Expert: Onaga Thomas - 8/26/2008

Question
QUESTION: An Atheist asked me if your God Jesus is love and love us then why He command Saul to killed every one including women and infant of Amalek ?

1 Samuel Chapter  15
15:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.


ANSWER: Thankyou for the question Nick

 Saul had just been anointed King of Israel by Samuel in verse 1, it was also told unto him to "hearken(listen, follow, obey) unto the voice of the Lord." (verse 1).  So, his first commandment was to follow the Lord, do what He tells you to do.  He was told to smite all of Amalek, which Saul almost did...but he spared the King and the best of the cattle, clothes, money, etc.... In verse 11 the Lord said that Saul had "turned his back on Him" Saul had gone his own way.  The main point of 1 Samuel Chapter 15 is to follow God and later in the chapter you see some consequences for Saul when the Lord rejected Him for his disobedience.  Yes god loves ua all Christian and Athiest alike, and Jesus died for us all Christian and Athiets alike.  But we must remember to "hearken unto the voice of the Lord" to live our lives, worship, and treat one another as God has told us to do.  Also remember verse 2, Amalek had already "did" something to Israel, so God decided to jugde the Amalekites and use Saul to do it.  God is love and loves us (John 3:16), but He is also a God of mercy, grace, justice, forgiveness, reconciliation, and so forth.  His ways are above ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), so if God does something, even something we disagree with, we have to trust God and know that he is doing it for the best of his people.   I trust and pray that this answer will help you, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask, have a blessed day

Onaga

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks but you answer according to Christian perspective not according to humanity.
we cannot gave this explanation to Atheist , Humanist , Secularist and Feminist .

Why not Loving God adopt infant instead of command to kill them ?

Answer
 Thanks again for the question

 I can understand that our viewpoint about God as Christian will be different form those who either don't believe in God alltogether are don't believe in the God revealed in scripture.  Only God knows why he commissioned Saul to get rid of the Amalekites.  And if He did not chose to tell us in the scriptures, then surely it is His right as God not to do so.  From a Christian perspective, we obey God, and this is all together spiritual.  Romans 1:16 says the gospel in the power of salvation to those to BELIEVE in it, point here is that is going to be hard to explain situations in the bible to an athiest that does not even believe in God.  So, no matter what answer you give them it will not satisy them because they would first have to believe in God and his Word for you to even have that conversation.  I have personally has the same types of talks with "non-believers" and I had run into the same problem as you have.  One is talking from a Christian perspective (belief in God and his Word)..and one from a non-Christian perspective (in a sense not understanding God) and the two just cannot mix.