Deut 20:10-18 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. 11 And it shall come about, if it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then it shall be that all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you. 12 However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword. 14 Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God has given you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby. 16 Only in the (nearby) cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the LORD your God has commanded you, 18 in order that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the LORD your God. NASB
Why did God in the Old Testament allow and sometimes even command practices He later condemns and for which He later punishes us? These might include animal sacrifice, polygamy, revenge and refuge laws, an eye for an eye, and the mass execution of the Canaanite people. Honest people often question why God would permit and sometimes demand that the Israelites kill every man, woman and child of the Amorites.
By our standards, it seems harsh, indefensible, and it is certainly confusing. It reminds us all too much of the jihadist principles of the radical Islamists who blew up the Twin Towers or ISIS, whose behaviors we abhor. It causes some to think of the God of the Old Testament as a monster who is fundamentally different than the God of the New Testament.
Particularly we are scandalized by the Lord’s directed genocide of the Amorite people (Canaanites) in the Old Testament. If we did that today, we would be brought before World Courts and imprisoned or summarily hung as we saw happen to Saddam Hussein, ruler of Iraq. Other dictators have been condemned to die or would have been if they had not taken their lives or were killed trying to escape; e.g., Pol Pot, various Nazi leaders, Kaddafi, etc. The explanation of these puzzling moral dilemmas is found in God’s latitudinal superiority over mankind and in the principle of progressive revelation of God over time.
God’s Latitudinal Superiority over Mankind
God’s latitudinal superiority over mankind means that there are significant differences in authority between God and His created beings. It means that God is higher than us. His “latitude” is higher than ours. God is above us in existence, power and moral authority. We are not “latitudinally” equal to God, even though we often act as if we are.
One significant difference, of course, is that we humans are NOT God. When we kill people we violate divine laws and human laws that proceed from divine precepts. We assume a right that belongs only to God, the Creator. But God is not human, and He is not held to the same laws as are we humans. For instance, God created us
and is morally allowed to end our lives at will.
We have come to think of God as our equal, and so we tend to hold Him to our standards, but it is not morally correct or appropriate to do so. When we do kill others legally, we do so only with God’s permission or at God’s instruction. Self-defense is permitted (and even required) by God and thus by man’s courts and may involve taking human life. Capital punishment properly done is a morally justified response to certain crimes against mankind, and it is allowed and sometimes directed by God.
Just war is permitted, even required by God. If we had not confronted Germany and Japan militarily, we would have shirked a moral responsibility, justice would have not been done and the innocent would have suffered even more. God permitted us and directed us to drop bombs on Berlin and Hiroshima even though innocent men, women and children died there.
God is the Creator and we are created beings. We exist at His pleasure. While we have a distinct right to life as it relates to our fellow man, we have no intrinsic right to exist as it relates to God. He can end our life anytime He wishes to do so. God is not capricious, but He is sovereign. God is the potter and we are the clay. The potter can smash the pot if it is displeasing to Him, or if it is no longer necessary to His purpose.
Our life on earth has a divine finite purpose and, once that has been accomplished, we can and should be moved on to our divine eternal purpose(referring to our death). God and only God is the authorized “mover.”
Isa 29:16 You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, that what is made should say to its maker, “He did not make me;” or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? NASB
Isa 45:9-10 “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker — an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’? 10 “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?'” NASB
Rom 9:20-21 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use? NASB
It is not murder when God takes our life. He is God. If we take a life, we are usurping the role of God. That is sin. If God tells us to end a human life, e.g., self-defense, capital punishment or just war, we do not sin. We are merely His instruments. Of course, we are responsible to know that it really is God (not just some personal feeling) telling us to take human life.
The radical Islamists think (erroneously) that they are obeying God when they take human life. Saul of Tarsus thought (erroneously) that he was obeying and honoring God
by taking Christians captive and by participating in their executions. In fact, much of human slaughter down through the years has been erroneously justified in the name of God.
