Sedition

So they ate and were well filled, and He satisfied their longing. Yet before they had abandoned their longing, while their food was in their mouths, the anger of God rose against them and killed some of their strongest ones, and subdued the choice men of Israel.  Psalm 78:29-31  NASB

Killed – Verses like these make liberal theologians cringe.  They conclude that the God of the Old Testament was cruel and vengeful.  He must be left behind as a kind of relic of ancient Israelite thinking.  Now we embrace a better God, the one of the New Testament who is all love and peace and joy.  This mistaken view often leads naïve non-religious pundits to claim that the God of ancient Israel was in desperate need of anger management.  They reject Him because He doesn’t fit the enlightened view of the divine.

So, what do we say?  Well, first we should recognize that vengeance has nothing to do with Asaph’s claim.  Notice that God satisfies the needs of the people.  The Hebrew term is a bit more colorful and descriptive.  It’s taʾăwâ.  It means “desire, craving, appetite” and it’s associated with ideas like covet, crave, and greed.  In other words, God didn’t just give them some mystical bread and a few quail to barbeque.  He gave in to their physical lusts.  You can appreciate the depth of this word when you notice its use in Numbers.  “In Num 11:34–35 and 33:16–17, this feminine noun forms part of the name of the station in the wilderness, qibrôt-hattaʾăwâ (‘Graves of Greed’).”^[1]  In other words, God indulged them.

And yet, before they were even finished stuffing their mouths, they were complaining.  Attitude trumps action.

As a result, God killed some of them.  The text actually reads ʾap ʾĕlōhîm, that is, the “nose” of God.  We might say, “God smelled the stench of their attitude.”  Lust stinks.  God noticed.  How did He respond?  Hārag.

This word is seldom used of killing animals. Usually it is used of killing men and numerous times of violent killing in war or intrigue. It is never used for the killing of sacrificial animals and very seldom for the killing of animals for food. The word is common in the histories of the judges and the monarchy as the thing represented was itself all too common.^[2]

We already know about the deaths of Korah and his followers.  Perhaps that doesn’t bother us as much as this verse because we recognize they died due to sedition.  We have the same kind of laws today.  Rebellion leads to severe consequences.  What bothers us with this verse is that it seems as if Asaph is saying God killed a bunch of Israelites because they complained.  We think this is excessive.  We don’t normally kill people who complain.  We might punish them, but death?  No, that’s not what we do.  And, of course, God should take a lesson from our “civilized” way of doing things, right?  Ah, but now we have missed the point.  The point started with the word taʾăwâ, not hārag.  It’s the infectious disease of an attitude of rebellion that needs to be dealt with because if it isn’t stopped it will continue to grow.  It will be a cancer that destroys everyone.  It might be that Asaph is referring to Korah’s rebellion, but even if he isn’t, even if God dealt with others this harshly, does that really make a difference?  First, we’re not in any position to tell God how He should deal with this, and secondly, perhaps more importantly, this lust for complaint will jeopardize everything about Israel’s purpose if left untouched.  It will fester into a virus of constant animosity toward God.  Quite frankly, even human leaders recognize the necessity to eliminate it, tout suite.

And can you blame them?  No, I don’t think so.  We live in a world where rebellion, lust, greed, and craving are not met with severe consequences.  We have inherited an animosity toward the divine.  And we perpetuate it with every legal compromise.  How do you like the results?

Topical Index:  taʾăwâ, desire, lust, craving, hārag, kill, rebellion, Psalm 78:29-31

^[1] Alden, R. (1999). 40 אָוָה. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 18). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[2] Stigers, H. G. (1999). 514 הָרַג. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 222). Chicago: Moody Press.