Vicious God: The Problem of Old Testament Violence

How are we to understand the wholesale destruction of cities and people groups that occur in the Old Testament? It is especially difficult when the annihilation of woman and children comes at God’s command. How can this be reconciled with a loving God?

Most, if not all of the horrific violence commanded by God in the Old Testament must be understood in light of Genesis 15. This crucial passage records God’s solemn promise to Abram and his descendents. God cuts a covenant with his chosen friend. He puts his name on the line in promising Abram countless descendants, giving him a people forever, in a land forever. This will be true despite God’s prophecy of (as yet unnamed) Israel’s disobedience and punishment as slaves. Abram will not see these days, nor will he see the fulfillment of the promises in his lifetime. He is promised to die in peace at an old age.

Genesis 15:16 is key to understanding the violence that occurs in the rest of Israel’s ancient history. “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." It was not yet time for Israel to possess the promise. One major reason was that the wickedness of the current resident wasn’t complete. The evil of this people group who inhabited Canaan was undeniable, but it had not yet reached the overflow point. This is clearly the way God works throughout Scripture. He provides opportunity to repent.

• Noah preached righteousness during the years he was building the ark.
• Lot lived a righteous life among the people of Sodom.
• Israel marched around Jericho, but only Rahab and her family were saved.

God did not just dispossess an innocent people from the land that was rightfully theirs. After generations of chances, he authorized the removal of a people whose vile practices only became worse and worse. These various people groups who lived in that area God promised to Israel were Canaanites. Their practices of idol worship were detestable, resulting in human sacrifice, ritual prostitution, infanticide (such as throwing children into the fire in honor of the god Molech), violence, and bloodthirsty warfare.

Generations later, Israel returned to the land of promise and began to fulfill Genesis 15.

In Joshua 6: The walls come down and Israel surrounded the city. They simply had to walk over the rubble and obliterate the opposition. The victory was completely accomplished by the hand of God. They were told to destroy everything. Why? There are reasons for the bloodthirstiness of God.

• The detestable pagan practices of the Canaanites would corrupt Israel. God wanted no evil influences, nothing left associated with idol worship.
• This was a culture rife with gross sexual perversions, incest, sorcery, child sacrifice, consulting the dead and must be obliterated.
• This land was given to Israel because these people were so wicked.
• God gave this people group generations to repent, to turn to him, to clean up their act and they did not.

Problems occurred whenever Israel failed to carry out this order of destruction. Judges 1 begins the story of what happens when Israel could not or would not drive out or destroy all the Canaanites. Soon, their influence pervaded God’s people and they began to do the same wicked things. Judges 19 is an extreme case in point. There is no more disgustingly graphic passage, made more horrid because it happens among God’s people. The vileness is highlighted by the fact that those involved have knowledge of the one true God and have benefited from his blessing. This chapter describes what happens when God is pushed into the margins of our lives; when he isn’t the ground of our existence but a supplement; when he is not essential but additional. It describes what happens when evil is allowed room, when we are not ruthless about ridding ourselves of godless, pagan attitudes and practices. The results are always poisonous.

God’s plan rested upon one man, one family, and one nation. We cannot underestimate the extremes to which the enemy would go to stop that plan. All Satan needed to do was stop one man, or late, pollute the chosen family, or later still, sidetrack a nation. The Old Testament is filled with examples of Satan attempting to do that very thing. Genesis 6 is one of the extreme approaches, when the sons of god lusted after the daughters of men and gave birth to a generation of greater wickedness. I see the sons of god as fallen angels, demons seeking to corrupt the chosen line. This situation necessitated the great Flood. God’s promise was on the line, the promise which in fulfillment would bring blessing to the entire world. Anything that threatened that promise must be destroyed. This is why such severe measures are taken throughout the Old Testament. Gleason Archer writes: “In every case the baneful infection of degenerate idolatry and moral depravity had to be removed before the Israel could safely settle down in these regions and set up a monotheistic, law-governed commonwealth as a testimony for the one true God.”

Still, “innocent” people died. War’s damage always extends beyond combatants. How could God order this? The God who loves us so much he sent his Son to die; the God who declared murder to be wrong and hatred to be sin, authorized bloodshed. We must understand the human condition in a biblical context. The Bible clearly states in both Old and New Testament that “There is none righteous.” No one is unworthy of divine punishment, no one is without guilt. Lamentations 3:22 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed.” In reality, we should be amazed at the mercy of God that doesn’t destroy all of humanity, that he does not immediately judge all sin here and now. We should marvel that he saves his own. In choosing a people, providing a land, and setting up a society, God was doing what he always seeks to do, show the world his glory.

Through God’s incredible and often bloody plan, Jesus the Savior was born. Through his violent and bloody death, the loving God made a way for sinful humanity to find peace. Now that the good news has arrived, God waits. He waits for all who will listen to respond to invitation of salvation. He waits for the filling up of sin in those who refuse to believe. In this day of grace, God waits to judge the wickedness of the world. The God of vengeance, the God who trods the winepress of wrath is going to be revealed again. But no one will be able to claim that they had no opportunity to turn to him. Every mouth will be silenced and the world will be held accountable before him.