God told Israel to drive out or wipe out the Amorites (Canaanites), BUT it was only after He had tried for 400 years in many efforts to persuade them to repent. He was well within His prerogative to punish them, to judge them, to drive them out and/or to end their lives. Over 50 times in the first seven books of the Old Testament, God told Israel to drive out the Amorites or chastised them when they did not; e.g., Ex 20:28-31, Num 22:6, 32:21, Dt 6:18-19 and Josh 13:6 and 14:12. It was when they would not leave, that God told Israel to annihilate them.
The Amorites could have moved out of Canaan and continued to live in exile, but most of them chose to stand and fight. God warned Israel that if they let the Canaanites live in the land among them, they would inter-marry with them and be led astray. That is, in fact, exactly what happened.
Deut 7:1-5 “When the LORD your God shall bring you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and shall clear away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2 and when the LORD your God shall deliver them before you, and you shall defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. 3 Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4 For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you. 5 But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. NASB
Num 33:50-56 Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, 51 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; 53 and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. 54 ‘And you shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger you shall give more inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give less inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. 55’ But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land in which you live. 56 ‘And it shall come about that as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you. NASB
Ex 23:23-24 For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them. 24 You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them, and break their sacred pillars in pieces. NASB
1 Sam 15:3 ‘Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ …1 Sam 15:9-12 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. 10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night. …1 Sam 15:17-19 And Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the LORD anointed you king over Israel, 18 and the LORD sent you on a mission, and said,’ Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ 19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” NASB
God could have eliminated all the Canaanites by plague, but the proliferation of bacteria would have caused an ecological disaster. He could have “nuked” them like He did Sodom and Gomorrah, but that process would have rendered the land uninhabitable for future generations (as it did with Sodom and Gomorrah).
So God used the Israelites as the instruments of His justice as He used the Allied Forces in World War II. God can kill whomever He deems necessary, any time He deems it appropriate, and He will be morally guiltless.
Progressive Revelation
Another part of the answer to our conundrum is found in something I said earlier when I said, “according to our standards.” This relates to the culture and the level of revelation
of any people at any time. It is not God who was harsh in Old Testament times. It was the culture, the standards, and the understanding of the age in which God was dealing with humans. As more light (understanding) came into the people and to their cultures over time, God’s behaviors changed, and His requirements on our behaviors changed.
In other words, revelation progresses as our culture and understanding progress. Jesus spoke to this principle when He talked to the people of His day about why God allowed divorce in Moses’ day, but does not do so from the time of Christ forward. Progressive revelation is based on cultural maturity.
Matt 19:3-8 And some Pharisees came to Him, testing Him, and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said,’ For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 “Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. NASB
Let’s look at some modern examples. In the 1940s and 1950s, less than a century ago, Americans believed that cigarette smoking was sophisticated, a rite of passage and a sign of maturity. Drinking while driving was commonplace and considered a right. Segregation was considered normative by both white and black communities. The founding fathers who cried out for liberty and justice for all, nevertheless in the Constitution, valued black people as partial humans for voting purposes.
We should not expect our forefathers to walk in the light that we have only recently been given in our day. It is wrong to judge them as evil or morally defective as if they understood what was right at the level we do and did wrong anyway. Revelation of truth is progressive.
The founding fathers kept slaves as did the biblical patriarchs, but God does not allow it today in western cultures. Just as we pick our battles with developing children, God did not address every evil in every age. It has to do with the maturity of the children, not the morality of God.
“But, you say, they should have known better! After all, we get it!” It is only our hubris that makes us think that we are more moral than our ancestors, when, in fact, we are only more revealed. We do not have better hearts. We have better understanding. We do not have more scruples. We have more light. To whom much is given is much required.
Luke 12:47-48 “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. NASB
Another example is the treatment of children. Until Jesus elevated the status of children in the New Testament, children were considered as chattel. It was Jesus who taught us to value them. Daughters were mechanisms of family enrichment through marriage, and sons were, for the most part, laborers. Jacob had ten son/laborers and two sons he considered as precious.
