Questionable Accounts of God's Early Personality The Hebrew Scriptures Are Realistically Both A Book of Ruthless Murder & Intolerance, Along With Mercy, Justice and Love
It often amazes me how religious preachers will preach the bible to be word for word infallibility. Inspired? Divine? There is an experience here, personal journeys with God - told in the terms of human fallible perception. Here is where discernment, discretion with the divine Spirit is needed. Even with the teaching of word-for-word infallibility, one must take into consideration the language interpretations, the context of each and every account with comparison to the entire book itself.		Many accounts of God's actions come from a truly just and merciful God of wisdom, however there are other accounts coming from a seemingly intolerant and unreasonable personality. If this is not the case, then perhaps it's from the following three possibilities: 1. For the biblical literalist, to reconcile the inconsistencies and unbalanced moral atrocities, God's personality lies under question, suggesting as an option, a  personality that lacks development, being in growing stages, yet this theory questions the absolute perfection of God, making it relative and limiting the very nature of God. 2. God is an experience, not one that can be defined and captured in human terms, nor one that lies under the political, social and cultural issues of the day. Nor can conditional laws, rules and moral precepts condone for mass murder and revengeful retribution on those considered to be either enemies or law breakers. Unconditional love is the life force of being, the non partial force that allows free will. It is the very substance of essence that far from ego involvement but lives as a detached observer in silence, all life flowing in complete balance on the one steady note of pure detached observation, uninvolved in the ego dominated involvement of stress to change and dominate the life we live around our being, within our selves and the nature of all free choice to simply be.

Only with Moses request, was the nation of Israel not completely exterminated for their worship

YHWH - The	.God of Mercy ?
	The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD's fierce anger may turn away from Israel . . "Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them". - Numbers 25
"Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion". Ezekiel 9:5	Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man - Numbers 31:17
Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe out from the face of the earth every living creature I have made." Genesis 7:4	"We devoted every city to destruction, men and women and little children. We left no survivors. Only the domestic animals did we take" Deuteronomy 2:34-35
We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying every city--men, women and children. Deuteronomy 3:6	As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the LORD your God gives you from your enemies. Deuteronomy 20:14
	So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 2 Samuel 24:15
God's Servants Also Murdered Many	.The LORD commands to use human excrement for fuel.
Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent's side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim. 2 Samuel 2:16	Eat the food as you would a barley cake; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel." The LORD said, "In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them." Then I said, "Not so, Sovereign LORD! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth." "Very well," he said, "I will let you bake your bread over cow manure instead of human excrement." Ezekiel 4:12-15

of a golden calf, which most likely included harmful and immoral actions towards one another. God saw no problem with murdering the elderly, widows, virgins and children. Rather it was Moses who saw a problem with this. The end result, only three thousand persons, including women and children, were murdered. (Exodus 32:10-14, 27-28)

Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, `It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: `I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.'" Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor." The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died." Exodus 32:10-14, 27-28

When the Israelites finally inhabited the land of Canaan, they did this only by complete genocide, murdering all

Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way." - Exodus 33:3

of the men, women and children who lived there. What was the sin of these persons to receive such a punishment directly from God? Was it because they worshiped other Gods with their lack of knowledge? Or simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and God had to make good on his promise to give the Israelites this land? Or were the Cannanites truly wicked persons? If so, there must have been some who were righteous and what of their innocent children? (Exodus 13:5; 23:23-33; Joshua 17:13, 18; Joshua 9:24)

"When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites--the land he swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey--you are to observe this ceremony in this month: My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. "I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. "I will establish your borders from the Red Sea[1] to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you." Exodus 13:5; 23:23-33

"However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely. but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out." Joshua 17:13, 18

"They answered Joshua, "Your servants were clearly told how the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this." Joshua 9:24

Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham questioned the amount of innocent persons living there who would become victims. Abraham kept lowering his number of righteous persons while God would promise him the amount before destroying these cities. It was never God who volunteered the information, suggesting his lack of concern for the

