The Violence of God

Protests against God’s violence are fairly common. And these complaints are used to deny His existence. But usually, these gripe statements lack an anchor to the reality of God’s character. As those who know God, we are not repelled by His character. Rather, we  are more and more attracted to it.  

I wonder if one of these protestors of God’s violence went on a foreign vacation with his family. And suppose after they split up to see more of the foreign sites, his wife and daughter were taken by mal-intended men wishing to rob them of their material and bodily possessions.  

Now the man is hopeless and powerless, so he calls out his government to rescue his family from their captors. In response, special military units were sent to save his loved ones. And in the efforts to rescue the captured family, it became necessary for these elite warriors to pour out violence and cruelty on the men who held this protestor’s family. 

Do you think this same man who complained about God’s violence would complain and object about the viciousness shown to those evil men who took his family? Or do you suppose, it would produce in him a deep sense of gratitude for their recscue? I suspect he would be absolutely grateful. This is the context of God’s fierceness, as he preserves and rescues His own people.