Even their mothers gave them functional names. Reuben means “behold, a male child” meaning “see what I have done? Now you must love me, Jacob!” Simeon means “God hears me” meaning now Jacob will love me. Levi means “attachment” in hopes that Jacob will now attach himself to her. Judah means “praise” in hopes that she can finally give praise to God for Jacob’s love. These sons were all mechanisms for her to capture Jacob’s preferential love.
Gen 29:31-35 Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she named him Judah. NASB
Rachel, unable to conceive, gave her maid, Bilhah to Jacob. Rachel named Bilhah’s first son, Dan, meaning “he will serve as a judge between me and my sister.” Bilhah’s second son Rachel named, Naphtali, meaning “I have wrestled with my sister and won.”
Leah fought back by giving her maid, Zilpah to Jacob. Leah named Zilpah’s first son, Gad, meaning “he is my good fortune” in my running battle with Rachel. Leah named Zilpah’s second son, Asher, meaning “he has made me happy. I am triumphing over Rachel! (It is a good thing Zilpah stopped producing sons, or we might have had Goofy, Grumpy, Dopey and Sleepy ?).
Then Leah purchased with mandrakes some “quality time” with Jacob from Rachel, and produced another son named Issachar meaning, “I got my money’s worth on this deal. I received my just wages.” This was strictly a business transaction for all involved parties, including Leah, Rachel, Jacob and eventually, Issachar.
Gen 30:14-18 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, then Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I gave my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
Finally, Leah produced a sixth son and named him Zebulun meaning dwelling saying “Now Jacob will have to dwell in my tent rather than Rachel’s. However, it did not happen that way. Her six sons and an eventual daughter, Dinah, failed to win her Jacob’s preferential love. When Rachel conceived and bore a son, she named him Joseph, meaning may God add more to me than just this one.
Gen 30:19-24 And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21 And afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. 23 So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 And she named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me another son.” NASB
Dying in childbirth, she named her second son, Ben-oni, meaning “son of my pain.” Jacob countermanded her order and renamed him Benjamin, “son of my right hand.”
Gen 35:16-19 Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor. 17 And it came about when she was in severe labor that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for now you have another son.” 18 And it came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni (son of my pain); but his father called him Benjamin (beloved son or son of my right hand). NASB
Jacob finally takes ownership in one of his 13 children. Even later when Dinah gets raped, Jacob is concerned more about the political ramifications than the feelings or well-being of his daughter. It was only her brothers who felt for her plight (and their shame).
Gen 34:30-31 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I shall be destroyed, I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?” NASB
The marginalization of children was the common practice in the ancient world. Boys were not allowed into the presence of the male community (outside of their own family) until they passed through the ritual of bar mitzvah. Girls seldom fraternized publicly with males (even family members) until they were engaged to be married.
So when little children were drawn to Jesus and approached Him familiarly, the apostles drove them away as a nuisance in a culturally appropriate manner. It was actually Jesus (not the disciples) whose behavior toward children was culturally inappropriate in His day. Jesus came to teach us godly thinking and to raise our culture to godly levels.
Matt 18:10-11 “See that you do not despise (undervalue) one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven. NASB
Matt 19:13-14 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. KJV
Matt 19:13-15 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 And after laying His hands on them, He departed from there. NASB
Mark 10:13-16 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. KJV
Luke 18:15-17 And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He might touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. 16 But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all.” NASB
The non-Christian cultures in our world today still operate in pre-Christian thinking. They think of their children as workers. They think of them as expendable objects. They think of them as mechanisms of betterment. (“My daughter will gain the family 3 cows.”) They work them, sell them and kill them at will.
What these people do is evil, but these people are not themselves evil. They are just captured in a past cultural understanding that is unenlightened and pre-Christian. Theirs is a level of revelation that has not progressed since the days before the coming of Jesus into the world.
Jesus was known, sometimes with cynicism, as a friend of marginalized people of all kinds, including little children. He taught us to love and respect all men and women
and even little children. He elevated the status of children from that time forward in Christian circles.
