WHY DID GOD WIPE OUT ENTIRE CITIES?

If God is a God of mercy and love, why did He find it necessary to wipe out entire cities or populations of people? Why didn't He at least exclude the children? Surely they were innocent of any wrongdoing.

Answer
There are several places in the Old Testament where God opted to kill entire groups of people; men, women, children and in some cases even the animals. (see Deuteronomy 2:34 and 3:6,
Joshua 6:21 and Jeremiah 11:11; 14:11-12; 15:1-2) God takes no pleasure in death (Ezekiel 18:32 and 33:11), but being a just God did what was necessary for the overall good of His perfect plan.

In every case where the people were killed in mass they were steeped in sin, and were worshipping other gods. Clearly God finds this intolerable, and in fact tells us this, and tells us of the consequence. Read Deuteronomy 8:19-20. This verse is pivotal to understanding the nature of God relating to obedience and commitment to Him. It's not like they weren't warned. While God would have preferred that these people repented and turned to Him, they did not and in fact went so far off track that God's judgment became inevitable. They were so degenerate that they were beyond repentance. Prominent among their sins were: idol worship, sexual perversion, and the sacrificial slaughter of infants. Their societies were contaminated at every level. Left alone their degenerate lifestyles and practices would have infected more of God's people. So God dealt with the problem directly and forcefully. As far as the destruction of innocent children is concerned, we cannot know why God included them, but must remember that God's ways are just and He does no wrong (Deuteronomy 32:4). We can rest in the knowledge that it was the right thing to do. Remember, the physical death of a baby is not the same as eternal death. God simply moved these infants from one existence to another, and no doubt far better, existence (Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16).

These children are in heaven with God (Romans 2:12-16). One of the characteristics of us humans is that we try to figure out, with our finite knowledge and ability to understand, why God does what He does . We can not and we will not be able to fully understand
Him, until we dwell with Him in heaven. This is not to say we shouldn't continue to learn about Him and to strive to know Him, but we must understand that He is God and we are not. God's ways are not our ways and God's thoughts are not our thoughts, but as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). We cannot "put him in a box."

Relevant scripture

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33)


Be blessed,
Wayne

http://www.Capstone-Ministries.org

.