Where in the Bible does God command His people to commit genocide?

Question

A friend in bible study says that there's genocide in the bible. Really?

Answer 1

Leviticus 26:7-8
Joshua 6:1-20

Just a couple there.

Basically "God wants us to have this land, so give it to us or we'll kill you". Wow, and christians say god is loving (remember, this is the same unchanging god as the one in the new testament).

Answer 2

The Old Testament acknowledges frankly that there is "a time to kill" (Eccles. 3:3). At various times in the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to defend their nation by force of arms. Yet it was always with the recognition that peace is the goal to be worked for. Thus the psalmist exclaims, "how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!" (Ps. 133:1). Peace is the goal, but when it cannot be achieved without force, force must be used.

In the same way, the New Testament sets forth the goal of peace but acknowledges the legitimate use of force. It does so by John the Baptist's acknowledgment that Roman soldiers, whose job it was to enforce the Pax Romana, or "Peace of Rome," could keep their jobs (Luke 3:14) and by Paul's observation that the state "does not bear the sword in vain" but is "God's servant for your good" (Rom. 13:4).

Just a thought, and a personal opinion at that. The Israelites were told to kill everyone, including women and children, but they disobeyed God. Question: Had they obeyed God 100% would we have a problem in the Middle East today?

Peace and every blessing!

Answer 3

The old testament is rife with it.
After god killed off the 1st born of Egypt, He commanded the Israelites to basically invade Caanan. Cities like Jericho were demolished. Later, he commands the leaders like Saul to conquer nations, leaving no man, woman, or child alive.

Their crime? They were in the Israelites' way and didn't believe in the same things.

You'll hear excuses that the people killed were evil and had to be totally wiped out. (though the Egyptians weren't). But doesn't this just show that god is limited? Were there no Jonahs around to preach to them like Niniveh (sp?).

Plus, an outsider looking in would say the same about the Israelites. Bloodthirsty, women oppressing, slave trading, animal sacrificing, xenophobic, religious fanatics.

Answer 4

There are a couple of theories. First off, the nephilim, half human, half angel. They were very tall, very powerful, and unfortunately, evil and man could not coexist with them. They were the reason for the flood, but some excaped, eventually started new tribes, and continued on. So some areas were full of nephilim and their descendants, carrying on their evil. I would say cannibalism, but the ones they consumed weren't nephilim, they were human, so that wouldn't be quite right.

Then there were the tribes who followed Baal, which was into human sacrifice, usually babies. These had to be wiped out, as human sacrifice was and is, an abomination. One of the 12 tribes was substituted and they lost their place of being the chosen people because of human sacrifice, they were replaced with the half-tribe of Manesseh.

So basically, the genocide as you call it, was to wipe out those who made human sacrifices, either like the nephilim who ate humans, or the followers of Baal who considered it a religious rite.

Answer 5

God is a God of love. Unfortunately, there were unique times during the Old Testament when things had to happen for a purpose.
(I have a few distinct understandings from traditional beliefs. If a theologian proposes a limited love from God, I question it)

God's main focus was to prepare the world for the Messiah to come and correct the problems caused at the time of Adam and Eve. Before His birth, the supporting people need to be saintly, holy, god-centered.

Straight after Adam and Eve fell, Christ could have been born, but a holy proof needed to be there. So Abel made an successful offering .... the world would be so easy to save with a population of less than 10. But after Cain killed Abel, God couldn't send the Messiah to that family.

During Noah's time (Gen 6 to 9), humankind was so corrupt, that genocide was used to bring the world back to a population similar to Adam's family. Noah's son, Ham, showed a lack of faith in God's chosen hero, causing the rest of the population (his brothers) to also turn their backs on him.
All that preparation was lost.

The first command for God's chosen to commit genocide was Gen 22. Abraham knew his son was going to be the father of a nation, yet God asked for that son to be a burnt sacrifice. After 3 harrowing days, Abraham led Isaac to an alter where an angel stopped him with the message "Now I know that you fear God" (because in Gen 15, Abraham was less serious in his offerings. He slept instead of finishing the job of cutting the birds in two)

Even 400 years after Israel returned to their land from Egypt, the land of Israel still had many tribes with idol worshippers and pagan beliefs.
So in 1 Sam 15, King Saul was instructed to commit genocide against one of those tribes.
He didn't.
If he did, all other tribes may have abandoned the land before the Israelites got there.
Because he didn't, it took more than 40 years of bloody fighting till King David overran the last tribe that lived in Jerusalem.

Again, the Messiah could have been born then. However, David committed adultery. Solomon had a chance too, but then allowed his wives from other countries to build alters with idols within the Holy land ...
... failure...
so then Israel was divided, attacked, exiled to Babylon, and only after they returned with determination to re-focus on the Temple and the 10 Commandments, could they prepare for the Messiah to be born.

Answer 6

Deut-7

Answer 7

God gives life and He can take it away. His laws does not apply to Him,they are made to protect us. God has authority to do whatever He thinks is along His character. You do not like it, too bad. God is God no matter what we think of Him.

Jesus said that wars will be among us. He said that a lot of people will do bad things in His name. There are many things recorded in the Bible that are not acceptable behavior by God. We all fall short from the glory of God.

Answer 8

It's in the OT, the reference is :

.Samuel :1 Samuel said to Saul: "It was I the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now, therefore, listen to the message of the LORD.

2 This is what the LORD of hosts has to say: 'I will punish what Amalek did to Israel when he barred his way as he was coming up from Egypt.

3:1 Go, now, attack Amalek, and deal with him and all that he has under the ban. Do not spare him, but kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and asses..

It's something that's in a lot of controversy, by the way, because you can clearly see that it is Samuel saying all this, claiming it's from God.

Peace,

Simon Templar

Answer 9

God told the Jews to kill all the people of Jericho(and david and saul to wipe out anoher nation)...but i believe it was a gene pool problem. The were not human... nephilum.
Remember the spy's we afraid to enter the promise land... it was because nephilim are really tall and have 6 fingers...
That is the reason Indians put up their hand when they greet to see they didn't have 5 fingers.Believe God knows what hes doing!

Answer 10

He doesn't tell them to, he just sets the example by doing things like flooding the world thereby killing everyone but Noah's family.

He wiped out Sodom & Gommorah.

Killed every first born child in Egypt.

He just loves to lead by example!