"This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin." Judges 21:11

So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. - Judges 21: 21-23

innocent persons living there. Was there not one innocent person destroyed? (Genesis 18:20-33)

"Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge[3] of all the earth do right?" The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home." Genesis 18:20-33

After the men of the tribe of Benjamin took an innocent woman, a concubine, and "had intercourse with her, and kept on abusing her all night long until the morning", her master "took his slaughtering knife and laid hold of his concubine and cut her up into twelve pieces" and sent one piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Judges 19:25)

"But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go." When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, "Get up; let's go." But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home. When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel." Judges 19:25, 27-30

The 11 tribes of Israel then turned on the tribe of Benjamin for this sin, killing them and almost wiping them out completely. But in order to preserve the tribe of Benjamin they made a decision. They found a tribe from Jabesh-gilead who did not help the other Israelites to attack the tribe of Benjamin.

So it was then decided by God's chosen people, the other 11 tribes of Israel, that the Benjamites were allowed to murder and exterminate all of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead, except the young virgin girls who they could then take by force and rape. It was also decided that each year at a festival in Shiloh, the men of the tribe of Benjamin could hide in the trees and ambush the virgins that were there and rape them to produce offspring and preserve the tribe of Benjamin. Was this equal justice and love? Did God approve of these actions? Or did he simply not care enough to stop it? (Judges chapters 19 -21)

"Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there. So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. "This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin." They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan. Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon. So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them. The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. And the elders of the assembly said, "With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? The Benjamite survivors must have heirs," they said, "so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. We can't give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: `Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.' But look, there is the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah." So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, `Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.'" So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them." Judges 21:9-23

Justice Or Punishment Without Impunity ?

His method with the Genesis account of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, was after they sinned, all of their offspring would inherit the sin of suffering and death. Was itreally necessary for their children to born just as guilty, sinful and "unclean" as they were? Could not have God made provisions for them to be born innocent? Was this really justice ? Or was his actions lacking a degree of insight?(Job 14:4; Romans 5:12; Ecc 7:20; Psalms 51:5)

"Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!" Job 14:4

"There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins." Ecclesiastes 7:20

"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Psalms 51:5

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned;" Romans 5:12

This same method of group punishment for the sins of one or two individuals was employed by God at other times as well. With the exception of Rahab the prostiture that helped Joshua and the Israelites destroy Jericho, Joshua and his men murdered every man, womand and child. Then, one Israelite man named Achan decided to keep some of the spoils of war instead of destroying them, so instead of God punishing just this one man, the entire nation of Israel had to suffer, with innocent men being slaughtered on the battle lines. Afterwards, this man was executed along with all of the innocent members of his entire family. Was there a lack of empathy on God's part? Was this justice? Or instead, was there a lack of true insight on how to handle the situation? I find this most disturbing how this man's innocent children were murdered by a stoning. (Joshua 7)

"They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it--men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys. Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her. Then they burned the whole city and everything in it. But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things[1] ; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD's anger burned against Israel. Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, "Go up and spy out the region." So the men went up and spied out Ai. When they returned to Joshua, they said, "Not all the people will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there." So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted and became like water. Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?" The LORD said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!'" Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me." Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath." So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD. Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today." Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since." Joshua 6:21-7:26

Apparently God was not always consistent, for in Deuteronomy 24:16 he stated

"Fathers should not be put to death on account of children and children should not be put to death on account of fathers. Each one should be put to death for his own sin." Deuteronomy 24:16

Why was this principle not followed in Adam's, Eve's and Achan's case? Perhaps as time progressed, so did God on his decisions, becoming more flexible and not applying one rule to cover the diversity of various circumstances and complex situations.

