural Creator could come up with a better plan than that. When I read about your God I find it hilarious. I really can believe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9837,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-christian-serve-in-the-military\/","url_meta":{"origin":39047,"position":4},"title":"Should a Christian serve in the military?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Should a Christian serve in the military? Answer: I asked a friend, neighbor, and fellow Christian to address this question. I entered the Air Force in 1983 and have been a Christian for an even longer period of time. I am still serving my country and my God. Being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59931,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-temptation\/","url_meta":{"origin":39047,"position":5},"title":"The Temptation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Waldron via\u00a0Truth Magazine\u00a0XXIII (Part 1: 31, pp. 504-505, August 9, 1979; Part 2: 32, pp. 520-521, August 16, 1979; Part 3: 33, p. 533, August 23, 1979) After Jesus was baptized, He was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 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