Mulling it over

I've been thinking it over further (and conversing with others). I think I need to point out a couple of things that didn't come across in earlier conversations.

I have maintained that the commands in places like Leviticus 20 carry two components. One component is the law -- "This is illegal" -- and the second component is the penalty -- "This is what should be done about it." I have maintained that I don't get to carry out the penalty; that's the job of the government. My job is to obey the law. Now, since the government is no longer a theocracy (as it was in Leviticus), the government no longer carries out most of the penalties listed there. That's not my problem. I have maintained that the failure of the government to carry out those penalties in no way nullifies whether or not the law is still in effect. As long as the law isn't repealed, it is still "illegal" even if the penalty isn't carried out.

One question you will hear (I know because it has been thrown my way) is "Oh, so, you would be willing to kill homosexuals since God says that they get the death penalty?" That really misses the point. Like I said, the penalty was never the task of the rank and file. It was the task of the governing authorities. Even Old Testament law included such things as trials. Death penalty offenses required two or more witnesses. That is, those two witnesses didn't get to simply go out and kill whomever was doing the capital offense. There was a governmental authority that carried out the penalty. So ... no, I am not willing to ignore the government that Paul says I am supposed to honor (Rom 13:1) to carry out a penalty I am not authorized to carry out.

Of course, the skeptic won't leave it at that. "But ... if you were told by God to kill everyone in a particular town, including men, women, and children, would you do it?" My friend pointed out how similar that was to when the Pharisees brought the woman "caught in adultery" to Jesus. "She was caught! Are you going to kill her?" They weren't interested in justice or morality. (If they were -- and she was genuinely caught -- where was the guy?) No, no, this wasn't a matter of obeying the law. This was a matter of attempting to put Jesus between a rock and a hard place. Jesus didn't do them the favor of getting cornered. Instead, He responded with the truth. "He who is without sin cast the first stone." And I end up in a similar situation. If God told me to do something like that (and it was undeniably God speaking as it was when God spoke to Moses, for instance, and I didn't sin by failing to obey and God didn't stop me like He did Abraham) (in other words, lots of "ifs"), it seems to me that I've boiled it down to a simple question. Do I obey God or don't I? The really baffling question is the reverse. To you who are questioning, do you not? God Himself tells you in some undeniable way to do something and you say, "No!"? I know. I'm regarded as the loon because I would like to think I'd do what God commands me. Somehow, to me, deciding to intentionally, in advance, willfully refuse a command from God is more ... insane.

One other thing that I was mulling over regarding the incident was the series of events that led up to Numbers 31's "kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him." You see, this isn't an event in a vacuum. This was from Moses under God's command. "Yeah, sure, how would I know that?" This was the guy who showed up in Egypt and brought about 10 plagues. He's the guy that told Pharaoh, "Thus says the Lord, 'Let My people go.'" He's the guy that told them to pack before anyone was released. He's the one who parted the Red Sea. That's not something you see every day. He's the one who had them gather around Mount Sinai where God Himself descended and spoke to Israel. Most people don't know this, but the 10 Commandments weren't given first to Moses. They were spoken first by God to Israel. Their response? They told Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die" (Exo 20:19). Moses is the one who went up to the mountain and spoke with God. He's the one who had to cover his face because the time he spent with God face to face was visible ... and scary. Every message from God came through Moses. He was the one who gave them manna and quail and water at God's command. Well, the list is long and not minor. No, Moses didn't ask them in a vacuum, "Hey, guys, if you're not doing anything, how about killing these people?" No, no. He was the undeniable representative of God. The rebellion of Korah was just a few chapters ago where God opened up the earth and swallowed 250 people. So ... given all that, are you going to say, "No, I don't think so."?

Sometimes I wonder about people and their questions. When did God decide that that which was abominable to Him before is now okay? When the government stopped enforcing the law? Why would I think that I should kill people who violate God's law? Was it ever thus? And why -- really -- why would anyone ask whether it's a good idea to do what God says or not? Sometimes I just don't get it.