The Punishment of Innocent People

August 10, 2009, 10:47 am by dc-agape.

Exodus 34

Basically this chapter is correcting the damage done by Moses’ anger.  During the Golden Calf Incident Moses had exploded with anger and destroyed the first set of tablets that YHWH had made.  You would think that something made by a perfect, omnipotent, omniscience super being wouldn’t break so easily, so Moses sure was angry! 

Moses makes another set of tablets for YHWH to write on (very similar to John Smith and the Golden Plates).  When Moses got to the top of the mountain, YHWH fulfills, at least one promise, by passing by Moses and proclaiming his name.  But in “all his goodness” YHWH saves the best “goodness” till last.

Exodus 34:7 …maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.  Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.

In modern times this equates to YHWH punishing a nation (or group of people) for well over 130-150 years…for sins that were done in 1860’s (pre-civil war USA)!  Now that is pure goodness.

Moses then worships this image of YHWH.  After that YHWH makes two promises, with easy outs.  The first easy out promise is that he will do miracles greater than anyone has seen to the nation of Israel.  The second easy out promise is that YHWH will drive out the native inhabitants of the Promise Land (the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites).  I call both these promises easy outs, because then YHWH make these promises conditional on Israel’s good behavior.  YHWH already knows that the Israelites are a “stiff-necked people” and easily prone to sinning!  With YHWH’s promise to punish to the fourth generation, this leaves YHWH an easy out for not fulfilling the other promises.

YHWH even makes a list of all the things that the Israelites are not to do (or else he will not fullfill his promise)!  The Israelites are not allowed to make treatises with the natives of the Promised Land, they are to destroy all altars to other gods, they cannot intermarry with the original people of the Promised Land, they cannot make new idols, they must celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, all firstborn (even of humans) must be redeemed before YHWH, everyone is to have something to give to YHWH, the Sabbath must be kept holy, they must celebrate the Feast of Weeks (three times per year), they cannot sacrifice blood with yeast (YHWH really has something against yeast), and yearling goats cannot be cooked with its mother’s milk (very odd commandment).

Oddly it took another 40 days to complete the second set of tablets.  Even more odd is that this time the Israelites did not sin!  Previously when Moses came down from Mount Sinai he looked like a normal human being, but this time he was glowing with the radiance of YHWH.  It would seem that for the rest of Moses’ life any time that Moses went into the Tent of Meeting he renewed the radiance of his face.   Odd how here is the first case of someone wearing a burqa and it happens to be a man instead of a woman!

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