Kill Humans, But Help A Donkey In Need

"If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it" - Exodus 23:5 In all fairness, this chapter of Exodus has laws to show kindness and justice to humans as well, despite the many murderous commands of God, as shown here. "Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits." Exodus 23:6 "How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments--sword and famine and wild beasts and plague--to kill its men and their animals!" Ezekiel 14:17

A law is given by God. It states that only a Levite is allowed to touch the "holy utensils" including the "ark of the covenant" and anyone else who dares touch it, will "have to die." A man named Uzzah decides to touch the ark of the covenant because the "cattle nearly caused an upset", and for this "Jehovah's anger blazed against him" and he murders him. True, this man could have acted presumptuously, as though he had the authority to touch the ark, rather then by a mere mistake, but does that make it right and just for God to kill him? Where was God's mercy? Did the punishment fit the crime? Was this "rendering justice?" Or was it necessary in God's mind, to obey his own law and rule on this situation? (2 Samuel 6:6-7; Numbers 4:19-20; Jer 22:3)

"When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God." 2 Samuel 6:6-7

"So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry. But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die." Numbers 4:19-20

"This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place." Jeremiah 22:3

After the Moabites successfully seduced the Israelite men with their beautiful women, Jehovah then sends a deadly scourge among the Israelites, killing 24,000 people, and then approved of his priest, Phinehas, to go inside one of the Israelites tent and stab both the Israelite man and the Moabite woman in the genitals, putting them to death, ending the deadly scourge. Was this reasonable and merciful judgment? It appears to come from an intolerant and angry God, unempathetic of physical pain. Certainly as time progressed, God appears to change in this type of punishment and anger, becoming much more tolerant, merciful and just. (Numbers 25:7-9)

"When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them--through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000." Numbers 25:7-9

The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family. The LORD said to Moses, "Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them, because they treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the affair of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Peor." Numbers 25:14-18

After Moses sister, Miriam, acted presumptuous and questioned Moses' authority given to him from God, Jehovah then struck Miriam with leprosy. Only with her two brothers, Moses and Aaron's pleading with God, did he remove the leprosy. Back in this time period, having leprosy was a horror that is hard to imagine in today's world. Not only would a person be grotesque and avoided, but he or she would be completely isolated from society into a separate place for lepers, always considered "unclean" by all. If anyone were to even walk by, the law required them to humiliate themselves and yell out loud, "Unclean, Unclean!" Was this a fitting punishment for Miriam's rebelliousness? Would God have removed this terrible disease from her, if her two brothers did not request Jehovah to do so? Certainly there is a degree of unempathetic intoleration on God's part. Were God's actions appropriate? Did his personality change over time, becoming less quick to administer such harsh punishment? (Numbers 12:9-16 Lev 13 & 14)

"The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam--leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away." So Moses cried out to the LORD, "O God, please heal her!" The LORD replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back." So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back. After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran." Numbers 12:9-16

"The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a bright spot on his skin that may become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. The priest is to examine the sore on his skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is an infectious skin disease. When the priest examines him, he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean. " Leviticus 13:1-3

"The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, `Unclean! Unclean!' As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp." Leviticus 14:45-46

Can you imagine going against a strong mighty ruler who could kill you at any moment? And then you lead an entire nation out of slavery into the red sea and then the desert. Then you put up with this large group of people constantly complaining against you, hot heat from the dry desert sun, limited rations of food and water. For 40 years you do this, slaving for a rebelious, ungrateful group of people, who constantly complained. Now at the end of this 40 year period, on one day, you finally loose your temper. You did not hurt, cheat steal, or lie to anyone. You simply did not give God the credit for a spring of fresh water he supplied. Instead you were angry at the people for their complaining and called them "rebels."

Moses did just this and was banned from the promised land of Cannan, after walking 40 years in the desert. Did not God feel and understand the 40 years of hardship Moses endured? Did he truly empathize with Moses living under these conditions? Or did he just not care enough? Or was his name and reputation as the "God of the Israelites ... who saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians" more important then each individual's sufferings? Or was his personality still less understanding at that time? Or were the actions of Moses, who is called "the meekest of men", truly deserving of this punishment? (Numbers 20:10; Exodus 34:27; 14:30)

"That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore." Exodus 14:30

"They spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" Numbers 21:5

"He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Numbers 20:10

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go up this mountain in the Abarim range and see the land I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was (to enter death), for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes." Numbers 27:12-14

During this 40 year nomadic life, suffering and wandering in the hot, dry and brutal conditions of the desert, the Israeltites totally lacked faith and were constantly complaining, God got so angry, that he sent deadly snakes to bite the people to hurt and kill them. What kind of a loving God does this? Where does his patience fit in?

