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It has been very difficult the past episodes talking about the reasons why God would order the death of children for an Israeli invasion in the land of the Amalekites. Wala tayong full access sa knowledge at wisdom ng Panginoon on the reasons for His just decision. It is not that God did it without knowledge and we are just trying to make alibis for God. The truth ng Scripture attests to the fact that God is a God of knowledge --
Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed (1 Samuel 2:3).
O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it (Psalm 139:1-6).However, just as God is a God of knowledge, this knowledge ay hindi natin malirip dahil na rin sa limitado nating pag iisip --
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; his understanding is infinite (Psalm 147:5).
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; his understanding is infinite (Psalm 147:5).
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out (Romans 11:33).However, God in His grace did not leave us without reasons for anchoring our mind and faith. Hindi natin winawaksi ang ating kaisipan para maniwala. Nagbibigay ng sapat ng kaalaman ang Panginoon para tayo'y manampalataya. Hindi tayo blind leap of faith. So sa article pong ito sisikapin nating gawin 'yan by talking about a very difficult topic: the order of God to kill even the Canaanite livestock.
The order we could read at 1 Samuel 15:2-3 “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” This issue is within a bigger question that was brought up to me by Zane, a university professor who is trying to wrap his head around reconciling a loving God with a God who has vengeful wrath as is shown sa mga passages tulad ng kakabasa pa lang natin. We have seen in past episodes that wrath is an aspect of God’s love because of the simple idea that God loves good and hates that which is evil, it is two sides of the same coin. In human context, it’s like yung mga nakikita nating balita ng mga magulang ng mga pinaslang na punung-puno ng pagmamahal sa kanilang anak subalit may galit sa mga pumaslang ng kanilang anak. Nakapaloob sa ating pagmamahal ang galit sa mga nais kumitil sa mga mahal natin sa buhay.
Also in the previous episodes we discussed yung model ni Paul Copan na ang order na ito ay linggwahe lang upang ipaalam sa mga Israelitas ang kahalagahan na gapiin ang kaaway. Typical ito sa mga ancient war rhetoric especially when describing the enemy. Last episode we started to discuss yung Clay Jones model naman kung saan totoong literal na pinag utos ng Panginoon ang death pati ng mga bata to show to them the gravity of the sin of the Amalekites, that this culture must be wiped out of the face of the earth. Although hindi nanagumpay ang mga Israelita sa utos na ito dahil marami pa ring mga Amalekites ang naka survive after this, one of which ay yung mga ninuno ni Haman sa Book of Esther na gustong pataying buong population ng Israel, yet the order was meant by God.
In this episode we will talk about why include the animals. Bakit daw ba naisama pa yun mga kawawang hayop?
Again sa tanong pong ito nais ko lamang po iemphasize na may Christian attitude po sa pag aaral na ito. The basic foundation for this argument -- that God determined ang action na ito na nararapat. Kumbaga to put it simply, God in his all-knowing, all-powerful, eternality etc deemed it a rightful judgment to include children. God as Creator alone has the right to determine when each shall live and die. (Job 1:20-21). End of story.
However, we are left still with our finite reasoning to figure out a divine rational. Kaso kumbaga parang ipapainom sa akin ang isang dam ng tubig gamit ang isang maliit na baso. So let me just explain that whatever I will try to explain dito are attempts ng mga tulad nila Clay Jones na mag provide ng finite reasoning to infer yung reasonable action ng Diyos, pero I would expect that many of you would probably find loopholes. Ang reason kasi may principle ng sufficiency, gustong sabihin ay “Everything has a sufficient reason, or a cause, for being what it is.” Kaso kung ang action comes from the wisdom of God na infinitely wise, mukhang may limitation tayo. Yet, we can still infer certain things from His word why He would make that judgment.
So how are we with finite reason explain this. More importantly how will I explain this. Tatlo po ang nakikita kong dahilan: 1) domestication, 2) sickness and 3) animal sex.
Domestication. Ako po ay lumaki sa probinsiya. I know a bit about animal behavior. Isa sa mga mahirap gawin is to tame a beast. Alam natin at least ang mga dominant na beasts noong unang panahon, mga livestock na nagpo provide ng dairy product at mga beasts of burden. Ang mga hayop pong ito ay kailangang idomesticate. Isa sa mahirap na gawin is mapamanahan ka ng isang hayop na hindi ikaw ang nag domesticate. May mga dangers po yan at pagod. Pangalawa, mga hayop na ginamit for sexual gratification ng mga Canaanites. We have good archaeological and literary proofs na ginagawa ito ng mga Canaanites. It seems na because of this practice may dalawang possible na problema. Ang malaking problema dito is that this animal has been used for a detestable practice. In fact ang sabi sa salita ng Diyos ay ganito Leviticus 20:15-16 commands, “If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal. If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” Ang bestiality is a capital crime sa Mosaic law noon.
Pangatlo, ang mga hayop na ito ay maaaring may mga karamdaman brought about by the unhealthy land condition ng Canaan at ng mga sexual practices na ito. Maaari pong makahawa ang mga hayop na ito sa mga dala-dalang domesticated animals ng mga Israelites.
Hindi lang hayop ang pwedeng mahawa. Tao rin pwedeng mahawa.
Marami na rin pong recorded epidemic sa ancient history brought about by animals.
So ilan po yan sa mga naiisip kong mga dahilan why the death of the animals were necessary. I’m not saying adequate ito para sa inyo pero ako po kasi laking probinsiya kaya pamilyar po ako sa attitude ng magsasaka sa mga karamdaman at ugali ng mga hayop.
Could God have other reasons? Malamang meron pa po at habang tumatagal po nawa’y patuloy pa rin natin itong matuklas. "The difference between God's being and ours is more than the difference between the sun and a candle, more than difference between the ocean and a raindrop, more than the difference between the arctic ice cap and snowflake, more than the difference between the universe and the room we are sitting in: God's being is qualitively different." - Wayne Grudem [Systematic Theology]
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