Here is the more completed version. I submitted it here again so that Pete can move it with Cephyr13's post together if he wants allowing it to be an introduction to the topic. Without this part included of course.
Over the years many claims have been leveled against the Bible. One of the favorite past times of enemies of the scriptures is to try and create seeming contradictions where none truly exist. They try to pick apart small details that have no bearing on the narrative itself as a means of discrediting the scriptures. However modern archeology has supported the Biblical claims more often than not and on the occassions where it doesn't it is because no clear answer can be determined archeologically.
The topic of this thread, however, is not on archeological evidence of the scriptures. It is more to do with context. Keeping a sripture in its' proper context is essential in assertaining the intended meaning of the author. For example: If you were to read that Jesus was crucified but never bothered to read of His ressurection you could easily come to the conclusion that he died and stayed that way. In like manner it is important to not take a single verse and construct doctrine around it.
In the spirit of keeping words in their proper context we will review one of the biggest and often most hotly debated "contradictions" of the Bible.
In the Bible, both OT and NT, we read this commandment.
Exd 20:13 Thou shalt not kill
Deu 5:17 Thou shalt not kill .
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Rom 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if [there be] any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
But we also have verses where God gives instruction to kill.
Exd 32:27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, [and] go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
So we have a glaring contradiction. Right? Well let us see. In the previous verse to the one above we read this:
Exd 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who [is] on the LORD'S side? [let him come] unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Moses made a declaration unto the Israelites. He wanted all of those that were on the side of the Lord to come unto him. Those that did not were dealt with severly.
Now many people would say, "That is still a contradiction. Killing is killing." In this day there are no shortage of people who try to take the moral high ground this way. I don't want to be taken for an advocate of violence or killing. I do not now nor have I ever condoned killing. However, without some wars being fought freedom, self-determination, and self-preservation would be a thing of the past with many nations. Now while it is true that diplomacy could resolve all these conflicts, it relies on the assumption that both parties agree to such a course of action. All one has to do is look at Nazi Germany to know that this is not always the case. So all conflicts must be kept in their context.
Let's review more of the passage to get a better idea of what is going on.
Exd 32:19 ¶ And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
Exd 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt [it] in the fire, and ground [it] to powder, and strawed [it] upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink [of it].
Exd 32:21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
Exd 32:22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they [are set] on mischief.
Exd 32:23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for [as for] this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exd 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break [it] off. So they gave [it] me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
Exd 32:25 ¶ And when Moses saw that the people [were] naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto [their] shame among their enemies:)
Exd 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who [is] on the LORD'S side? [let him come] unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Exd 32:27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, [and] go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
Exd 32:28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
We read that Moses coming down into the Israelite camp saw them worshipping a pagan god. He became angry and asked Aaron why he did this. Aaron told him that the people in the camp who had requested this sought only mischief as Moses well knew. Moses gave all those who would the chance to come to the Lord. Those that came lived. Those that did not perished.
What is the point? If you were the general of an army and had led them faithfully through every campaign, always keeping your word. Then you ride into the camp oneday to see your men working with the enemy. You tell them they can come back and be safe yet still they rebel. Do you let the ranks of your enemy swell?
Now this analogy doesn't do the actual occurence justice. In the Biblical story men's eternal souls are at stake. Something they all knew. They willingly rejected the only salvation given to them with the full knowledge of God's justice. In essence all of them were given up to God's judgment. Many people view death as an end. The reality though is that it is the pit stop on the way to eternity.
Hbr 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
God knew that these people would not turn. And yet He still gave them an opportunity. Who's fault is it they snubbed Him? These people saw His power with their eyes. Witnessed His mercy when He brought them out of Egypt. They could not rationally deny His prescence as atheist do today. You can't focus on the judgment alone and hope to have a full picture of what transpired.
Now let's do some word research. The word translated as kill in the fifth commandment is ratsach. This word is used 47 times in the Bible. It is used in reference to those who kill both intentionally and intentionally. The Bible lays out specific guide lines to deal with both. Those who kill unintentionally are allowed to seek refuge so that the kin of the deceased will not seek revenge. In other words the person guilty of unintentional killing is innocent of the blood of the deceased, but out of the well being of the community the "slayer" or "manslayer" is expected to go live in another city.
Their are provisions made for those who intentionally murder as well. They are met with justice. Usually at the hand of the next of kin of the deceased. Now whether you are a proponent of the death penalty or not this sheds a whole new light on the word "kill" in the ten commandments. It is meant to be read as "Thou shalt not murder".
To shore this up with some NT verses let's turn to Matthew.
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Here we see Jesus quoting the fifth commandment. He goes on to say that if someone is even angry without cause (hate) that the same judgment is awaiting them.
