Is the God of the Old Testament Brutal and Evil?

• “Why would God kill all the Amalekites?”
• “Why would God destroy innocent people, including children, in the global flood of Noah’s day?”
• “Why would God use nations like Assyria and Babylon to punish the Jews but then destroy those nations as well?”
• “Why would a loving God send people to hell?

Sometimes these sorts of questions can intimidate us when we’re sharing the gospel or defending the faith, but there are some principles that can help us work through these issues.

Belief in God

First, does the person asking the question believe in God and the historicity of the Bible? If they don’t believe in God, their question is the equivalent of “Why does Santa Claus give rich kids better presents than poor kids?” If they believe in some form of God but don’t believe the Bible accurately depicts what he did, they also can’t accuse the Bible’s account. If they don’t believe in the global flood, they can’t ask why God killed everyone in it. You can’t have it both ways.

The Christian is the only one who really can approach this question properly because we believe both that God is loving and that he is revealed through Scripture, which is inerrant.

What Standard of Morality?

Second, anytime someone accuses God of wrongdoing, it’s important to look at their basis for morality. The most common basis for morality when someone rejects God is utilitarianism. This is the idea that whatever maximizes happiness and minimizes pain is the most moral decision. Prominent utilitarians include “ethicist” Peter Singer and atheist biologist Richard Dawkins. However, it doesn’t take long for this ethical system to result in horrific and repugnant conclusions like arguing for the acceptability of bestiality (Singer wrote an offensive paper titled “Heavy Petting” arguing for it). And Richard Dawkins infamously suggested in a 2014 tweet that the moral thing to do would be to abort an unborn child with Down syndrome.1

In reality, any system of morality that denies a moral lawgiver is going to be relativistic, which cannot say that any particular action is wrong for all people at all times. And if our morality evolved along with our brains, we can’t even be sure that we’re perceiving reality correctly, much less morality. This is because the brain would evolve in whatever way resulted in the most “fit” organism.

In reality, atheists display moral outrage against God’s revealed actions in Scripture but have no objective basis to say that his actions are wrong. They also cherry-pick the details to make God seem as bad as possible.

God’s Actions in Context

The Fall of Mankind

God did not create a world full of death and suffering, where human beings would face judgment and the effects of sin. God originally created the earth “very good,” and he created human beings to be in perfect relationship with God and each other.

However, Adam and Eve’s sin brought about the curse of death. God would have been absolutely just if he had killed Adam and Eve immediately after their disobedience; however, God mercifully allowed Adam to live over 900 years. He also promised that a descendant of Eve would defeat the serpent, undoing the curse. This promise was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Flood

Another instance people claim is an act of cruelty by God is the global flood of Noah’s day. We are not told how large the pre-flood population was, but it could have been in the millions by that time. Everyone except the eight people on Noah’s ark and the animals with them was killed by the yearlong deluge. Some critics argue that the flood would have been unjust because it killed children.

But Genesis 6:5 describes a world that had become comprehensively evil, such that even the beasts were affected by it. Genesis 6:5 says, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Despite this, God provided an opportunity for salvation through Noah’s ark, but humanity refused it (2 Peter 2:5). The destruction was a just consequence of widespread rebellion against God.

Consider that we do not know how many of the population were young children at the time as well. Noah, after all, didn't have children until the age of 500. And given the wickedness of the culture, it’s not unreasonable to think that children were sacrificed (God often describes wickedness of ancient cultures in terms of child sacrifice). Certainly, any parent that had any concerns about a coming judgement in sight of Noah’s ark being built could have pleaded with Noah to save their child “just in case” even if they were skeptcial or unbelieving for themselves. Yet God, who knew their wicked hearts, knew it would only be eight who were saved.

People who object to instances where God’s judgment resulted in the death of children also are often inconsistent because they are likely to support abortion. If it is immoral for God to send a judgment which results in the deaths of children, then it is immoral for a human being to cause the death of an unborn child.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

The account of Sodom and Gomorrah is often cited as an anti-gay passage in the Bible. This is the first depiction of homosexuality in the Bible so is definitional regarding God’s stance against the perversion of sexuality it represents. Homosexuality was not Sodom’s only sin—they were also guilty of decadence, inhospitality, and other sins (and all sins against a holy God are worthy of judgment). The account states that God came down to judge whether they were really as wicked as what was reported—this, of course, being an anthropomorphism, depicting God in human terms.

