Commandments of Cruelty

I received this via a comment on my site, Children Are A Burden, and am posting it here for others to read.

Hi Jocelyn,

Thanks for you article. In the spirit of genuine inquiry, I would like to ask you a few questions.

First off, I notice that you state your goal is to “serve Yahweh” and I also notice that you quote Exodus 23:13 stating that you will edit pagan names and comments from these blog post as so to be in obedience with Yahweh.

You definitely seem to be a scholar of the bible and I have no doubt that you’re aware of the account of the 10 Commandments also written in the Book of Exodus. According to the 4th commandment, we are instructed to keep the Sabbath day holy.(which we take to mean that we should not work on Saturday/Sunday–whatever day you consider to be the Sabbath).

Now, with that in mind, if we advance our reading of Exodus a few chapters ahead, we find the following verse in Exodus 35:2 -

“For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.”

Also, please read Numbers 15:32 to see where a man was stoned to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath.

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. No, I am not a scholar of the Scripture. Just someone who is trying to seek and understand what the Creator has for his creation and to live accordingly.

The man mentioned in Numbers deliberately profaned a holy day. He was given instruction on how to observe the Shabbat, and choose to go against that command. No one was forced to serve Yahweh there in the desert. It is a choice everyone has to make (from then and now today), and by submitting oneself unto him you also abide by his commands. We have this same principle in our modern world. When a person wants to become a citizen of a country they agree to follow the rules of the land and pay the consequences for breaking them. This man knew the consequences of profaning the Shabbat.

You may note that in the next few verses after this incident Yahweh gives his people instructions on making tassels on the edges of their garments to “help you remember and obey all my mitzvot and be holy for your God.” It is his wish that no man should perish and there will never be a time where we cannot turn from sin and turn to him, save one.

If a parent tells their child to take out the trash or the consequences will be a grounding and the child doesn’t do it the parents must follow through or the child will not take them seriously. Better for a child to be grounded for a time then grow up to be an irresponsible, lazy person, who leads others to be bad citizens as well. Out of love for that child the parents may then decide to have the child carry a reminder so they don’t forget again.

This is the same as Yahweh did, only his are on a much higher level of life and death. Obviously there are some situations where parole/grace cannot be given and a swift judgment must be, just like now in our own courts.

In the Bible, we also find that God instructs people to be murdered for the following reasons (These are only a few!):

1. Cursing your parents (Leviticus 20:9)
2. Committing Adultery (Leviticus 20:10)
3. Following Other Religions (Exodus 22:19)

Now, with this being said, I’d like to ask you the following questions:

Q. How can Christians honestly worship and serve such a cruel God without confronting the meaning of the Bible verses listed above?

A. In the above verses you mentioned you can find that the word “death” is the Hebrew word muwth (Strong’s H4191) which also means “to die prematurely (by neglect of wise moral conduct)”. These passages (and the whole OT as well) are directive, not restrictive.

Adam and Eve were told if they ate the fruit they would surely die. It was directive and meant a death they did not expect. They did not physically die at that moment. Their lives, however, were greatly reduced in their life as it had been, and they started dying immediately.

Moreûwth (mooth); a primitive root; to die (literal or figurative); It indicates a NATURAL death in peace at an old age, as in the case of Abraham (Ge 25:8; Jgs 8:32). Dying, however, was not intended to be a natural aspect of being human. It came about through unbelief and rebellion against God so that Adam and Eve died. The word describes dying because of failure to pursue a moral life (Pr 5:34; 10:21)

Q. How can you rationalize such behavior for a supposed “All powerful and loving” God?

A. We view God and the Scriptures through a very pagan, greek-mindset whereas God himself as well as the authors understand it from a Hebrew-mindset. A lot of the text and idioms we don’t understand and aren’t educated enough in them or the culture to do so. Many Christians hold to your view that Yahweh is a hateful, vindictive being and his Son came to free us from his laws, though many don’t realize it. I don’t think I can answer this question in a way you will understand. Not because you can’t, but in light of the above statements it takes time and studying.

Q. How is it that most Christians will ignore these types of verses in the Bible and instead cherry pick verses serve them best (as you have done with Exodus 23:13)?

A. Like I said above most don’t view the Scriptures in the proper mindset and many don’t understand so they do ignore them and use the ‘cherry-picked’ ones.

Q. If we truly followed God’s/Yahweh’s word, we would have to murder most of the people on this planet. Why are we not murdering homosexuals, believers of other religions, adulterers, etc… today as commanded in the Book of Exodus?

A. No, if we (as in majority of people) were following Yahweh’s word we wouldn’t have to murder most of the people on the planet because they wouldn’t be transgressing it. Apart from that believers are instructed to take care of these matters within the church, not in the world. The priests, judges, kings, apostles were told to deal with those of the faith, not the pagans. I can only speak for myself here – I do not hold pagans to the Scriptures or expect them to follow it (though I apply my knowledge of the Scriptures to the world in general). I am called to edify and sharpen other believers.

You claim to have a “pondering heart” and seem to be a sincere, rational human being. I would suggest that you ponder such contradictions and commandments of cruelty.

If you rationalize an excuse that the the teachings of the New Testament have superseded the teachings of the Old Testament, then why is the Old Testament still being included in the biblical canon? Christians can’t pick and choose which parts of the Old Testament should and shouldn’t apply for today’s world. If they did, that would mean that God’s word can’t stand on its own and that it is imperfect and NOT timeless. And..if God’s word is imperfect and not timeless, why are we wasting time organizing our lives around it?

I was wondering the same thing….

I do not believe the Tanakh (OT) was superseded through the teachings of the Renewed Covenant (NT), though the Messiah was the final sin-sacrifice.

However, instead of having an earthly priesthood or judges or a king to rule and execute judgments over Yahweh’s people his Son is now the mediator. He will deal with all sins committed against the Father upon his return. While the Father’s commands are still valid they are no longer in the hands of any earthly-power. Every person on this earth will have the chance to accept the Messiah and confess sins against the Father before a judgment is made. Yahweh is not going to condemn anyone to eternal-death who does know “it” is sin. Every being on this earth will have a chance to repent (know their sin and turn from it).

Tags: commandments, End Times, Messiah, Torah Observant, Yahushua, Yahweh Elohim