Old Testament Punishments for Today's Crimes?

Um. Interesting question.  Should we apply Old Testament laws and punishments to the crimes of today such as theft, adultery, or murder?  What are acceptable punishments for these crimes?

To many, the Old Testament laws were extremely harsh.  There was no mercy in them.  Crime committed.  Punishment dealt out.  Everyone go home.  But with the New Testament and with the world the way it is today, should we still be following the same thought process or throw them out the window?

There is no question that the world of the Old Testament is not the world of today.  So much has changed.  So many cultures have intermingled.  Technology has taken where no one could even dream of such things thousands of years ago.  But we still have people stealing.  Husbands and wives still cheat on each other.  One human being still takes the life of another.  In that aspect, it has not changed.  The way it is carried out might have, and the way culture approaches has for sure.

Let us look at the governing authority in Israel during Old Testament times.  Israel was ruled by Judges who settled disputes and led the nation against invaders.  These were religious men and women who followed God and were faithful to Him.  Eventually, kings appeared on the scene, but the nation still clung to its religious roots.  The religion might not always have been Hebrew, but a religion dictated many of the laws of the land.  This means that the nation of Israel was a theocracy.  The law was governed by the religion.

Look closer at the times when Israel was following God and listening to Him.  These religious leaders were not exacting judgment out on people arbitrarily.  The innocent were not punished.  Why?  Because God was directing their judgments.  He was imparting wisdom on them.  They were listening to Him and not to man-made laws or to their own desires and goals.  This is one of the differences from Old Testament times to that of today.  Our leaders are not following religious laws and not consulting God.  Most rulings are self-serving.  If the laws of the Old Testament (OT), were used today, how many innocent people would be killed?  Today, God is usually not allowed in the courtroom.

Someone caught in adultery was to be stoned.  Today that would take out 99.9% of the entertainment business and 99.99999% of our leaders in the political, social, and even religious worlds.  That would take care of the population problem, eh?  Seriously, what would be the implications of today if we stoned those caught in adultery?


What was the reason for such a painful way to die?  Marriage was a sacred institution.  If you would take your body which was God’s and your spouse’s and soil it by giving it away to another, what promise could you really keep?  Willing breaking a marriage was horrible.  The statistics even today show that if a person commits adultery once, they will more than likely do it again.  In the OT, that repeated offense was eliminated by stoning. 

Sounds harsh doesn’t it?  That was a time when the law had to be laid down and the people of Israel had to know that God would not accept lies and deceit.  He wanted purity. 

Fast forward to the New Testament (NT) times.  Jesus is going about His business of teaching and miracles.  Several of the high and mighty religious leaders dragged forth a woman who was caught in the act of adultery.  They toss her before Him and asked Him what should be done about her.  They picked up their stones to administer the punishment as soon as He gave the word.  What did He do?  He began scribbling in the sand.
We have no idea what He wrote, but whatever it was made those religious leaders stop and think on what they were doing.  They waited with bated breath as He continued writing.  Some have proposed that He was writing their sins down.  Maybe He was even listing their names.  Whatever it was caused the stoning to pause.

He then asked that if any of them could publically say that they had no sin on their hands, then they could begin throwing the stones that would beat the woman into a bloody death.  Their hands dropped the stones slowly as what He had written and said sunk in.  Yes, the woman was an adulterer.  Yes, stoning should have been administered, but by who?  These men were not directed by God to punish the guilty.  They were doing it out their own selfish hearts to keep their power and prestige.

Did Jesus abolish stoning?  Not really.  He abolished the act of punishment by those who were unworthy to inflict it.  How could those men who probably were guilty of adultery themselves physically and/or spiritually dare to condemn this woman?  If the truth be told, they should have been right there with her and awaited their own stoning.

Should the OT punishments be delivered today for crimes?  Are we worthy to administer them?  Maybe the original question should be asking if we are in a position to biblically deal out the punishment in accordance to God’s will and not our own.

