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You are here: Experts > Religion/Spirituality > Christianity - Restorationism > Latter-day Saints > God command of killing
Expert: Melissa - 8/30/2008
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: 1 Samuel 15:2–3—Why Completely Destroy the
Amalekites?
There are very few times in scripture that God commanded a
people be destroyed. The Amalekites were extremely cruel to the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt (see Deuteronomy
25:17–19). They picked out the weak, sick, and elderly that
struggled along at the back of the march and killed these stragglers.
The basic principal is obedience, not that God, who is separate from Jesus, is a blood thirsty god, but that he wanted to know is Saul was obedient. Remember also that the Israelites have a special covenant with God. Also that Justice must exist for the crimes the Amalek did to the people of Israel. There was no chance for Mercy to be added at the last minuet because Saul was disobedient. Remember also, that for the principles of Justice and Mercy, that Mercy can be applied, but cannot rob Justice otherwise there would be no God.
I hope that this is clear enough. If not just reply.
Thanks again for writing and don't forget to review.
Melissa
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I don't understand that you said "not that God, who is separate from Jesus, is a blood thirsty god " , what do yo mean that God is other than Jesus and blood thirsty ?
please explain this
Answer
Latter Day Saints believe that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are three distinct individuals, with the first two having bodies of flesh and blood.
The whole blood thirsty part is grammatically denoted in the negative with the commas, as in not a blood thirsty god. So he is not a blood thirsty god.
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