A Commentary on the Patriarchs of the Death Cult--- Millions of people throughout the worl

A Commentary on the Patriarchs of the Death Cult---

Millions of people throughout the world, especially children, often
adopt certain figures as role models to idolize and emulate. This
is true not only in sports, politics, and acting but also in religion
and the arena of ideas.  And no where in religion are role-models more
numerous than in the Bible.

From Genesis to Revelation prominent individuals abound.  But are
they really worthy of respect and admiration?  Was their behavior such
that you would want to awaken your children on Sunday morning to read
about their exploits?  What better way to answer this question than
by describing the activities of each.

FIRST are those figures whose machinations are somewhat limited in scope:

    ABSALOM--ordered killings (2 Sam. 13:28-29 RSV); and had sex in
the open (2 Sam. 16:22 RSV);

    AMNON--raped his sister, Tamar (2 Sam. 13-11-14 RSV);

    ABIMELECH--killed a city's inhabitants (Jud. 9:45 RSV) and murdered
wantonly (Jud. 9:5);

    EHUD--murdered King Eglon (Jud. 3:21-22 RSV);

    ELIJAH--committe murder (1 Kings 18:40);

    ELISHA--lied (2 Kings 6;19), told a man to lie (2 Kings 8:10 RSV),
and caused 42 small boys to be torn apart for mocking his bald head
(2 Kings 2:23-24 RSV);

    GIDEON--killed (Jud. 8:16-17 the Living Bible), murdered prisoners
(Jud. 8:21 RSV), and engaged in polygamy (Jud. 8:30);

    ISSAC--lied (Gen. 26:6-7) and attempted to sacrifice his wife to
save himself (Gen. 26:9);

    JACOB--swindled Esau out of his birthright (Gen. 25:31-33 RSV);
cheated and lied (Gen. 27:19, 30:40-43 RSV) and lied to Rachel (Gen.
29:12);

    JEHOID--ordered a murder (2 Kings 11:15-16 RSV);

    JEHU--killed (2 Kings 9:24,27, 10:11, 17), ordered killings (2
kings 10:6-7, 14, 25 RSV), and deceptively lied (2 Kings 10:18-19);

    JEPHTHAH--slaughtered people (Jud.11:33), and killed his own
    daughter (Jud. 11:39 RSV);

    JEREMIAH--lied (JER. 38:24-27 NIV); JOAB--killed (2 Sam. 3:27,
18:14, 20:10);

    JONATHAN--killed (1 Sam. 14:13-14 NASB), and lied (1 Sam. 20:28);

    JOSEPH--deceived his brothers (Gen. 24:7 NASB) and committed
nepotism (Gen. 47:11 RSV);

    JOSHUA--killed & slaughtered without letup (Joshua 6:21, 6:25-28,
10:1, 20, 26-28, 30, 32-33, 35, 37, 39-41, 11:8-14, 17-18, 21, 12:7),
murdered prisoners (Josh. 8:29), and hamstrung horses (Josh. 11:9 RSV);

    LABAN--lied (Gen. 19:8); LOT--offered his virgin daughters to a
crowd (Gen. 19:8);

    SAMSON--killed (Jud.14:19, 15:8, 16:15) had sex with a harlot
(Jud. 16:1) and lied to Delilah (Jud.16:10, 13), and

    SAMUEL--murdered (1 Sam. 15:33.)

SECOND are those individuals who are not only well known but committed
a wider assortment of nefarious activities:

    ABRAHAM--told his wife to lie (Gen. 12:13), debauched Hagar, his
maidservant (Gen. 16:14), sent his maidservant and her child into the
wilderness (Gen 21:14), lied (Gen, 20:2), and married his half-sister
(Gen. 20:11-12);

    SAUL--used his daughter as a snare (1 Sam. 8:20:21 NIV), ordered
gambling (1 Sam. 14:42), killed (1 Sam. 15:7-8, 20, 22:18-21), stripped
himself and acted unstable (1 Sam. 19:24), admitted he sinned, played
the fool and erred (1 Sam. 26:21), gave David's wife to another man
(1 Sam. 25:44), and transgressed God by consulting a medium and being
unfaitful (1 Chron 10:13-14 RSV), and

    SOLOMON--ordered murders (1 Kings 2:25 RSV, 2:34, 46), tried to
kill Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:40), enslaved people (1 Kings 9:21 RSV), did
not keep God's statutes or covenant (1 Kings 11:11 RSV ), did evil
(1Kings 11:6), and lied to his mother (1 Kings 2:20-21 RSV, 2:25).

