November 30th, 2009
29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
In Exodus 12, God kills all firstborn in Egypt, with the exception of the Israelites who smeared blood over their door, in an effort to force Ramses to release the Israelite slaves. Did these children really deserve it, though?
It was Ramses who refused to let Moses’ people go, not these children. Their only sin was being born first to the oppressors of the Israelites. They were killed to prove a point, but was this really a good thing? All Christians are taught this story, and many take this passage for granted, thinking of the Egyptians as the bad guys. After all, it’s okay for the children of the bad guys to die, right? Absolutely not. Such a stance is morally reprehensible. Why would a just, moral, and loving god kill innocent children?
Some may say that such children, being under the age of accountability, would go straight to Heaven. However, such a mode of thought implies that infanticide is okay. There is no question about it. God has committed infanticide, a highly immoral act.