Genocide In the Old Testament

Readers of the Old Testament may have the question come to mind about God’s seeming approval of genocide – the stories of Sodom and of various Canaanite peoples God wiped out one way or another.

In order to understand this apparent genocide, you must consider the context. It’s a crucial factor.

Consider, for example, the act of slashing someone with a knife. Such an act would be criminal UNLESS the person wielding that blade is a skilled surgeon operating in a medically appropriate context. Cutting away malignant or dead tissue may be essential to saving life.

This surgical analogy certainly applies, given the historical and spiritual context of these Old Testament events. Some ancient peoples were wicked beyond imagining. Archeologists confirm the biblical account of people whose religion involved wholesale atrocities against infants. And consider what happened when two visitors arrived at Lot’s home in Sodom. It’s a chilling, “X-rated” story, and it offers a clue to how depraved an entire population could become.

Such pervasive “approved” depravity of an entire population has not been seen since the days of Christ. Since His death and resurrection and the coming of His Spirit to indwell believers, evil has been restrained – certainly not eliminated, but restrained. Christ living in and among Christ’s followers carries preservative qualities (like salt), keeping evil somewhat in check.

So I look at the Old Testament apparent genocide by God as surgical action by God to eliminate malignant parts of the human race in order to preserve the overall race.

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