Before God judged Sodom, he appeared to Abraham and told him what he planned to do—knowing Abraham would plead for the city his nephew inhabited. And when Abraham continued to plead with God, he promised to spare the city if only 10 righteous men were found in it. Instead, Sodom’s sin is presented in shockingly universal terms. Genesis 19:4 says, “The men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.” The men of Sodom were so corrupted by their sin that even when they were struck blind, they didn’t turn from their sin but groped for the door until they wore themselves out! This is clearly no ordinary level of sin.

God did, however, provide a means of salvation for Lot and his family (Genesis 19:15–17). He even spared the city of Zoar for Lot’s sake. Those who perished received the judgment their sins warranted. 2 Peter 2:6–8 tells us that Lot was tormented by the amount of wickedness he saw daily, so corruption had completely permeated their society. Again, the skeptical contention is often that God “must have” killed thousands of babies and children living in the five cities of the plain, but Sodom and Gomorrah’s lifestyle and sexual sins likely means that there were few children in those cities.

The Egyptians and the Exodus

Once again, God’s justice was met with an opportunity for mercy, which Egypt refused.

The plagues upon Egypt were responses to Pharaoh’s persistent rebellion and the oppression of the Israelites (Exodus 1:8–14). Before the plagues, God sent Moses to appeal to Pharaoh and to give miraculous signs that should have authenticated the message. When Pharaoh refused, he was given fair warning about the plagues. Repeatedly during this period, Pharaoh was given a chance to repent in the face of worsening plagues, but Pharaoh and his people hardened their hearts (Exodus 7–11). The final plague—the death of the firstborn—could have been avoided had Pharaoh heeded God’s warnings even at the last minute. Once again, God’s justice was met with an opportunity for mercy, which Egypt refused.

The Canaanites

The conquest of Canaan is another point of contention. However, the Canaanites were far from innocent. Leviticus 18 describes their sins, including incest, child sacrifice, and bestiality. God had been patient for centuries (Genesis 15:16), but when their sin reached its peak, judgment came through the Israelites. Even then, those who repented—like Rahab—were spared (Joshua 6:25), as were those who truly feared God and knew that he would fulfill the promises he made to Moses (like the Gibeonites of Joshua 9:24).

The Benjaminites

In Judges 19–20, the tribe of Benjamin defended those who committed atrocious crimes (rape and murder). Despite warnings (Judges 20:12–13), they refused to repent, leading to divine judgment through Israel. Their destruction was not arbitrary but the result of deliberate rebellion against God’s laws.

Assyria and Babylon

In 2 Kings 7, we read that Assyria captured Samaria as they had previously conquered most of Israel and took them into captivity. God mentions that he warned them repeatedly, but they refused to repent (verses 13–18), committing such heinous acts as sacrificing their children to false gods. In Isaiah 10:5, the Lord calls Assyria the “rod of his anger” which he used to judge Israel (and was using at that time to chasten Judah). Yet in the next section (verses 6–19), God states that he will judge Assyria because the king of Assyria attributed his success to his gods and his own prowess. Or as verse 12 puts it because “of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes.” Nahum 3 describes the Assyrian capital Nineveh as the “bloody city” and that God is “against them” for their cruelties. God did use Assyria to judge Israel for her sins of idolatry but also had to judge Assyria for her pride and love of cruelty.

In the book of Jeremiah, we see the consistent theme that God is using Babylon to judge Judah for her sin of forsaking God and her many idolatries. Chapter 21 states that God himself will fight against Judah and that Nebuchadnezzar will capture the city of Jerusalem and carry them away into captivity (Jeremiah 21:1–7), yet even here, God shows them mercy and tells them to surrender and their life would be preserved (verses 8–9). God even calls Nebuchadnezzar “my servant” in Jeremiah 25:9. Yet after God had used Babylon as his punishing rod against Judah, he states that he would later judge Babylon for their iniquity (25:12), pride (50:29–32), and disregard for the temple and its consecrated vessels (Jeremiah 51:11; Daniel 5:1–4, 22–23).

Conclusion

A careful examination of the passages that are cited as instances of God’s cruelty shows that God is patient, forgiving, and only punishes sin after warning and missed opportunities of repentance.

Scripture is clear that God is both just and loving, and that is displayed most fully in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Ultimately, we can feel uncomfortable with passages that proclaim God’s judgment because we are sinful and, apart from Christ’s sacrifice, are subject to that same judgment.

Scripture is clear that God is both just and loving, and that is displayed most fully in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. However, the God of the Old Testament and the New Testament is the same, and many of these Old Testament events actually foreshadow Christ, the Savior. We should not shy away from God’s judgment but proclaim all of Scripture unashamedly and use it as an opportunity to share the gospel as the only way to escape deserved judgment from a holy and righteous, yet merciful, God, who sacrificed himself for that salvation!

Table 1 (below) highlights some of these events in the OT and NT.