However, in non-Christian cultures even today, children remained disposable and continue to be marginalized. They are used as human shields, sex objects, suicide bombers and slave labor, by their own parents and nearest relatives. Many children are systematically exterminated to maintain favorable gender ratios in some modern cultures.
In our present culture, we hold ourselves to a high standard of protection of our children. We know it is wrong to neglect or abuse children because of our level of revelation, but other, less revealed cultures simply do not understand it, even in modern times.
Revelation is a gift from God. It is only our hubris that makes us think others should understand what God had revealed to us. We act as if we know these things because we are brilliant and naturally morally upright. We, therefore assume others are stupid and naturally evil.
God never looks at people as evil. He looks at their deeds as evil, but He looks at people as “captured.” That is why God sent a Messiah to “set the captives free.” When Jesus proclaimed in Nazareth that He was the Messiah (Lk 4:18), He quoted the job description of the Messiah from Isaiah 61:1-2. He came, He said, to set “the captives” free.
Luke 4:17-19 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him (Jesus). And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, 19 to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” NASB
Isa 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; 2 to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, … NASB
Many of the behaviors of the Old Testament saints seem unfair by our standards, but were done at God’s direction or with His permission. Abraham (reluctantly) at Sarah’s insistence and with God’s collaboration drove Ishmael away from the family to protect Isaac and the plan of God. Then he gave money to the sons of his later wife, Keturah, and sent them away for the same reason; i.e., to protect Isaac and the plan of God.
Gen 21:9-14 Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named. 13 And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. NASB
Gen 25:5-6 Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac; 6 but to the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east. NASB
Jacob doted on Joseph, treating him as a prince, but he worked his 10 older sons like mules. God could have required the patriarchs to behave in accordance with the culture of the twenty-first century, but instead God related to them within their cultural context. Culture is part of the language of any people. When missionaries, emissaries and ambassadors reach out to any nation, they must do so within the context of their culture and in their language, if they wish to be successful. So did God in every age.
Between about 3700 BC and 800 BC, God related to people in light of their pantheistic polytheistic culture. He referred to Himself as the “Most High” God, “the God above all other gods,” the God who created all things and therefore was superior to all other gods. The people were incapable of understanding monotheism.
The first monotheistic culture in the world was the 10th century BC Egyptian worship of Aten, but it lasted only one generation. It was the 8th century BC prophets of Israel who told us that there was only one God and that all other gods were stone and wood. Revelation has been progressive down through history. God had to relate to people within the cultural understanding of the day if He wanted to relate to them at all.
In light of the ancient culture of lex taliones (the law of retaliation), God set up cities of refuge to allow people to escape the vengeance of the feud (Num 35:9-15). Through Moses, God limited retaliation to “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
When Jesus came to us, He taught us to love and forgive our enemies, to turn the other cheek. Revelation had progressed between the time of Moses to the time of Christ (1400 years). It was not God who was learning, growing and progressing. It was mankind. The Bible says that God sent His son, Jesus, “at the appointed time;” i.e., the time when we were ready to receive Him.
The Bible teaches us that over time mankind deteriorated physically, mentally and morally from the incredible Godlike creatures that were Adam and Eve, made in the very image of God, to the violent, immoral and corrupt creatures that now we refer to as “cave men.” Sin darkened our minds and corrupted our morality until we were not even capable of doing “good” on a consistent basis.
Gen 6:11-12 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. NASB
When Jesus came into the world, the “light of God” re-entered the world with Him as part of the redemptive process, and mankind became able to be morally upright once again.
Rom 8:6-8For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. NASB
As we walk in God’s light, our moral uprightness and our mental capacity to reason increases, we can and are held to higher standards. The progressive light of God in our lives allows God to reveal Himself and His ways more fully.
John 1:6-13 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light. 9 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. NASB
This is clearly seen in the way we relate to our developing children. At four months old we expect children to do infantile things, but at four years or fourteen years of age we expect different behaviors (due to progressively higher revelation) and we respond accordingly. However, if dementia sets in or mental development is retarded, our expectations are lowered again in accordance with people’s revealed understanding.
