I’m in the midst of writing a big paper for my Sex and Violence in the Hebrew Bible class. I’m approaching it from a Christian standpoint and trying to prove that Jesus redeems and directly answers to the violence in the Hebrew Bible [Old Testement]. I am really discovering some amazing things along the way, some that are uplifting and others that make me sad and still others that concern me because I can’t answer to them. The Hebrew Bible is filled with so much violence (and sex) that it’s hard to simply accept it as it is, especially because so much of the violence (human sacrifices, genocides, murder) was sanctioned by God himself. If you have read any books, or know of any articles, or have any thoughts on the matter I’d be more than happy to hear them.
I’ve been able to draw some interesting parallels that I had not previously seen that I thought were interesting.
1. When Moses commanded the Israelites to kill the Levites, 3000 of them died (Exodus 32)
After Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost 3000 people were saved (Acts 2)
2. Slaughter of the Canaanites happened in the same place where Jesus had the encounter with the women born in Syrian Phoenicia (Mark 7). This is an interesting passage because Jesus seems to change his mind from not blessing this women to blessing her. This is a ministry turning point many scholars say for Jesus.
3. The Torah says to stone anyone who picks upi sticks on the Sabbath, Jesus was picking out grain. Why?
Those are the three that I have so far, I’m still reading…
All a coincidence