We continue considering one of many talking point scare quotes that are oft employed against Bible believers. Ezekiel 9:6 states, “Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children.” For pseudo-skeptical-atheists a fragment of a verse is always enough information upon which to rain down condemnation. Let not take a text out of context to make a pretext for a prooftext but let us delve into the immediate and greater statements. Find the whole series at this link.
From Ezekiel ch. 5, where God begins to spell out Israel’s sins:
6…in her [Israel’s] wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees…7…have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even conformed to the standards of the nations around you…8…I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. 9 Because of all your detestable idols…11…because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices…13…they will know that I the LORD have spoken…14…I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations…15…a warning and an object of horror to the nations.
Beyond further mentions of their sin, did you catch something? YHVH’s very own people are rebelling and committing acts even more vile than those of the nations around them—which is saying a lot (common Gentile Pagan practices were human, and particularly child, sacrifice, temple prostitution, bestiality and many more unspeakable acts). God makes it clear to them that he is going to make a public display of their judgment “in the sight of the nations…make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations.” And why? Both as “a warning and an object of horror to the nations” and so that ultimately, “they will know that I the LORD have spoken.”
From Ezekiel ch. 6, wherein God makes many references to their idolatrous practices, their worship of false gods, the gods of the nations around them and the false gods who will be judged and defeated publicly:
3…I will destroy your high places. 4 Your altars…your incense altars…your idols. 5…their idols…your altars. 6…the high places…your altars…your idols…your incense altars…7…you will know that I am the LORD…9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. 10 And they will know that I am the LORD…11…because of all the wicked and detestable practices…13 And they will know that I am the LORD…idols…altars…high hill…mountaintops…spreading tree…leafy oak—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 14…they will know that I am the LORD.’
What was states about “the false gods who will be judged and defeated publicly” was due to the fact that, for example, during the Exodus YHVH stated, “I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12). YHVH occasionally proved that the gods were false by showing that they could not do that which He could do. He also publicly judged His people in order to show that He is righteous and also that He has not forsaken them. So again, the Israelites were worshiping false gods and so YHVH was going to judge them so, “they will know that I am the LORD…they will know that I am the LORD…they will know that I am the LORD.’”
From Ezekiel ch. 7:
3…I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices…4…will surely repay you for your conduct and for the detestable practices…you will know that I am the LORD’…8…I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices…9…I will repay you for your conduct and for the detestable practices…you will know that it is I the LORD…13…Because of their sins…16…for their own sins…19…stumble into sin…20…detestable idols. They made it into vile images…27…by their own standards I will judge them. “‘Then they will know that I am the LORD.’
Well, that is clear enough, is it not?
Here are books on the topic:
Eric A. Seibert, Disturbing Divine Behavior: Troubling Old Testament Images of God
Paul Copan, Is Yahweh a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A plea: I have to pay for server usage and have made all content on this website free and always will. I support my family on one income and do research, writing, videos, etc. as a hobby. If you can even spare $1.00 as a donation, please do so: it may not seem like much but if each person reading this would do so, even every now and then, it would add up and really, really help out. Here is my donate/paypal page.
Due to robo-spaming, I had to close the comment sections. However, you can comment on my Twitter
page, on my Facebook page, on my Google+ page and/or the “Share/Save” button below the tags.