Trey Smith
The story told in the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 9, is about how God instructed Ezekiel to slay all the "bad" people in Jerusalem. But isn't this a familiar rationale for people found to be serial or mass murderers? There are many well known cases in which the guilty party tells the police and/or jury that voices or mystical figures instructed them to carry out the very carnage they carried out.
When you hear or read about such cases, how often do you think to yourself, "Hmm. I bet God instructed him/her to do this. This person shouldn't be held accountable for carrying out God's work. They shouldn't be executed or sent to prison. Heck, we should make them a saint or something!"
No, when we hear of these types of heinous acts, we immediately assume the responsible party is very evil, mentally deranged or some combination of both. We demand accountability in the form of life in prison or the death penalty.
So, why on earth would anyone believe Ezekiel's account of why he committed mass murder? The rationale he supplies is no different than the run-of-the-mill excuse we hear -- and reject -- in this day and age.
To see what other questions I've asked about the Christian Bible, go here.
It was a vision/dream/foretelling, I think - supposedly from God. Ezekiel was exiled in Babylon at the time.
ReplyDeleteIt was supposed to indicate that the fall of Jerusalem was because of the sins of the people. Maybe they were rationalising after the fact as to why their God could allow this dreadful thing to happen to His chosen people?? It must have been His will?