"They spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived." Numbers 21:5-9

And God made sure it was 40 years of suffering, so it would be the next generation of people who would receive the promised land as the inheritance, for the parents of these were to be punished and "not one of them were to survive, being able to leave the harsh and brutal desert life.

"Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. For the LORD had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun." Numbers 24:64-65

Lack of Insight - Resulting In Innocent Children Victims Of God's Wrath ?

True, the Egyptians were pagan and made God's people slaves, bringing them much suffering and death. But was it necessary for God to kill their innocent firstborn children, who had absolutely no responsibility for the enslavement and death of the Israelites? How could God hold the children responsible? Did his personality lack empathy or did he just not care enough? Perhaps they were considered of very little value to God and killing them did not mean much. (Exodus 11:5)

"Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well." Exodus 11:5

After the nation of Israel, under God's direction, won many cities in battle they repeatedly "devoted every city to destruction, men and women and little children. We left no survivor. Only the domestic animals did we take .." In other cases, under God's direction, they were to kill the men only and allowed to take by force, the women, children and domestic animals for plunder. Certainly these actions are questionable? (Deu 2:34,35; 3:6; 20:13,14)

"At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed[1] them--men, women and children. We left no survivors. But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves." Deuteronomy 2:34, 35

[The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the LORD, often by totally destroying them.]

"We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying every city--men, women and children." Deuteronomy 3:6

"When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the LORD your God gives you from your enemies." Deuteronomy 20:13-14

After forty two "small boys came out ... and began to jeer Elisha saying 'Go up you baldhead! Go

Then two she-bears came out from the woods and went tearing to pieces forty two children."

up you baldhead!' Finally Elisha ... called down evil upon them in the name of Jehovah. Then two she-bears came out from the woods and went tearing to pieces forty two children." Notice that they were "small boys." There only crime was to jeer or tease as all small boys do. Many religious groups insist that these small boys must have done more then mere jeering for the punishment they received, putting more meaning into words that simply are not there. One can not deny the seemingly intolerance, lack of empathy and justice of both personalities of Elisha and Jehovah. (2 Kings 2:23,24)

"From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" 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 youths." 2 Kings 2:23,24

Part of the judgment God pronounced against Babylon and other nations was that "their very children will be dashed to pieces before their eyes. Their houses will be pillaged and their own wives will be raped." Here again, innocent children and women were to bear the brunt of Jehovah's anger and punishment. (Isaiah 13:16; Hosea 13:16; Nahum 3:10)

"Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives ravished." Isaiah 13:16

"The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open." Hosea 13:16

"Yet she was taken captive and went into exile. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. Lots were cast for her nobles, and all her great men were put in chains." Nahum 3:10

God's Ruthless Way of Horror In The Hebrew Scriptures

MURDER "Pass through the city ... and strike. Let not your eye feel sorry, and do not feel any compassion. Old man, young man and virgin and little child and women you should kill off to a ruination." Ezekiel 9: 4-6

CANNIBALISM "Therefore in your midst fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds. "- Ezekiel 5:10

True, God's chosen people, the Israelites, sinned against God and were to be punished, but notice how far Jehovah, the "God of love", went to punish them. Their starvation became so intense that many "boiled their own children." And as part of the curse of disobeying God, in Deuteronomy chapter 28, the Israelite men would "eat their own sons" and the woman would "eat their own afterbirth in secrecy." If they were able to cook, it was done over animal dung. Originally God was to curse them with only "the excrement of mankind" to cook over, but Ezekiel had more empathy and convinced God to use animal dung instead. Where was God's justice and mercy? Why could he have not enforced a more reasonable and just punishment, putting the people to death, not making them suffer so intensely? (Lamentations 3:22; 1 John 4:8; Eze 4:12-15; 5:17; Deu 28:56,57)

