0 SAB - Drunk with Blood: God's killings in Numbers

God's Killings in Numbers

The moral for Numbers is this: Don't whine.

The people complain about their hardship during the Exodus and God sends a fire to burn them alive. They complain about the food, so God forces them to eat quail until it comes out their noses and then sends a plague for complaining about it. They complain again, and God sends fiery serpents to bite and kill them. Then he kills 14,700 more for complaining about his killings.

But there other killings in Numbers. Ten scouts are killed for their honest report; a man is stoned to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath; dissenters and their families are buried alive; God's hero, Phineas, impales an interfaith couple while they were having sex; and Moses commands his soldiers to kill all the Midianite males and non-virgin women, keeping all the virgins alive for themselves. Nasty stuff.

Here is a list of the killings in Numbers.

  1. When the people complained, God burned them to deathZZZ
  2. While the flesh was still between their teeth, the Lord smote them with a very great plagueZZZ
  3. Ten scouts are killed for their honest reportZZZ
  4. Sticks and stones: A man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day is stoned to deathZZZ
  5. Korah and his companions are buried alive (along with their families)ZZZ
  6. God burned 250 people to death for burning incenseZZZ
  7. God killed 14,700 for complaining about God's killingsZZZ
  8. The massacre of the AraditesZZZ
  9. God sent fiery serpents to bite the people for complaining about the lack of food and waterZZZ
  10. Phinehas's double murder: A killing to end God's killingZZZ
  11. The Midianite massacre: Have you saved all the women alive?ZZZ

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