In lesson two, we considered whether the God of the Old Testament is sexist or affirming and also whether He is racist or hospitable. As we continue to study Dr. David Lamb’s book “God Behaving Badly,” we are going to go deeper and ask is the God of the Old Testament violent or peaceful, and is He legalistic or gracious?
OR
The Bible includes many examples of violent behavior, but we shouldn’t assume that simply because these stories are included in the Old Testament that the behavior is being condoned. When the God of the Old Testament acts violently, He does it for a reason.
- How comfortable do you feel with the idea of violent punishment?
Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” He turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria. (2 Kings 2:23-25)
- How does this story make you feel about God? Why?
Most readers are justifiably troubled by this story. First, Elisha was a prophet of God. Shouldn’t someone as holy as Elisha have been able to control his anger? Second, the boys seem to be young and innocent. Kids, after all, say the darndest things. Why hold a harmless insult against them? Third, and most significantly, Yahweh seemed to be the primary one behind the attack. The curse was in Yahweh’s name, and the bears appear supernaturally. Yahweh must have been the primary cause of the bears’ sudden assault. It seems that both Yahweh and His prophet easily become violent, and these young boys paid the price.
Let’s take a step back though and look deeper into the story. First, there are two Hebrew words for boys in this passage: naar (vs. 23) and yeled (vs. 24). Both words can mean “boy,” or even “young boy,” but can also mean “adolescent” or “older teenager.” Both words are even used for Joseph’s brother Benjamin when he was in his 20s. Since the words have a broad range of meaning, we need to look at the context to understand how it should be translated. It is unreasonable to assume that a large group of very young boys was hanging out in the wilderness, unsupervised. However, a gang of teenagers could reasonably be by themselves outside of town. Thus, this was not some harmless teasing by a group of preschoolers, but serious taunting by a pack of teens. It is reasonable to assume that Elisha’s life was in danger. It is certainly not unthinkable that they were planning to rough him up a bit.
Second, insults are taken far more seriously in the rest of the world than they are here in the United States. It is unlikely that such an insult would be taken lightly. People could be severely punished for insulting leaders, rulers, kings, etc. Think about it from the dueling perspective: you insult my honor, and we will battle to the death. While in our 21st-century, Western mindset it may seem like Elisha was overreacting, within his cultural context his behavior was justified.
Third, chapters 2-6, 8, and 13 of 2 Kings portray Elisha as an individual who heals the sick, feeds the hungry, purifies poisoned water, prays for a barren woman who then gives birth, raises the dead, and prevents war. Apparently, all of these deeds of Elisha are performed with divine blessing. God must have helped him do these good works. The merciful behavior that he practiced everywhere else in 2 Kings leads to the conclusion that we shouldn’t view his actions with the bears in isolation. Even though the story of the bears is troubling, we should probably give Elisha the benefit of the doubt given all of his other amazing acts of compassion.
Dr. Lamb states that the main point of the story is not that Yahweh picks on children, but rather that Yahweh protected the life of Elisha. Otherwise, why would He send bears to attack these teenagers immediately after He had just saved the lives of many people from their own city by purifying their poisoned water source (2 Kings 2:19-22)? Elisha didn’t start the fight, but was simply acting in self-defense.
- How would you have felt if you were Elisha and Yahweh protected you from a gang of teens?
- Why would God want to make the point so dramatically that He would protect the life of His prophet?
We don’t really know why Elisha is protected here by God, while in other situations God allows prophets to suffer, but to focus on one instance where Yahweh protects a prophet seems to miss the big picture of what the life of a prophet involved. The fact that Yahweh rescued Elisha meant not only that Yahweh wanted to send a message that Elisha would have divine protection, but also that he wanted Elisha to continue his ministry of compassion. He protected Elisha so he could bless the sick and the hungry and widows and orphans. Though all instances of violence in the Old Testament cannot be resolved so easily, a pattern does emerge that Yahweh is willing to severely punish individuals and even nations to protect the weak and preserve life.
185,000 Bodies
One of the most dramatic examples of divine violence in the Old Testament is the following report of a slaughter of the Assyrians, who were besieging the city of Jerusalem, by an angel of Yahweh during the reign of Hezekiah:
That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! (2 Kings 19:35)
- 185,000 bodies! No other divine act of violence in the Old Testament has casualties of this magnitude. Why did God kill so many people?
First, people get killed in contexts of war. The men killed were all soldiers who were attempting to capture Jerusalem. They had already killed many Judeans. Yahweh was fighting defensively to protect Judah from an Assyrian invasion. Second, Assyria was a brutally violent nation that bragged about burning, mutilating, and hanging captives, including boys and girls. Many Assyrians were killed, but they were not the victims of the story. Assyria was the aggressor nation attempting to conquer, seize tribute, and expand its empire. Third, the Assyrians mocked Yahweh, declaring that He couldn’t deliver Israel from the power of their emperor. Yahweh’s violence was justified in this context of war against a brutal empire to defend His honor.