As God’s light (revelation) in our lives and cultures progresses, God relates to us accordingly. It is fundamentally true that revelation progresses over time and will continue to do so until we are fully in the presence of God. Some day we will look back from the throne room of God upon our behaviors and values in this age and see some of them as barbaric in light of our revelation in heaven, but understandable in light of the revelation we had on earth.
1 Cor 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known. NASB
Let’s look at some other scriptural other examples of progressive revelation in the Bible.
1 Kings 1:3 Now Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
Solomon starts out fully devoted to God like David was devoted, except Solomon was a bit more “modern” in his religious practice. He worshipped on the “high places.” Ancient Mesopotamians sacrificed to idols built on large flat top mountains. Sometimes they constructed mountain-like structures called ziggurats. Examples include the tower of Babel and the pyramid type temples.
They associated God with a place, particularly a high place. Mount Hermon, for example,
was thought of as the temple of Pan (and of other gods). Tying a god to a place made it easy to come and go at will in their interaction with their deities.
God, however, has always wanted His people to meet Him in relationship, not just in a place or location. High places were forbidden early in the Bible (Lev 26:30), but they were commonly used by ancient peoples, so God at times showed some tolerance of high places when the object of their worship was Himself. At other times he chose to overlook these practices in order to deal with more serious issues.
Parents cannot deal with all issues at one time or it would swamp the child with “revelation” and discipline, so they “pick their battles.” In a similar manner, God did not want to overwhelm us with too many issues at one time, so He, too, picked His battles over the centuries.
God first met with Moses, and later, His people, on Mt. Sinai. God knew that ancient peoples expected to find gods on mountains. Gradually, He weaned people off of their expectations of finding God on mountains and taught them to expect to find God in relational covenants instead. Jesus went up on Mt. Hermon specifically to wage war with Satan and “to assault the gates of Hades” (Mt 16: 13-20; 17:1-8).
God systematically taught against high places, and progressively spoke against them more and more strongly as time went along, as He did with many other things. When Jesus was asked by the Samaritan woman at the well which mountain was the proper mountain for worship, His answer revealed that God seeks heart-based relationship not location-based ritual.
John 4:19-24 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. 22 “You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. NASB
Revelation in the Bible is progressive and, therefore, so is accountability. God has to teach us fundamentals before He teaches us nuances. “Let’s get them to stop performing pagan sexual rituals before we worry about teaching them where to have church.” God has to speak to people in “the language they understand” in order to lead them out of sin. As noted earlier, the “language” of a people includes their culture; i.e., their ways of thinking and doing.
To the patriarchs, God said, “I am the Most High God above all other gods.” To the prophets, He said, “I am the one and only God. There is no other.” When Jesus came among us, He said, “God is fully revealed in Me.” This is progressively higher revelation revealed to us over time.
The concept of “You must have only one God” precedes the concept of “you must have only one wife,” so polygamy is tolerated in the Old Testament. “You must stop murdering, lying and stealing” comes before the higher concept of “love your neighbor.”
God insists on some conscience-based basics from the beginning and expects us to know of His existence (Rom 1:18-2:3), but he leads us forward through progressive revelation. Using the formula, “You have heard it said, but I say unto you…,” Jesus came to reveal God and His nature, and He came at the appointed time.
Rom 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. NASB
Ps 75:2 “When I select an appointed time, it is I who judge with equity. NASB
Ps 102:12-13 But Thou, O LORD, dost abide forever; and Thy name to all generations. 13 Thou wilt arise and have compassion on Zion; for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come. NASB
Eccl 3:1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. NASB
Hab 2:2-3 Then the LORD answered me and said, “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. 3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time. It hastens toward the goal, and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.” NASB
Peter, the Apostle, tells his people that God is patient because God wants as many as possible to find truth and salvation.
2 Peter 3:8-10 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. NASB
Judgment follows revelation, and accountability follows understanding. We are held accountable for what we know or should know, but until we are able to understand, God speaks to us in metaphors. God brings us from what we understand to what He wants us to know. God first meets his infant people on a flaming mountain known as Sinai, but He eventually reveals Himself in the form of a humble baby in a stable.
