Just to show that He can?
Ezekiel 21:1-5
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to her: 'This is what the LORD says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. 5 Then all people will know that I the LORD have drawn my sword from its scabbard; it will not return again.'
First off, observe that unlike Paul’s declaration in Romans 3:10, "that there are none righteous", here we have God himself declaring that there really are some that are righteous, and even in the Old Testament days. Hmmm… This cannot be! God must have been wrong here!
Notice further in the passage above that we also have God killing off even the “righteous” along with the wicked. Why? What is the stated reason for doing this? So that “all people will know that I am the LORD” and that He has “drawn” His “sword from its scabbard”. Apparently even the righteous are not safe from this beings wrath. This contradicts scriptures all over the place.
Does anyone else see a problem with this?
Well, now I know that God kills off the righteous along with the wicked so that I will know that, He is the one who kills off the righteous along with the wicked, and that he is the LORD. Nice marketing plan! His ways certainly are not our ways. I would guess that this probably worked about as well as all of the other failed strategies He tried on His people. Why can’t He ever figure out how to show Himself to His people in a way that will gain both their admiration and respect? Can’t He just show up on earth in person sometime with full invincibility and unlimited ammo enabled? Or what if He were to use His mind reading capabilities for good and kill off only the truly wicked? You know guys like Hitler! That might work a little better, IMO. Now that would probably make the whole world stand up and notice Him. But instead we always have to send our own sons to die by the millions until such an evil person is defeated. Of course, I forgot that according to the Bible, God is the one who placed Hitler in power to begin with. I suppose that means that all who fought against Hitler in the war were really working in opposition to God's will. Good thing that makes sense!?
I am sure glad that most mere men have better sense than this. Any man who recommended this course of action to solve anything would be, or should be, regarded as insane. But here, the only Christian response is likely to be, “blessed be the name of the LORD.” And in so doing they are really giving approval to this kind of behavior. They have no other choice, do they?
Can anyone explain what is going on in this passage in a way that makes God come out smelling like a rose?
Ezekiel 21:1-5
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to her: 'This is what the LORD says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. 5 Then all people will know that I the LORD have drawn my sword from its scabbard; it will not return again.'
First off, observe that unlike Paul’s declaration in Romans 3:10, "that there are none righteous", here we have God himself declaring that there really are some that are righteous, and even in the Old Testament days. Hmmm… This cannot be! God must have been wrong here!
Notice further in the passage above that we also have God killing off even the “righteous” along with the wicked. Why? What is the stated reason for doing this? So that “all people will know that I am the LORD” and that He has “drawn” His “sword from its scabbard”. Apparently even the righteous are not safe from this beings wrath. This contradicts scriptures all over the place.
Does anyone else see a problem with this?
Well, now I know that God kills off the righteous along with the wicked so that I will know that, He is the one who kills off the righteous along with the wicked, and that he is the LORD. Nice marketing plan! His ways certainly are not our ways. I would guess that this probably worked about as well as all of the other failed strategies He tried on His people. Why can’t He ever figure out how to show Himself to His people in a way that will gain both their admiration and respect? Can’t He just show up on earth in person sometime with full invincibility and unlimited ammo enabled? Or what if He were to use His mind reading capabilities for good and kill off only the truly wicked? You know guys like Hitler! That might work a little better, IMO. Now that would probably make the whole world stand up and notice Him. But instead we always have to send our own sons to die by the millions until such an evil person is defeated. Of course, I forgot that according to the Bible, God is the one who placed Hitler in power to begin with. I suppose that means that all who fought against Hitler in the war were really working in opposition to God's will. Good thing that makes sense!?
I am sure glad that most mere men have better sense than this. Any man who recommended this course of action to solve anything would be, or should be, regarded as insane. But here, the only Christian response is likely to be, “blessed be the name of the LORD.” And in so doing they are really giving approval to this kind of behavior. They have no other choice, do they?
Can anyone explain what is going on in this passage in a way that makes God come out smelling like a rose?
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