"I don't understand why people would want to follow and embrace a God like the one portrayed in the Old Testament," said Julie to Parker. "He's more of an embarrassment than anything. I mean if God were running for political office, what He did to Achan's family in Joshua 7 would certainly ruin His chances! I mean how can God claim to stand for justice and fairness when the deaths of innocent children for their father's mistakes seem to bring a smile to His face? If that's God's idea of fairness then I don't want any part of Him. This is probably why Christians don't talk much about the Old Testament."
Parker replied, "I know this is hard to understand Julie. I've struggled with this same issue as well. My hangup has always been that God says that children are not to be put to death for their parents' sin in Deuteronomy 24:16. But then God seems to break His own rule in Joshua 7. When I asked my parents about this they said, 'The Bible says time and again that we can not fathom the secrets of God's wisdom. And that when Job was complaining to God about the unjust deaths of His children this is the trump card He used to explain away His actions (Job 11:7-12).' I guess He can do this. After all He's God and I don't even have my driver's license yet."
Julie chimed in, "I don't have my driver's license either but that reasoning still sounds pretty stupid and naive to me. No offense Parker."
How would you contribute to this conversation?
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Parker replied, "I didn't think that my parents' explanation made much sense either. I mean Job's friends are the ones who gave that quote and I don't think they were painted in a very positive light in the book of Job. So I don't really think that we can assume their version of wisdom should be held up as the golden standard. So I guess the story still kind of confuses me. Do you have any thoughts Perry?"
"Well, if I'm not mistaken the story tells us that Achan hid the stash of loot in his tent. And unless he only stole a couple Rolex wristwatches or some diamond earrings (which he didn't), it's hard to believe that his family would not have been in the know. And so in my opinion either they didn't report him or they were in on the heist. This means that the family was just as guilty as Achan."
Julie butted in, "But it still seems outrageous for God to put someone to death for theft!"
Perry thought for a second and then responded, "Hey, I totally understand. But just remember that Adam and Eve were dished out death for simply eating a piece of fruit. This might sound like a small thing but this act brought pain and suffering to humanity and put the entire world into a crazy tailspin! And in fact, my friend told me that Joshua 7 parallels the story of Adam and Eve. Look at verse 21. Achan SAW a GOOD robe and TOOK it. This is exactly what Adam and Eve did. Eve SAW that the fruit was GOOD and TOOK it."
"Perry don't get all theological on us. That still doesn't answer the question," said Parker.
"Well actually it does. God legislates greater punishments for things that will do greater harm to His perfect creation order. He does this so that people will think twice before committing a heinous sin. And so I guess you could say that death is a kind of sin deterrent. This is why the punishments for adultery, ultra rebellious kids, kidnapping, murder, and idolatry are so strict. Just like Adam and Eve's sin, they harm the very foundations of God's world."
"But how does that relate to the story of Achan? If I'm not mistaken, the penalty for stealing is not death." asked Julie.
"You're right. But Achan didn't just steal, he was told by God to destroy everything in Jericho but didn't. Why is this a big deal? Well God's order to totally destroy everything was His way of distributing justice to the evil people of Jericho and cleansing the land (where He would dwell) of evil influences. Being that Jericho was the first military operation in the land, God wanted to use Achan to make a strong statement so that people would follow His orders going forward. After all, if every Israelite decided to play by their own rules then God's land would never be cleansed of evil. And so God totally destroyed Achan and all of his things because he had failed to do this in Jericho. I guess this was God's way of applying "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." But unfortunately God's strong statement wasn't strong enough! In the rest of Joshua and Judges we see that the people didn't do what they were told and so perfect rest was never achieved in the land. Make sense?"
"That makes some sense but it still doesn't make it easy to accept," said Parker.
"I don't think God enjoys it either. After all, He's the one who created a happy world to begin with."
I have an opinion on this topic. My opinion is that Achan's family did commit a sin.
ReplyDeleteDeuteronomy 24:16 says that the people will die for their own sin. Achan's family might have known about his sin [not stated in the Bible], and they kept it from Israel. Maybe they were greedy and wanted the stuff Achan found, and they wanted to be a secret too. Therefore, it became THEIR sin as well, and the consequence was death. God must have seen the wickedness in the hearts of Achan's family with proof of how in Job 11:7-12.
In conclusion, God did not break his own rule because Achan's family also sinned and died for it. Any comments, questions, or concerns about my comment would be appreciated because this is an OPINION.
Awesome response Chas! It is interesting that Achan hid the stolen items in his tent. I am not sure how big the stash of stolen items was but I can guess it would be hard to keep this a secret from the family. I think you just might be on to something here!
ReplyDeleteSomeone recently pointed out to me that Exodus 34:7 and Exodus 20:5 directly contradict Deuteronomy 24:16. Here's what they say,
ReplyDelete"You shall not bow down to them [images] or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation OF THOSE WHO HATE ME." Exodus 20:5
"He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." Exodus 34:7
The confusion here stems from the translation of the verse. Notice how the more literal ESV translates the verses.
"You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation OF THOSE WHO HATE ME." Exodus 20:5
"Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." Exodus 34:7
Do you notice a difference? The Hebrew text does not say that children will be punished FOR the iniquity of their fathers. The text says, "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children." What does this mean? God will punish the children in the same way He punished their fathers if they continue to HATE GOD and sin in the same way! Therefore, God is consistent in what He reveals in the Bible. He will not punish us FOR the sins of our fathers. BUT He will punish in the same way He punished our fathers if we continue down the same path of rebellion!
I'd love to hear what you think about this explanation. Do you agree or disagree? Why?