Did God really approve?

There are times that we read things in the Bible, and we see people, even the heroes of the Bible, do things that seem terrible to us.  And we then ask ourselves, “Did God really approve of this?  Did God sanction this action?”

This is especially difficult when no commentary is made on God’s view of the matter.  Sometimes, when people did things that were wrong, the Bible makes it very clear that God was not pleased.

For example, when King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, it clearly says, “But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.”  (II Samuel 11:27)

But other times, the Bible says nothing, neither good nor bad, on what God’s feelings were.  And as a result, sometimes people get the idea that God approved of the action.  And nothing could be further from the truth.

We’ll address this in the story of Jephthah in a later blog as well, but this thought came to me as I read about Gideon’s actions with the cities of Succoth and Peniel.

These two cities belonged to the tribe of Gad, and while the Israelites were in pursuit of the Midianites, they stopped by these two cities to ask for food.  But the city elders refused.

Why did they refuse?  Well, it’s possible the elders were afraid of retaliation by the Midianites should they come out victorious from the conflict.

But the context seems to suggest that when the elders refused to help Gideon’s army, they actually mocked them (15).

In other words, they were really saying, “Are you kidding?  You, with an army of 300, are going to take on an army of 15,000?  How idiotic can you be?  There’s no way we’re going to help you!”

And so  when Gideon came back victorious, he revisited the cities and exacted vengeance on them.

Did God approve of this?  The Bible is silent.  Actually many Bible commentators think Gideon was justified in doing this. My guess, though, is that God didn’t approve.

Basically as you look at these kinds of stories and ask yourself if God approved, you need to look not just at that story, but at the whole of scripture.  What does God say about these kinds of situations?

Let’s look at two things.  First the issue of justice.

God told the people, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life.”  (Deuteronomy 19:21)

This was not a call for vengeance.  Rather it was a limitation on punishment for a crime or sin.  In other words, the punishment was not to be more than the crime deserved.

The people of the two cities mocked the Israelites and refused to give them bread.  Do these actions call for punishing them with thorns and briers, death, and destruction of property? 

Personally, I don’t think so.  It sounds more like vengeance for hurt pride than anything else.

Secondly, Jesus said concerning that scripture in Deuteronomy,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’

But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.  (Matthew 5:38-39)

The imagery Jesus gives is striking if you think about it.

He said if someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other cheek. 

If you’re right-handed (as most people are), and you’re facing a person, how do you strike them on their right cheek?  You need to backhand them.

You don’t backhand a person on the cheek to cause them bodily harm (primarily).  It’s more of an insulting gesture.  And so Jesus was basically saying that if people insult you, don’t fight back.  Let them do it.

Gideon didn’t do that.  Sure, these cities were wrong in how they treated Gideon and his men.  But Gideon was wrong too in how he responded.  Instead of turning the other cheek, he wrecked vengeance on these cities.

In short, don’t assume when reading these kinds of stories that if it doesn’t say God disapproved of an action, by default that means he approved.  Take a look at the whole of scripture, and see what he says about the subject. 

Only then can we truly see if he approved or disapproved of an action.