An Eye for an Eye
The Old Testament is full of laws. One law that seems unnecessarily harsh is the “eye for an eye” law or law of exact equivalence. Many people are familiar with Jesus’ radical response to this law in the Sermon on the Mount, in which He tells his listeners to “turn the other cheek.” But the clearest expression of this law appears in Leviticus.
Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. (Leviticus 24:19-20)
On the surface, it appears this law is condoning violence. Put in context though, this law was very progressive for its times. An eye for an eye limits vengeance and rules out punishment disproportionate to the offense, resulting in simple, swift, and straightforward justice in a world without an overly complicated legal system. While Yahweh’s legal punishment seems violent, it is actually an effective means of reducing violent crime and promoting peace among His people.
Both Yahweh and Jesus prefer peace to violence. Yahweh used violence only to punish the wicked or protect the weak, and He ultimately promoted peace within Israel and between Israel and her neighbors.
OR
Many people, including Christians, perceive the Old Testament God and His laws negatively. Some think God’s rules are boring and are used by God to determine whether or not He likes people. With laws that are demanding, boring, and no fun, God could appear to be legalistic.
- Legalists are obsessed with the law and have lost sight of its purpose. They have no room for grace in their interpretation of law. Legalists will, therefore, make laws that are demanding, strict, boring, arbitrary, and oppressive. So, is the God of the Old Testament legalistic?
- What is the first command in the Bible?
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. (Genesis 1:28)
God first commands humans to be fruitful and multiply. This is not only the first command in the Bible; it is actually the first words God speaks to humans, so we know it is important.
- What is the second command in the Bible?
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
God’s second command isn’t just eat, but freely eat from every tree in the garden. And there were a lot of trees to choose from because God had filled the garden with a wide variety of fruit trees that looked and tasted good. These first two commands of God affirm the goodness of His creation and His desire that we delight in His gifts. He does this because He is generous and not legalistic. While the rest of His laws may not be as obviously enjoyable as the first two, we need to remember how the relationship between God and His people began as we examine other Old Testament texts. We should read other Old Testament commands through the lens of a God who wants to bless and be generous.
- Which commands of God do you find easy to obey? What is it about these commands that make them so easy to follow?
So Many Laws
The reason the Old Testament included laws is that Israel needed a legal system as they transitioned from being an enslaved people to being a nation ruled first by judges and then by kings. The Old Testament legal texts served as their constitution. However, just because the Old Testament contains a lot of laws doesn’t mean Yahweh is legalistic. But doesn’t the harshness of Yahweh’s laws make Him legalistic? Perhaps, but even laws that seem harsh are given for a good reason.
While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses. (Numbers 15:32-36)
- What kind of God would send someone to death for gathering sticks for a fire?
This man’s actions actually go beyond simple stick gathering, but we first need to look at how Yahweh felt about the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was important to Yahweh, and He wanted it to be important to His people. The command to keep the Sabbath not only recalled God’s creation rest (Exodus 20:11; 31:17), it also reminded Israel of their deliverance from Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15). Sabbath was also meant to be a sign of Yahweh’s covenant with His people (Exodus 31:13; 17). The Sabbath was designed to promote justice and limit oppression since slaves could not be forced to work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14). Picking up sticks seems harmless, but by doing it on the Sabbath the man was belittling God’s creation, His deliverance, and His covenant.
The principle of resting and devoting a day to God is still valid today. As we consider the severity of this punishment, we can’t lose sight of the original purpose of the command. The Sabbath was meant to be a blessing. Yahweh created humans in His own image and then He commanded them to rest in order to bless them.
- Why is it difficult for people in our culture to rest? When do you take a Sabbath rest? What do you do on your Sabbath? How do you make sure that you are following God’s command to rest?
Avoiding Christian Legalism
- Why are so many Christians legalistic? How does this affect the perception of God for those outside the Church?
Christians can oftentimes be legalist, and to people outside the Church, those legalisms make God appear legalistic. Christian legalism takes three basic forms:
First, God’s laws are viewed as a way to earn salvation. However, both testaments teach that strict obedience to the law in general or to any specific law cannot make us righteous in God’s eyes, only faith in God does that.
Second, God’s laws are viewed as a means to pay God back. While we might not like being in debt, not even to God, we can’t pay Him back and He doesn’t want us to. God’s salvation is a gift, pure and simple.
Third, God’s laws are viewed as merely a duty or obligation. No real reason is given for obedience. The biggest problem with this form of legalism is that it leads to pride. The Bible does provide reasons to obey because God knows we need motivation.
God is good, generous, and gracious, and He gives commands not because He’s legalistic, but because He wants to bless people and draw them closer into relationship with Him.
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Theology at Your Fingertips 