If you hadn’t guessed, I feel like those punishments should not be done in today’s world only because there is too much corruption in our legal systems.  There would be no justice, because there is no God in our legal systems.

Snapshots in Time: Ancient Egypt, the 3rd Intermediate and Late Periods

Welcome back to Ancient Egypt!  This chapter addresses the period of the 3rd Intermediate Period, from 1070 BC to 712/525 BC, and the Late Period from 712/525 BC to 332 BC.  The disparity of 712 – vs. - 525 BC dates is a reflection of various historians and at what time frame they establish the definition of the break between the 3rd Intermediate and the Late Periods.  For the purpose of this synopsis we will establish the Late Period as beginning at 525 BC.

The 3rd Intermediate Period
When Ramses XI died at the end of the New Kingdom a wealthy and powerful Theban high priest, Herihor, became the Viceroy of Kush.  Through his efforts and power he enabled the Theban high priests to become a major political bloc.  The Karnak site saw the construction of numerous temples and other religious facilities.  At the same time the XXI Pharaohs moved their power base to Tanis and moved the royal necropolis from the Valley of the Kings to Tanis as well.  As the XXI dynasty faded, a Libyan military leader married the last Pharaoh’s daughter and established the XXII Dynasty.  He quickly moved the replace the Theban priests with those of his own choosing and thereby once again re-united Egypt under one leader.  Once a single power center was established he went on to re-establish an Egyptian presence in the Palestinian and Syrian areas. 

However the unity and control in the Palestinian/Syrian corridor did not last long and soon there were three dynasties vying for control of Egypt and in conflict with each other.  To the south, Nubia watched the three dynasties (the XXII, the XXIII, and the XXIV) argue with each other and took advantage of the political chaos and attacked Egypt.  The three dynasties joined together to fight off the power of the Nubians but failed.  Only the XXIV dynasty was able to retain power in a small section of Egypt near the 4th Cataract, while the majority of Egypt became the XXV Dynasty or the Nubian Dynasty as it is sometimes called. 

The Nubian Dynasty was also short-lived due to Assyrians attacking and plundering Thebes.  The Assyrians left destruction in their wake but were successfully routed by the force of the small remaining XXIV Dynasty.  Four hundred years that had been punctuated by terror and chaos was finally ended by the establishment of the XXVI dynasty from the remnants of the XXIV.  The XXVI dynasty regained control of a united Egypt and for about 100 years there was peace and stability throughout the area known as Egypt.

The Late Period
The Late Period of ancient Egypt begins and ends with Persian incursions and control.  Persians swept into Egypt and gained control by establishing the XXVII dynasty in 525 BC.  For more than 100 years the Persians ruled Egypt with a strict hand.  This Persian dynasty was ended by Amyrtaios, an Egyptian who was the sole ruler of the 60-year XXVIII dynasty. 

Amyrtaios was overthrown by Persians who once again stole control of Egypt. The next decade was probably the darkest ever experienced by the ancient Egyptians as the Persians rulers laid waste to Egypt’s lands, stole her wealth, and supplanted her traditions with Persian ones.  Mass murders, plundering of temples, butchering of holy animals were common and frequent.  The people of Egypt were subjected to demands for heavy tribute and taxes.  Temples were destroyed and homes looted.

At the end of ten years of abject terror Egyptians welcomed the conquest of the Persians by Alexander the Great and viewed him as their liberator.

Join us next time as we conclude the history of Ancient Egypt with the last chapter – the Greco-Roman Period.

by Vicki Gardner

Do We Have Free Will?

(Note: This is not meant to be an in-depth look at free will but an overview of it.)

Free will? So much of that is discussed in religious circles but is it fully understood.  Does it mean freedom?  Does it mean complete control?  What is it and do we have it?

Making our own decisions and determining our own course in life is the most common way of defining free will.  It is being the cabinet of your own ship.  Knowing that can we in all honesty say that we have free will with God in the picture?