God gets the attention of immature people through intimidation,
but He eventually wants to have a relationship based on intimacy.
“Shock and awe” is replaced
with the still small voice as we mature, if we mature.
The bit and the bridle are replaced by the eye of God.
Ps 32:8-9 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go. I will counsel you with My eye upon you. 9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you. NASB
Rom 1:18-25 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. NASB
Rom 1:26-2:3 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. Rom 2:1 Therefore, you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? NASB
No one disciplines a four month old child for filling his pants, but a four year old child will be corrected for it, and an 84 year old incontinent man will be forcibly put into diapers. Are we still “loading our spiritual pants” rather than obeying the revealed truth of God? Do we think we will get away with it? Are we still offering up lame sophomoric excuses? Are we saying: “It” feels so good, I cannot stop? Is our weak reasoning, “It” is the way I was born?
We think ignorance is bliss. Actually, ignorance can be deadly!!! Ignorance of STDs will not prevent us from contracting them if we violate God’s sexual mores. Ignorance of the lethal nature of automobiles and/or guns will not prevent the serious consequences of failing to handle them correctly.
Heb 5:11-6:3 Concerning him (Jesus) we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Heb 6:1 Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. NASB
We think people in the Old Testament should have known better than to do some of the things they did. Oh really!? On what basis!? Should they have understood about germs? Or should they have just obeyed God about washing their hands until progressive revelation caught up to them? Perhaps we should be obeying God about things we do not understand until God’s revelation catches up to us?!?
Can we hold the Old Testament people accountable for our 21st Century understanding or, in a reverse logic, should we allow ourselves their liberties? The people of the Old Testament lacked several things we have; e.g., the continuous indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as well as the teachings and revelation of Jesus. The Israelites were more enlightened than their neighbors, but even they did not come up to Jesus’ standards.
Remember the earlier discussion we had about children. Jesus confronted the culture of his day with His restored revelation of the truth of God. As we experience pre-Judeo-Christian cultures in Africa and the Middle East, we see the cultural and revelational differences in many areas even in our day.
Pre-Judeo-Christian modern Asiatic cultures seem “unenlightened” to us. Even Christian people in syncretized pagan cultures have practices that shock our biblical sensitivities; e.g., the worship of Mary in Latin countries or the consulting of witch doctors by African believers.
The blending of Christianity with paganism after Constantin resulted in numerous pagan practices within the church. Christian practices in the dark ages were merged with Nordic and Gothic religious practices resulting in appalling views about warfare and about sexuality in and out of marriage, as well as among the supposedly celibate clergy.
These years are called the “dark ages” because at that time “the light of God” seems to have gone out of the western world. A Sharon Kay Penman novel about the 12th century offspring of William the Conqueror is aptly titled “When Jesus and the Saints Slept.” The “Christianity” of that age is nearly unrecognizable to anyone who has read their Bible. Monasticism rose up in protest, but was itself often corrupted. The Reformation was intended (but was not always able) to restore the light of God to the church.
Modern culture pollutes the church in our society today. We still sacrifice babies to our false gods (abortion) and sleep around at will (in places high and low). We call ourselves Christians, but we do not practice the teachings of Christ. We call our culture and our politics Christian, but it is all too often not so. The level of God’s revelation is the highest it has ever been since the fall of Adam and Eve, so we are more accountable than any age before us.
In the light of that revelation we look back at the Old Testament behaviors and God’s reaction to them, and we judge both them and God. However, it is neither logically or morally appropriate to do so. We need to give them a break and trust that “God is good, all the time (in every age), and all the time (and in every age), God is good.”
We, however, are not good “all the time.” We are only as good as our revelation because we do not yet see with the clarity of God. One day we will see clearly, as stated in 1 Cor 13:12-13 below. Until then we can only walk in the light we have and our gracious Father in heaven knows that, so He relates to us through progressive revelation.
1 Cor 13:12-13 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. NASB