Filed under Exodus (book of), God on November 8
Question 155, from Matt, United Kingdom
Does God have evil thoughts? [With reference to Exodus chapter 32, verse 14]
In this verse in Exodus, Moses appeals to Yahweh not to destroy the Israelites who had been practising idolatry. According to the text, Yahweh relents from destroying them. In some versions of the Bible this is described as “The LORD relented from the evil that he was about to do to his people.”
The idea that God can commit ‘evil’ is fairly nonsensical in many Christian theological viewpoints. God is often regarded as (more…)
Filed under Bible (General), Exodus (book of), God, Predestination, free will on March 23
Question 146, from Carol, United Kingdom
Why is there such as difference in God’s attitude to mankind between the Old and New Testament? e.g. If God gave everyone a free will why did he then override this and harden Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus so that he wouldn’t release the Israelites from Egypt?
There are two big questions here based on two very big assumptions. The first is the assumption that there is a major difference between the way God is depicted as acting towards human beings in the Old Testament compared to the New. The second assumption is that human beings have free will, which God ignored when God chose to ‘harden Pharaoh’s heart’.
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Filed under Bible (Old Testament), Exodus (book of), sacrifices on February 27
Question 115, from SD, United Kingdom
This answer is sponsored by star in a jar
I have a question about Exodus chapter 34, verse 20. Why doesn’t God want first-born donkeys as a sacrifice? I can understand why he’d want us to redeem our first-born son, but donkeys…?
Exodus chapter 34 recounts God making a new covenant with the Israelite people after the Ten Commandments were inscribed on new stone tablets. Exodus chapter 32, verse 19 records that the original stone tablets were smashed by Moses when he returned to the Israelite camp and saw the people worshipping an idol in the shape of a golden calf.
The covenant in Exodus chapter 34 is a reaction to the Israelite idolatry. Verses 31 and 14 contain a command to destroy the idols of other races; verse 17 explicitly states “Do not make cast idols.” As part of this campaign against apostasy, all the first-born are to be given over to Yahweh (verse 19), except for donkeys and children.
Children were sacrificed in religious rites of the cultures surrounding the Israelites and so (more…)