If God is Love then explain these verses. no excuses that God changed because the quote?

Question

God is the same yesterday today and tomorrow.

Take your son, your only son – yes, Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you." (Genesis 22:1-18)

Exodus 13:2 the Lord said "Consecrate to me every first-born that opens the womb among Israelites, both man and beast, for it belongs to me."

As for you, son of man, prophesy: Thus says the Lord GOD against the Ammonites and their insults: A sword, a sword is drawn for slaughter, burnished to consume and to flash lightning, because you planned with false visions and lying divinations to lay it on the necks of depraved and wicked men whose day has come when their crimes are at an end. Return it to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. I will pour out my indignation upon you, breathing my fiery wrath upon you, I will hand you over to ravaging men, artisans of destruction. You shall be fuel for the fire, your blood shall flow throughout the land. You shall not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken. (Ezekiel 21:33-37 NAB)

Kill People Who Don't Listen to Priests

Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death. Such evil must be purged from Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:12 NLT)



Kill Witches

You should not let a sorceress live. (Exodus 22:17 NAB)



Kill Homosexuals
"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives." (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)



Kill Fortunetellers

A man or a woman who acts as a medium or fortuneteller shall be put to death by stoning; they have no one but themselves to blame for their death. (Leviticus 20:27 NAB)

Death for Hitting Dad

Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death. (Exodus 21:15 NAB)



Death for Cursing Parents

1) If one curses his father or mother, his lamp will go out at the coming of darkness. (Proverbs 20:20 NAB)

2) All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense. (Leviticus 20:9 NLT)

Death for Adultery

If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10 NLT)



Death for Fornication

A priest's daughter who loses her honor by committing fornication and thereby dishonors her father also, shall be burned to death. (Leviticus 21:9 NAB)



Death to Followers of Other Religions

Whoever sacrifices to any god, except the Lord alone, shall be doomed. (Exodus 22:19 NAB)



Kill Nonbelievers

They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB)

2) Suppose a man or woman among you, in one of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, has done evil in the sight of the LORD your God and has violated the covenant by serving other gods or by worshiping the sun, the moon, or any of the forces of heaven, which I have strictly forbidden. When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then that man or woman must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death. (Deuteronomy 17:2-5 NLT)

Answer 1

Rather than go through all of these examples you quote, I will make a couple general observations.

Yes, these verses portray a harsh, punitive God. You did not cite some of the verses that portray God as gentle, with maternal characteristics that would add some balance to these verses.

I will post a few at the end of this post as examples.

But I don't want to dismiss what you are saying. These verses are harsh and violent. But keep in mind that these are words from thousands of years ago in a very different kind of culture. If you compare the writings in the Bible with other literature produced during this time period, I think you will see that it is far less violent. In fact, the God of Israel, even in this way he appears in these scriptures, is far more humane and loving than other ancient Gods. And we know that it is this god who ends up winning over the others and being "the" god for the last couple millennia.

So, now a word or two about the gentle side of God:

God: “Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I who took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.”

Hosea 13:8 God described as a mother bear

God: “I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs…”

Deuteronomy 32:11-12 God described as a mother eagle

“As an eagle stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young as it spreads its wings, takes them up and bears them aloft on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him…”

Deuteronomy 32:18 God who gives birth

“You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.”

Isaiah 66:13 God as a comforting mother

God: “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 49:15 God compared to a nursing mother

God: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”

Isaiah 42:14 God as a woman in labor

God: “For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept myself still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant.”

Jeremiah 44:25 Queen of Heaven

“Thus says…the God of Israel: You and your wives have accomplished in deeds what you declared in words, ‘We are determined to …make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out libations to her.’ By all means, keep your vows and make your libations!”

Psalm131:2 God as a Mother

“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.”

Psalm 123:2 God compared to a woman

“As the eyes of a servant looks to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until God has mercy on us.”

Answer 2

The first was a test of Abraham's faith, and God stopped him just as he was going to plunge the knife into Isaac's chest, and He provided a ram for the sacrifice instead.

The second to consecrate, does not mean to kill, it means to set apart for the work of the Lord.

The rest are because along with being a loving God He is also a righteous God. He demands that a price be paid for sin. That price is death.

Answer 3

Why should I defend God? As the Protestant Reformer John Calvin noted, let the Lion out of the cage, and he will defend himself. I don't think that God needs me to explain him.

Since we are being critical thinkers here, then here is a thought: did you ever stop and consider the fact that God might be too complex for mere mortals to completely understand?

Put another way, if you could understand everything about God, then wouldn't you be God?

Answer 4

God is sovreign, meaning He knows everything. He knows the hearts of men.

The first reference is God testing Abraham. God never intended him to actually sacrifice his son. He was testing Abraham's faith in His promise that he would have descendants numerous as the stars in the sky.

God condemns any form of human sacrifice.

The second reference is out of context. Later on it says that they should take a lamb and redeem the firstborn son (meaning kill the lamb in place of the firstborn human). He never, ever accepts human sacrifices.

The third reference is a very good question. I actually don't have an answer that I could articulate very well. It comes together clearly in my own mind, but I don't think you would be able to accept it yourself.

Answer 5

I don't have to. Those verses, some of them, have much more to them.sacraficing issac...if you read on you will see that God was testing the faith of Abrham. Abraham never killed his son, the Lord sent an angel and the angel stopped him. to offer the first born, isn't to kill them, but to bless them and give them to God, like when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus in the temple. the other ones, since I'm not gonna name them all one by one, but never let a scorcerer live, and the one about gay men, he's talking about eternal life. they won't have life in heaven, whiches worship satan. you need to have more information before you post things like thins on a web site!

I hope I helped you understand, though!

:)

Answer 6

You make a good point. But the reason for all these dos and
don'ts is because God loves Humanity. The particular sins you
enumerated left unchecked would destroy Humanity in very
short order.
I Corinthians 13;8a, Love never fails!!!!!

Answer 7

This is really quite simple....You are quoting the old testament...Jesus ushered in the New Covenant....Focus on the actual words and teaching of Jesus in the new testament. When God gave us Jesus it was the start of a new deal so to speak. One where all of man's sins could be forgiven because of the price that Christ paid.

Answer 8

I do not think that God told any of the prophets of the bible these things. I think that the original translators of the bible used many of these to control people. The King James version of the bible was translated by people who worked for a greedy king that wanted more power. It is not the will of god for us to hurt each other, he just gave us free will. This led leaders to believe that they have a right to carry out the judgment of god. It is using his name in vain in the literal sense.

Answer 9

In genesis they're speaking of a peagan god, which isn't a great word to describe it, but these were the beliefs and retuals that took place before christ. At least according to the bible.

Answer 10

Ok attention every God-loving person who reads this foolish question...

LET'S ALL PRAY FOR THE PERSON WHO ASKED THIS QUESTION!

The questioner obviously only reads/hears what he wants to hear, and doesn't read the whole story. They obviously have no understanding whatsoever of the Bible, and I honestly haven't got the patience to try and explain these verses to this person, allthough I could.

So lets' just pray for him. Enough said.