Several years ago, I Got home rather late due to going wild hog hunting that day. My wife had supper ready, and it was perfect timing. I was tired and hungry and soon was enjoying a nice hot meal in the kitchen. It was just what I needed.
I always hunted with a .44 magnum Super Blackhawk handgun which I could manage quite easily. I had put it on top of the refrigerator to keep it safely away from my boys and didn’t give it another thought.
For some reason I happened to look out of the kitchen picture window, and I saw a man walk up to the window with his hands cupped around them where he could see in our home better. I jumped up and headed for the pistol on the refrigerator and he took off running like a scalded dog. I opened the front door, gun in hand and could barely make him out as he ran across our front lawn. He was making good time and was almost out of sight. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM I shot at him and though I missed him, I put him in an entirely different gear.
It was pitch-black dark. I grabbed my flashlight and began looking for him. I did not hit him, but I have no doubt I scared the heck out of him. Just then my neighbor came running over to my house. I told him what had happened, and he asked me what I would have done with him had I hit him. Hmmm . . . I told him I would have pulled him inside the house and put a gun in his hand.
I have relived that moment many times and I’m sure God helped steer my bullet away from that guy. I know He would not want me to have shot the intruder especially for looking in my window. To make matters worse over the next few days I sat out on the porch in the dark for several nights in the dark shadows hoping he would show up. He did not. In fact, I never saw him again and I’m glad I didn’t.
I read every day about muggers,, car jackers, murderers, and the like and I feel certain I would not just idly stand by while they threatened my family, me, or friends. I feel that somehow – some way – law abiding folks are just going to have to protect those around them and themselves. Just think what is happening to the Israelis who just stood idly by and watched the slaughter. I just could not stand by and do nothing.
The fact that God commanded the killing of entire nations in the Old Testament has been the subject of harsh criticism from opponents of Christianity for some time. That there was violence in the Old Testament is indisputable. The question is whether Old Testament violence is justifiable and condoned by God.
Surely, the issue of God commanding violence in the Old Testament is difficult. However, we must remember that God sees things from an eternal perspective, and His ways are not our ways Isaiah 55:8. And the apostle Paul tells us that God is both kind and severe.
Romans 11:22
While it is true that God’s holy character demands that sin be punished, His grace and mercy remain extended to those who are willing to repent and be saved . . . Destruction provides us with a sober reminder that, while our God is gracious and merciful, He is also a God of holiness and wrath.