God’s Commission to Kill the Midianites (Part 1)

R.A. Torrey, in his book Difficulties in the Bible, devotes a chapter to the slaughter of the Canaanites/Midianites by God’s command (Numbers 31). The difficulty arises with reconciling the New Testament idea of a loving God with such a harsh Divine command. Torrey puts forth seven points, which I have summarized and reduced to five. I will present each and respond to them individually in separate posts.

  1. Extermination of peoples is horrible but utter moral corruption and debasement so pervasive as was seen in the Canaanites/Midianites is far worse. They had become a moral cancer threatening the whole human race. The removal of this cancer is kindness on the part of God. He goes on to say that the Bible is not the only source of this information.

My View
Firstly, what is wrong is wrong. No matter the depths to which the Canaanites/Midianites had bent, they were still God’s ‘children’ (New Testament understanding) and a ‘loving Father’ would never go to the extent of killing his children, despite their evil. He would try ways and means of correcting them, even chastise them if necessary. But I don’t think he would kill them because of their stubbornness and justify it as the better thing to do.

Secondly, he justifies the act calling it kindness. If this were so, then Euthanasia would also be an act of kindness and hence, not wrong. The ISIS’ agenda seems to follow a similar reasoning. Their killing of so-called ‘infidels’ is an act of kindness toward them, saving them from the full wrath of Allah.


Thirdly, he goes on to say that the Bible is not the only source of this information but fails to mention the other sources, unless of course, there were none!

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