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
But for the purposes of this post we are focusing on the word "kill". In this verse the word translated as "kill" is phoneuo. This word appears 12 times in the Bible. This word is ALWAYS used as murder in the NT. It is always in reference to killing unjustly.
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoevershall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 23:31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mar 10:19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery , Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honourthy father and mother.
Luk 18:20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal , Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Rom 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness , Thou shalt not covet; and if [there be] any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Jam 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also , Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery , yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Jam 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war , yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jam 5:6 Ye have condemned killed the just; [and] he doth not resist you.
So even Jesus, James, and Paul recognized that "kill" in the commandments is murder. Not self defence, not defence of the innocent, or national defence. He even expounded by identifying it's root cause. HATE. Now does this mean that Jesus believed God gave an open ended command to kill all the wicked? NO. The times that the Bible shows God giving a command to kill is when the wicked have been warned and it is for the preservation of His chosen people.
God always intended Israel to be an example to the world on how to conduct themselves towards one another and towards their Creator. Times arrived when there were those inside Israel that disrupted this plan. A perfect example is in 2 Kings.
In 2 Kings Israel had given itself over to apostasy. They were worshipping false gods in high places. They had been warned of the coming judgment should they not turn. Then Josiah steps on the scene.
2Ki 22:1 ¶ Josiah [was] eight years old when he began to reign , and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem . And his mother's name [was] Jedidah , the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath .
2Ki 22:2 And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father , and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left
2Ki 23:20 And he slew all the priests of the high places that [were] there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem .
So what? The word used for kill here is zabach. This word usually refers to animal sacrafice, but it is also used as slaughter in divine judgment
zabach- verb;1) to slaughter, kill, sacrifice, slaughter for sacrifice
a) (Qal)
1) to slaughter for sacrifice
2) to slaughter for eating
3) to slaughter in divine judgment
b) (Piel) to sacrifice, offer sacrifice
So we see that killing is also divine judgment. Now again it must be pointed out that this was a specific case dealing with a specific group. NOT an open ended command to kill anyone that did not believe like you. These narratives are often used to illustrate the dangers of sin. NOT to condone violence. But even here the judgment came after years of warnings and mainly because they were causing the chosen people of God to drift.
The danger of sin still exists today. Does that mean that we should kill anyone in our midst that worships false idols. NO. God has allowed his message to extend to the whole world. Everyone is welcome to be God's chosen people. Those who truly are His need not fear the corruption that was being combated literaly in the OT. But to get to that point God had to ensure that His original chosen people stayed on course.
The question everyone must ask is this, "Would I feel so black and white about killing if someone was endangering my life or the life of a loved one?" Think on it hard. Remember "Thou shalt not murder" not "Thou shalt not defend your life". Life is precious. It's preservation is important. Even when Jesus spoke of not resisting evil people it was in reference to hitting not killing.
One could easily become too comfortable with killing if it did not have such a heavy signifigance attached to it. Therefore, the Israelites had laws that governed such actions down to the most minutae detail. IF kept in the proper context this shows a great respect for life. Not just its' preservation but also its' quality.
One could easily become too comfortable with killing if it did not have such a heavy signifigance attached to it. Therefore, the Israelites had laws that governed such actions down to the most minutae detail. IF kept in the proper context this shows a great respect for life. Not just its' preservation but also its' quality.
As always God judges the intent of the heart. He knows whether you are killing because you hate or because you are protecting an innocent. War is a harsh reality. Sometimes innocents get killed. Many at the hands of people who had no intention of killing them. The U.S. is full of veterans dealing with mental problems because of what they witnessed or did in war. God knows their pain and hurt. Luckily nothing is too big a problem for Him. Imagine the problems we may avoid in the future if we start to peel back this negative connotation that is associated with ALL war. Imagine how the world would look now if the political correctness that is crippling the U.S. had existed in 1940. We would probably all be speaking German.
Let's consider war from a prophetic stand point. Now before I get into this I want to point out that these were not commands of God to war, neither was it an approval on His part. It is just something to consider. Anyone familiar with the continuous-historic timeline of Daniel knows that the seventy weeks deals very specifically with the re-establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948, and the Jews regaining Jerusalem in 1967. If you are not familiar with this here is a link on this subject.
http://www.beholdthebeast.com/mathematical_precision_of_prophecy.htmThe question is this. How do YOU think the Jews would have regained Jerusalem if not by open conflict with muslims in 1967? Know that this prophecy HAD to be fulfilled in that year. Why? Because God said it would.
I will leave this post here for now and continue to add as I study more. Please ANYONE christian, muslim, agnostic or whoever ASK any questions. Give me feedback. Especially on the prophetic timeline laid out in the above link.
God bless