THIRD, are two famous or infamous individuals-- Moses and David--who
occupy special places among Old Testament leaders. According to 2
Chron. 30:16 Moses was the man of God; yet, he murdered an Egyptian
(Ex. 2:12), ordered an army attack (Num. 31:3, 6), ordered the murder
of prisoners (Num. 31:17), ordered the keeping of young female
prisoners for several reasons (Num. 31:18), led mass killings of
women and children (Deut. 2:34, 3:3, 6), ordered killings (Deut. 13:15,
20:13), blasphemously wrote he was a greater prophet than Jesus
(Deut. 34:10 NASB), had a son out of wedlock (Ex. 2:21-22), and was
excluded by God from Canaan for four different reasons: unbelief
(Num. 20:12), rebellion (Num. 27:12-14 RSV), trespassing (Deut.
32:51-52), and rash words (Psalm 106: 32-33 NIV).

And, finally, there is David. Despite all of the above, no individual
in the Bible had a more disreputable, more scandalous career.  Although
the recipient of numerous accolades--never doing evil (1 Sam 25-28),
following God fully (1 Kings 11:6), being an angel of God (2 Sam.
19:27), keeping the commandments of God (1 Kings 3:14), and having
a perfect heart with the Lord (1 Kings 15:13)--David exhibited
exceptionally corrupt behavior. He killed (1 Sam. 17:50-51 RSV,
18:7, 27, 19:8, 23:5, 30:17, 2 Sam. 8:1, 2, 5, 13), ordered murders
(2 Sam. 1:15. 4:5-12), ordered prisoners to be killed (2 Sam.
12:29-31, 1 Chron. 20:3, 2 Sam. 8:1-2), committed unprovoked aggression
and mass killings (1 Sam. 27:8-11, 2 Sam. 5:20, 25), gave up seven of
Saul's descendants to be killed (2 Sam. 21:1-6, 9,), requested that
Joab be killed (1 Kings. 2:5-6), intentionally arranged for Uriah to
be killed in order to seize his wife (2 Sam 11:14-17), displeased the
Lord (2 Sam. 11:26-27), impregnated another man's wife committing
adultery in the process (2 Sam. 11:2-5), wasn't allowed to build God's
house because he was a man of war and shed blood (1 Chron. 22:7-8),
lied (1 Sam. 21:1-2, 27:8-10), told Jonathan to lie (1 Sam. 20:5-6),
admitted he sinned by taking a census (2 Sam. 24:10, 17, 1 Chron.
21:8, 17), committed extortion (1 Sam. 25:2-8), prophesied incorrectly
in his heart (1 Sam 27:1), sent out a spy (2 Sam. 16:36), hamstrung
horses (2 Sam. 8:4), locked up 10 concubines for life for no apparent
reason (2 Sam. 20:3), committed bigamy (2 Sam. 3:2-3), committed
polygamy (2 Sam. 5:13), despised the word of the lord (2 Sam. 12:9-11),
admitted he sinned by causing Uriah's death and taking his wife
(2 Sam. 12:13-14), and exposed himself like a pervert (2 Sam. 6:20).

Yet despite all of this we are supposed to believe this is a man after
God's own heart (Acts 13:22). Anyone approaching the Bible for goodness,
decency, role models, and morality, enters at his own peril.

                                Iconoclast

    ...  If God had malpractice Insurance, I'd be a millionaire!!!