But what does that mean. Consider it could mean that the history is accurate, and I would go along with that. It could mean that it can be used for teaching, the history is accurate and you must not do that i.e., kill babies and say it was God’s will. But does it mean that God wanted those babies killed even though they were totally innocent. In which case was what Jesus said wrong, It is better that a millstone be tied round your neck etc. It is conflicting. I see Jesus as The Truth, The Way, and The Life, so the OT is inerrent in that it is accurate, not necessarily that we should be copying it.
Frinders
There are several scriptures which may help us in understanding some of these difficult historical stories in the OT.
Wisdom 2:23-24 “For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it.”
Wisdom 3:1-4 “But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; “
Matt. 10:28 “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”
Thus, we see that the destiny of our souls is more precious in the eyes of our heavenly God, than the sufferings in this present time, or even the destruction of our mortal bodies.
What happens when evil grows from one generation to the next? Here is what scripture has to say about the days of Noah: Gen.6:5 ‘When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, he regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was grieved.
Here is the description of Israel before its judgment or chastisement as compared with Sodom and Gomorrah: Ezekiel 16:48-50 “As I live, says the LORD GOD, I swear that your sister Sodom, with her daughters, has not done as you and your daughters have done! And look at the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were proud, sated with food, complacent in their prosperity, and they gave no help to the poor and needy. Rather, they became haughty and committed abominable crimes in my presence; then, as you have seen, I removed them.”
Here is what the apostle Paul says about the last days: 2 Tim. 3:1-5 “But understand this: there will be terrifying times in the last days. People will be self-centered and lovers of money, proud, haughty, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, irreligious, callous, implacable, slanderous, licentious, brutal, hating what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, as they make a pretense of religion but deny its power. Reject them.”
The great accuser, Satan, accuses God for not be just toward the proud sinners, as He was with Satan. However, God is long-suffering, “He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that they would turn from their evil ways and live.” “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” His mercy is being extended to all of us.
We are stewards of God’s creation and we have failed. We are now experimenting with His creation. We are genetically combining animal genes with other animal genes, even with human genes. How long will it be until God’s creation will be completed distorted by man? I don’t know what happened to God’s creation in the days of Noah, or in the days of Joshua (who is a type of Jesus when he returns) in order for ‘innocent women and children’ and even animals to be destroyed. I do know that God is just and He is merciful.
