Yet, it is not enough to convince the Israelites to continue to do the right thing and God sometimes have to do seemingly violent things in order to relate to the Israelites.
In Exodus Chapter 32, the Israelites break God’s commandments by worshiping the golden calf. Though God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through several trials and tribulations, this was still not enough for them to follow his commandments. As a result, God condones Moses’ decision to let the Levites kill 3,000 Israelites. It seems unsettling for god to on the one hand permit genocide and on the other hand help people enjoy the benefits of earth. However, this act serves as a form of ethnic cleansing. It is more beneficial to the society as whole to remove …show more content…
For example, the Canaanites were even more sinful than the Israelites. They engaged in bestiality, incest, and even child sacrifice. Deviant sexual acts were the norm. The Canaanites’ sin was so repellent that God said, “The land vomited out its inhabitants” (Leviticus 18:25). Even so, the destruction was directed more at the Canaanite religion than at the Canaanite people. Their judgment was not ethnically motivated and individual Canaanites, like Rahab, could still find that mercy follows repentance. This proves that God definitely wants to correct individuals who stray from the straight and narrow path so that they can still reach the Promised …show more content…
This is evident when God explicitly says, “thou shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), but does not specify under what conditions this commandment applies. There are many examples of individuals who think violence is permissible to rectify some wrong that is done, however, this is only true when God commands it. When God says “you shall give eye for eye, tooth for tooth” it is not to justify violence as a means of rectification. This verse is often taken out of context and is assumed to apply to all situations even though it does not. In this specific instance, God is explaining how to handle a specific situation in which people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage. This is a very specific moment in which he approves of what would able otherwise breaking the
In Exodus Chapter 32, the Israelites break God’s commandments by worshiping the golden calf. Though God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through several trials and tribulations, this was still not enough for them to follow his commandments. As a result, God condones Moses’ decision to let the Levites kill 3,000 Israelites. It seems unsettling for god to on the one hand permit genocide and on the other hand help people enjoy the benefits of earth. However, this act serves as a form of ethnic cleansing. It is more beneficial to the society as whole to remove …show more content…
For example, the Canaanites were even more sinful than the Israelites. They engaged in bestiality, incest, and even child sacrifice. Deviant sexual acts were the norm. The Canaanites’ sin was so repellent that God said, “The land vomited out its inhabitants” (Leviticus 18:25). Even so, the destruction was directed more at the Canaanite religion than at the Canaanite people. Their judgment was not ethnically motivated and individual Canaanites, like Rahab, could still find that mercy follows repentance. This proves that God definitely wants to correct individuals who stray from the straight and narrow path so that they can still reach the Promised …show more content…
This is evident when God explicitly says, “thou shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), but does not specify under what conditions this commandment applies. There are many examples of individuals who think violence is permissible to rectify some wrong that is done, however, this is only true when God commands it. When God says “you shall give eye for eye, tooth for tooth” it is not to justify violence as a means of rectification. This verse is often taken out of context and is assumed to apply to all situations even though it does not. In this specific instance, God is explaining how to handle a specific situation in which people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage. This is a very specific moment in which he approves of what would able otherwise breaking the