God is all powerful and all knowing.  He can bring down the thickest and sturdiest of manmade structures.  He can control animals and have them do his bidding.  Calming the storm is child’s play to Him as He is the creator of all.  If He can do all that, does H really let us make our own decisions?

Examples abound in the Bible that many use to say that we do not have free will.  They say that God determines every course of action that we take.  In their viewpoint, we just follow along with His decisions or else pay the price of going the wrong way.

In Exodus 3 - 12, Moses approaches Pharaoh about letting the Israelites go.  The Bible says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that the Chosen People would be kept in captivity.  It was God who made the decision of how Pharaoh felt and what his ruling would be.

Paul says in Romans 8:29-30, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (NIV)  He also says in Ephesians 1:11 that “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…” (NIV).  These verses interpreted to say that our destinations are determined by God and God alone.  Our choices do not come into play.

This is where free will becomes tricky.  Is free will complete control of our lives and destinies?  If so, then according to Romans and Ephesians we have no free will at all because God has already determined who will enter heaven and who will not.  Is free will the freedom to make our decisions on the route to our destinies?  Then, yes, we do.

Jonah was called to go preach to the city of Nineveh.  That was not what he had planned for that day and actually had no desire to do such an unpleasant task.  He made the choice to run.  He made the choice to get to Nineveh the hard way through the belly of a large fish.

Saul/Paul had the chance to continue on his path in Acts 9.  During his days of blindness he had the ability to keep on his own path.  Instead, he turned to the path God had laid out for him.

Free will by many is complete control of our lives.  There are too many factors in this world to interfere in that for us to say that we truly have free will in that manner.  Free will that means that our decisions do play a part in our path but not always our destination seems to be more concrete.  I have the free will to decide to go to church today.  I have the free will to make a career change.  I do not have the free will to make sure that my day goes off just the way I had planned. 

We do have free will yet it is in the end directed by ultimate wisdom.

What is Freedom and Do We Have It?

Freedom.  It is something that will cause a man to murder, a woman to lie, and a child to steal.  It leads to betrayal and desperate measures.  What exactly is this freedom that people will go to such great lengths for and do we really have it?

According to the dictionary freedom is the absence of restraint.  Most of us think of freedom in regard to slavery.  Under slavery someone is without the ability to move about freely and make their own decisions.  This can be found in the Israelites’ captivity in Egypt where they eventually found freedom from their masters.  Slavery can be found in early American history that led many slaves to risk their lives to find freedom in the northern states.  It can be found today in many parts of the world where women are sold into slavery and rarely find freedom.  These are the images that come to mind.  In comparing ourselves to these situations we can say that we have freedom….  Until we look back at the dictionary’s definition.

“Absence of restraint.”  I do not have irons on my ankles and wrists.  I do not have to be worried about being sold.  My body being considered the property of someone else is not in my world.  Therefore, I have freedom?  Yes and no.

I have freedom from slavery as we define it.  I do not have complete freedom.  I do have restraints in my life.  The laws in my society govern me.  I cannot just speed down the road in a school zone.  I cannot just cause a riot and then go about my way.  I have restraints.  I do not have the freedom to do just anything I want.  Something in my life restraints me and leads me.

This something can be anything.  Do you really have freedom from the addictions in your life?  They do not have to be drugs or alcohol.  What about shopping or playing video games?  They have a control over you that takes away part of your freedom. 

Are we free from cell phones and having to be connected to the world at large?  When looked at that concept, very few of us have freedom.  We are tied to something.

From a Christian’s standpoint, we do have freedom yet when we surrender to God we give up freedom and give all of it to Him.  Our free choices usually land us in trouble.  I have the freedom to drink alcohol.  It gets me into trouble when I drink too much.  I have the freedom to have intimate relations, but trouble arises when it is outside of marriage.  I have the freedom to make my own decisions, yet they are usually self-centered and not the right path.

Freedom is an ideal that we strive for, yet will never achieve.  We focus more on levels of freedom while giving it all away unknowingly.  True freedom is to never be found on this earth because something always directs us.  The issue now turns to what directs us and what we have handed our “freedom” to.