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. Lamentations 3:22

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8

"Eat the food as you would a barley cake; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel." The LORD said, "In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them." Then I said, "Not so, Sovereign LORD! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth." "Very well," he said, "I will let you bake your bread over cow manure instead of human excrement." Ezekiel 4:12-15

"Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. Therefore in your midst fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds." Ezekiel 5:10

"I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the LORD have spoken." Ezekiel 5:17

"The most gentle and sensitive woman among you--so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot--will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities." Deuteronomy 28:56-57

As Jehovah stated in a vision to Ezekiel about a man clothed in linen,

"Pass through the city ... and strike. Let not your eye feel sorry, and do not feel any compassion. Old man, young man and virgin and little child and women you should kill off--to a ruination." (Ezekiel 9:4-6)

Questionable Accounts of God's Later Personality

Before the second destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Jesus Christ had foretold that, under God's direction, Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Roman armies, stating that they "will dash you and your children within you to the ground ..." True, Jesus gave escape instructions to "flee to the mountains", which would save many children, however most adults did not follow, causing many innocent children to suffer and die. Was it completely the parent's fault? Or could God have made a provision for the innocent children? It it "perfect" justice to consider children "unclean" or "holy" because of their parents? Or does this pertain to the inheritance in the Kingdom of the heavens only? Otherwise these children would be part of the "unrighteous" who will live on a paradise earth? (Luke 19:44; 21:21; 1 Cor 7:14; Deu 24:16; Job 14:4)

"They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." Luke 19:44

"Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city." Luke 21:21

"For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy." 1 Corinthians 7:14

"Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin." Deuteronomy 24:16

"Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one." Job 14:4

Can you picture yourself selling your home and material possessions and donating some of it to God, but lying about it, saying you are giving ALL of it to God? This is what Ananias and his wife, Sapphira did. They were fully aware that God "hates a false tongue that launches forth lies," but does that merit death? Will they be included in the resurrection? They still donated some of their proceeds. Can not that be taken into consideration? Does the punishment fit the crime? Is this "perfect" justice? Is there a lack of tolerance, mercy and value of human life in this case? Or were they truly money hungry, greedy and evil persons? (Proverbs 6:16-19; Psalms 19:7)

"There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers." Proverbs 6:16-19

"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple." Psalms 19:7

As for the "great day of God almighty", the war of "Armageddon", we do not fully know God's future actions. We can only hope that God will preserve all men, women and children

There is a possibility that many of the Hebrew scriptures, such as those claimed to be written by Moses, were really written in later time periods by the Jews, perhaps while in exile in Babylon. For instance there is a mention of God's temple even before King David and Solomon's time. This can certainly be the reason for the seemingly lack of development in God's personality.

that are innocent of wickedness, forgiving others of sins and truly forgiving those that have the right heart condition, thus ending the atrocities and suffering among mankind. (Revelation 16:14,16)

"They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." Revelation 16:14, 16

Has God Changed Over Time?

According to Malachi 3:6, God has not changed his ways of judgments, standards and requirements of mankind. But what about his personality traits, with his knowledge, insight, mercy, empathy and compassion? Has God changed in these areas? It certainly appears that he has become more tolerant, merciful compassionate and understanding in the later part of the Hebrew scriptures and the Christian Greek scriptures.

"I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." Malachi 3:6

Did God, who although being "perfect in his activity", create man in his "image" in order to grow, progress and learn more about himself ? If so, he could only do this, by observing and interacting with his "image", man. As he first dealt with man, he made errors and used poor judgment. However as time progressed, so did God, refining his personality, growing, and gaining more insight, knowledge, love and mercy and correcting his personality traits and actions. He would eventually become the "ancient of days", full of wisdom and mercy. (Daniel 7:13) This is one way to reconcile biblical errancy.

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence." Daniel 7:13