Exodus 4:24-26 involves a circumcision that happened under pressure from the threat of God’s judgment. It seems God was willing to kill Moses right after calling him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Why would he do that, even after he told Moses that it has to be him when Moses asked him to send someone else? This incident seems to imply there was a failure to properly circumcision in Moses’s family. Since circumcision was a part of the requirements for the Abrahamic covenant and Moses was leading the Israelites, it was important that he at least kept that rule.
Continue readingTag Archives: death
Adultery and the Death Penalty
Are all adulterers suppoesd to die in the bible? When looking at Lev 20:10 and Deut 22:22 some people assume this means that ALL adultery is punishable by death. The story in John 8:1-11, about the woman caught in adultery being judged by Jesus, is usually what comes into the modern mind. However, there are alternatives to death based on the conditions in which the adultery is discovered. Jesus said in Matt 19:9 that divorce is allowed if someone commits adultery. This is based on Deut 24:1 which says that a man can divorce his wife if uncleanness is found in her. The Hebrew word translated as uncleanness is ervah (עֶרְוָה). This “uncleanness” or indecency, likely refers to some kind of wickedness like badmouthing, attempting to poison her husband, committing adultery, etc. Anything that breaks the marriage covenant and adultery definitely breaks the marriage covenant.
Continue readingWhy Is There Evil (Satan)?
If God is so good why does evil exist? Did God create evil? If evil is inevitable why didn’t God just kill Satan after he rebelled?
Continue readingStoning in the New Testament
Are people supposed to be getting stoned to death in the new covenant? The Moral laws of the old testament, still apply because they preexisted in the Sinaitic covenant (law of Moses). Adultery, murder, stealing, etc, were sins in Genesis, so rather than being specific to Israel, these laws apply to all people, through the Adamic (Adam’s) and Noahide (Noah’s) covenant. However, under the new covenant judgment for moral laws is saved until final judgment (Matt 13:24-30). This is why Jesus didn’t engage in immediate judgment (like calling fire from heaven) when Samaritans rejected him in the first century, even though James and John suggested it (Luke 9:51-56). Christians don’t stone people in the new covenant because Jesus will judge them at the end, until then they have time to repent and get saved by receiving the holy spirit.
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