Snapshots in Time: Ancient Egypt, the New Kingdom

Welcome back to Ancient Egypt!  This chapter addresses the period of the New Kingdom, from about 1540 BC to about 1070 BC.  The Age of Conquest!  

The New Kingdom is characterized by power and influence gained, lost, gained, and finally lost again.  There were wars with the Hittites, Mitanni, Assyrians, and a vague collection of peoples known as the Sea People.  Kamose’s relative Ahmose succeeded him and rapidly expanded Egypt’s sphere of influence and Egypt became the most powerful nation in the Ancient Near East.  A Viceroy of Nubia was named and answered only to the Pharaoh.

Tuthmosis I and III expanded the empire as far north and east as the Euphrates River and south to the 4th cataract of the Nile.  The building of new temples, the reconstruction and restoration of old temples was financed by the gains in territory and wealth came to Egypt in the manner of gold, ivory, precious and semi-precious stones, ebony, cattle, gums, and resins.  The favored god Amun was honored by the construction of the vast Temple of Karnak complex.  The complex was added to by each succeeding pharaoh of the era.  A female pharaoh named Hatshepsut built many temples and monuments during her peaceful reign and added to Egypt’s wealth by initiating trading with the Punt.

A period of turmoil and national distress followed Hatshepsut when Amenhotep IV (Akenaten) became pharaoh.  He moved the capital to a newly built city, banned all gods except for a single god named Aten, closed temples, destroyed his ally the Mitanni, and began other wars in Asia and Nubia.  As a result of these dramatic changes, the pharaoh lost power, influence, and more importantly, rich lands and trading agreements.  The Egyptian empire shrank back to the Nile Valley and only as far south as the 2nd cataract.  Never again would Egypt extend its power and control past the 2nd cataract.

Seti I and Ramses II reclaimed territories in the Near East, facing their foe the Hittites.  Later the Hittites came to Ramses II seeking help against the attacking Assyrians.  Ramses II took the lead in diplomacy establishing a non-aggression pact with the Hittites and supported them.  A peaceful and very prosperous 67 years followed until Ramses II death in 1224 BC.  By the time of Ramses III corruption, social turmoil, and political conspiracy was rampant in the central government.  Between 1163 BC and 1070 BC Theban priests became the de facto leaders of Upper Egypt and the pharaoh was relegated to Lower Egypt.  Former Libyan prisoners of war took control of the military arm of government, as well lands to the west.  By the end of the reign of Ramses XI Egypt had once again been torn asunder, the 20th dynasty and the New Kingdom collapsed.

Visit again and follow the history of Egypt through the 3rd Intermediate Period.

by Vicki Gardner

Snapshots in Time: Ancient Egypt, the 2nd Intermediate Period

Welcome back to Ancient Egypt!  This chapter addresses the period of the 2nd Intermediate Period, from about 1783 BC to about 1550 BC.  Since this is such a significant era, followed by an even more important era, we will cover the 2nd Intermediate Period by itself.

The 2nd Intermediate Period is characterized by an overall state of stability and progress, however it did not begin, nor did it end, under those favorable auspices.

Exiting the Middle Kingdom era, Egypt came under the control of Canaanites called Hyksos, “ruler of the foreign land”.  The Hyksos ended the 13th dynasty of Upper Egypt and the 14th Dynasty of Lower Egypt to form a single 15th dynasty.  However their real control only reached as far as Thebes.  Thebans re-gathered their elite and founded a 16th dynasty which the Hyksos took another 30 years to conquer.  It was a fruitless battle of resources as after a few short years the Hyksos once again lost control of Lower Egypt and the Thebans formed the 17th dynasty around 1640 BC.  From that point until the end of the 2nd Intermediate Period, the Hyksos maintained trade functions and peaceful political relations with Lower Egypt.

