Did God command genocide in the Old Testament? If so, why?
That is, the deliberate murder of a large group, based upon their ethnicity or genetic makeup
Ezekiel 25:12 - 14
ESV - 12 Thus says the Lord God : Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them. 13 Therefore thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.
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Asked October 29 2014
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pj edelman
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Danny Hickman
We talk about God "commanding" his people to do certain things that are, by nature, reprehensible. Killing is not good, to put it lightly. The scriptures make it plain that returning evil for evil done to you is not good (Prov 20:22, Lk 6:35). Then in the next breath, we hear God saying 'Go and use deadly force to rid the land of the people. The reason for the command is given; the people there are despicable.
Israel wasn't sent to get revenge against their own enemy; they didn't even know those people! See the difference? God doesn’t get revenge on his enemy (Satan). If so, Satan would be first to go down!
Killing is not OF GOD! (Satan knows it) Nothing he tells anyone to do will change that!
"The thief comes to kill steal and destroy. I (Jesus - God) have come that they may have life, and that they may have it abundantly" (John 10:10).
This is true in every instance regardless of what else God says or does. Nothing negates this truth. Believers are to stand in faith and on truth!
To "command" doesn't always mean to bark out orders; it doesn't always mean to send someone else to do your bidding. It also can mean 'to have authority over and responsibility for.'
That last meaning is the one that applies for the saying that God "commanded" his people. It means he led them in whatever he gave them the authority to do. He went with them.
The earth is the Lord's, the world, and all they that dwell therein (Psalm 24:1). The world is under his authority (command).