Murder.
I refuse to accept the Bible as a moral guide because it sanctions murder.
It is true the Sixth Commandment says, “Thou shalt not kill;” but this law is practically annulled by innumerable commands from the same source, like the following, to kill:
“Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor” (Ex. xxxii, 27).
“Spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling” (1 Sam. xv, 3).
“Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children” (Ezek. ix, 6)
“Cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood” (Jer. xlviii, 10).
For the leader and legislator of his chosen people, God selects a murderer. The first recorded act of Moses was premeditated murder. “He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand” (Ex. ii 12).
For committing a murder, Phinehas is rewarded by Jehovah with “the covenant of an everlasting priesthood” (Num. xxv, 6–13).
Samuel “hewed Agag,” a captive king, “in pieces before the Lord” (1 Sam. xv, 32, 33).
Jehu murders all the house of Ahab, and God rewards him for it:
“And Joram turned his hands and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart and he sunk down in his chariot.
“But when Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so.
“And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window. And as Jehu entered in at the gate she said, Had Zimri peace who slew his master? And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? Who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses; and he trode her under foot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter. And they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.”
The dogs had devoured her.
“And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent to Samaria.... And it came to pass when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.”
“So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.”
“And the Lord said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel” (2 Kings ix, 23, 24, 27, 30–35; x, 1, 7, 11, 30).
The assassination of Eglon by Ehud was characterized by the basest treachery and brutality. Eglon was king of Moab. Ehud carried a present to him, and after he had delivered the present he told the king that he had a private message for him. Eglon ordered his attendants to retire, and when alone Ehud drew a large dagger from beneath his cloak and thrust it through the body of the king. And the Bible tells us that God raised up Ehud expressly for this work (Jud. iii, 15–23).
The warmest eulogy in the Bible is bestowed upon a murderess. Sisera is a fugitive from battle. He reaches in safety the tent of Heber, his friend. Heber is absent, but Jael, his wife, receives the fugitive, and bids him welcome. She gives him food, spreads a soft couch for him, and covers him with her mantle. Wearied with his retreat, and unconscious of impending danger, Sisera soon sinks into a profound slumber. With a tent nail in one hand and a hammer in the other, Jael approaches the bedside of her sleeping guest. She bends over him, listens to assure herself that he is asleep, then places the nail against his temple, and with a blow drives it through his head. A struggle, and Sisera is dead, a victim of one of the most damnable deeds ever committed.
In honor of this assassination, God’s favorite prophetess, Deborah, sings:
“Blessed above women shall Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, be; blessed shall she be above women in the tent. He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workman’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down; at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead. The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot?” (Jud. v, 24–28.)
We wish to place before our children, for their emulation, good and noble characters. We have been taught that in the Bible such characters may be found. You desire a model woman to place before your daughter. What one will you select? Here is a woman whom the Bible pronounces “blessed above women.” This must be a suitable model, then. Blessed for what? For committing one of the most infamous of murders.
We had a Kansas girl who followed in the footsteps of this “blessed woman.” Years ago, across the prairies of southern Kansas stretched a lonely road. By its side, far from other habitations, stood an unpretentious dwelling, inhabited by four persons—father, mother, son, and daughter. But the daughter was the ruling spirit there. Their only volume, we are told, was a Bible, and this the daughter read. The house contains two rooms besides the cellar. The rooms are separated simply by a curtain. In the front room is kept a small stock of groceries. Here, too, with its back against the curtain, and fastened to the floor, stands a chair. Above the door is a sign with this inviting word, “Provisions.” A traveler enters and makes some purchases, displaying a well-filled purse. He is treated hospitably, and invited to remain awhile and rest. Wearied, he drops into the chair, his head pressing against the curtain. Armed with a hammer, this follower of Jael now approaches from the rear. One well-directed blow, and the tired traveler sinks into eternal rest. His pockets are rifled, and his body thrown into the cellar, to be taken out at night and buried in the little garden behind the dwelling. Time rolls on; the traveler does not return. Day after day his wife at home, with anxious heart, peers through the window and sighs, “Why don’t he come?” At length suspicion rests upon this den of infamy. A search is instituted, and the garden is found to be a cemetery, filled with the bodies of murdered travelers—one a little child. In the mean time this female monster with her kin has fled. Detectives are still searching for her. They’ll never find her. Where is she? In heaven with Jael. Now let some modern Deborah sing, “Blessed above maidens shall Kate Bender be!”