The Hyksos had other concerns for the lands they controlled in Upper Egypt.  Famines were frequent due to lower than expected Nile flooding.  In response, the Hyksos imported new plants and vegetables from Palestine and cattle (zebu) from Nubia to be raised.  They also supported these new species by developing new irrigation methods to get the most out of what flooding the Nile was providing.  In the field of textiles, a significant progression was the importation of the vertical loom.  Bronze working was introduced, enabling the development of stronger tools and weapons.  The first chariots are also seen during this era.

Along with providing new skills and knowledge to the conquered Egyptians, the Hyksos revitalized a dying culture while still maintaining its most sacred institutions.  Learning and experimentation became a prime directive of this period - how to obtain the most from limited resources.

The 2nd Intermediate Period came to a nasty end when the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt insulted the Pharaoh of Lower Egypt, igniting all out war.  The Pharaoh of Lower Egypt was killed but after three years his son Kamose was successful in routing the Hyksos, forcing them to return to Palestine.

Visit again and follow the history of Egypt through the New Kingdom.

by Vicki Gardner

Snapshots in Time: Ancient Egypt, the 1st Intermediate and Middle Kingdoms

Welcome back to Ancient Egypt!  This chapter addresses the period of the 1st Intermediate Period, from about 2200 BC to about 2040/50 BC followed by the Middle Kingdom from about 2040/50 BC to 1783 BC.

The 1st Intermediate Period is characterized by somewhat more than a century of widespread chaos and warfare.  As we saw earlier, the demise of the central government due to climate conditions brought about the rise of local governments controlled by nomarchs.  Some of these nomarchs were more successful politicians than others and proclaimed themselves king of their own regions, while some still recognized the failed central government.

The 9th and 10th Dynasties were in control of an area from Heracleapolis in the Delta, south to Abydos where they were challenged by the 11th Dynasty in Thebes.  Lesser nomarchs aligned themselves with either the Heraclepian or Theban dynasties.  The two disparate dynastic areas clashed repeatedly both politically and militarily and resulted in civil war.  Small regions west of the Nile were spared the effects of warfare but a great deal of the artistic achievements of the Old Kingdom paid the price of the civil war.  Local nomarchs who could not afford to pay the formerly state-sponsored artisans turned to local talent for the building of structures, inscription of hieroglyphs, and artistic decoration.  Much of the artifacts of this period reflect crudity and dis-proportionate depictions as well as less ornamentation.

However the impact on Egypt as a single culture was enhanced by this period of turmoil.  The rise of the local governments and warring dynasties brought the Pharaonic culture to widespread areas outside of the royal court and the elite.  All Egyptians regardless of caste were now indulging in the Pharaonic culture and adapting to the ways of Ra and his cohort of gods.  This cultural development insured the survival of the Pharaonic culture through the decline of the Old Kingdom to the birth of the Middle Kingdom.

Mentuhotep II of the Theban dynasty won final victory and once again unified Egypt under a single ruler and the Middle Kingdom began in about 2040-50 BC.  The years cannot be precisely dated due to the state of the country at the time.

Following the death of Mentuhotep II, his vizier Amenemhat I became Pharaoh.  He led military campaigns in Nubia to further Egyptian control south of the first cataract of the Nile.  With the fortunes claimed, he began a new building campaign for his new administrative center in Itj-Tawi, a location central to the two former warring dynasties, as well as temples and forts along the eastern frontier.  The capital itself was relocated back to Memphis as it had been during the Old Kingdom.  Later, Sesostris III eliminated all local governors to once again establish central control and then directed more military campaigns in Nubia, pushing all the way south of the 2nd cataract of the Nile.  He also led the first campaigns in Syria and Palestine, possible as revenge for tribal incursions into Egyptian lands.  However, with his heir’s royal blood in question, a foreign potentate from the eastern Nile region wrested control – once again dividing the country and the Middle Kingdom collapsed in 1783 BC.

Visit again and follow the history of Egypt through the Second Intermediary Period.

by Vicki Gardner