streetbeastINC. wrote:Murder...how many has lucifer killed?
If you're referring to figure known as satan, you should do a study on how exactly baal peor was worshipped, how often they were required to sacrifice and what they sacrificed, estimate the number of tribes that worshipped that figure and the general population figures and you'll have your number.
The Israelites fell into that form of worship because of the very disobedience detailed the laws you outlined. I'm also glad the passages you chose all spoke of punishment against their own, the Israelites that went after other gods and sacrificed unto them faced the penalty, death. Most people miss that when they look at why the land was wiped of several tribes by the Israelites while others were left alone. When the Israelites sinned, God himself wiped them off but each time retained a remnant to keep his covenants and fulfil his plan. God didn't force the descendants of Jacob/Israel to serve him, he delivered them from Egypt and made a covenant between himself and the people which they could have walked away from if they chose to but obviously the logical decision is not to leave the favour of a God that singlehandedly destroyed the egyptian army, fed them and preserved them through the harsh and arid wilderness of mountainous arabia. When they got comfortable, things went sour as they forgot who made it so.
You see the earth is God's earth and he allows who serves him to inhabit it. In Genesis 15 we see the prophecy of those events, "Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
God specifically points out that he won't bring them out of their situation until the Amorites who dominated the land, their wickedness hadn't reached that threshold for expulsion yet. It was entirely up to each nation to serve God. The divide occurred at babylon where we read the reminiscence,
'Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly.
This is where God gave up the rest of nations to the other heavenly hosts, what Paul refers to as principalities, Daniel et al, the King of Tyre. In other words, divine beings who were given regional authority to rule specific peoples. Yahweh reserved one portion for himself, Abraham's seed through which he could carry out his plan. You see why the stringency required when you are that chosen people and the necessity to be different. There's no tolerance for wickedness and certainly no worship for other gods. The most revealing passage is the covenants, the promises of blessings and curses all dependent on obedience or disobedience. Even rejecting the 7 years of rest for the land was reason for expulsion, because it was exploitation of God's land.
"I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths." Murderers are justly executed, that has always been a unseen marker in God's punishment, the spilling of the blood of innocence. It's not seen because of people's prejudice and lack of contextual reading. It's the same irony when people call for the death penalty and criticize God for implementing it because he is just.
Apart from this, there was another reason for why certain groups got wiped as well. This relates to the offspring of the fallen angels in genesis 6, the remnant of the rephaim, giant tribes that were inherently evil. David was the one to finish that job as Joshua was unsuccessful. Hope you enjoy biblical and near eastern archaeology, it's wonderful to see how things pan out in scripture in the light of historical context.
