The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
16:2-4 - "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bear them, and the fathers who beget them in this land; They shall die of deadly disease. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried; they shall become like dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the air and for the wild animals of the earth."
16:9 - "For this says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to banish you from this place, in your days and before your eyes, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride."
Jeremiah 17 - No mention of any women.
18:21 - "Therefore give their children over to famine; hurl them out to the power of the sword, let their wives become childless and widowed. May their men meet death by pestilence, their youths be slain by the sword in battle."
My Comments
You know what? Maybe it was the almost month long hiatus, maybe it's just because the idea is just so ridiculous, maybe it's because I just do not want to acknowledge that millions of people read this book and see it as something holy and good and therefore, on some level, they think God's actions here are thus holy and good. Whatever the reason, halfway through chapter 17 it just struck me. Struck me really hard, actually, and you can tell from all the ranting in large letters I did on the pages for chapter 17 (I usually only write on the pages when something has severely pissed me off). I know I've touched on this before, but it bears repeating over and over and over again, simply because of the sheer stupidity and cruelty the Biblical God shows towards his chosen people whom he supposedly loves above all others. Whom he created with the utmost care. For whom he crafted an entire UNIVERSE. Yes, let us once again look over the asshattery of God towards his chosen people of Israel.
Why is God punishing Israel? What has she does that is so heinous that it would require not only chapters but BOOKS dedicated to talking about how severe the torture and punishment would be for Israel for her egregious crimes and transgressions?
Was it murder? Rape? Theft? Genocide? Cruelty? Torture? Lying? Killing kittens? Anything that you could think or that would even remotely warrant this kind of punishment?
No. We've already established that God is pretty much okay with any of the aforementioned "sins." He has no qualms with murder or mass genocide or torture or rape or lying.
Israel deserves this torture simply because she was not completely loyal to him. That's it. Simply because some of her people decided to worship other gods this warrants, "they shall die or deadly diseases; they shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried; they shall become like dung on the surface of the ground; they shall perish by the sword or by famine; and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the air and for the wild animals of the earth."
Does that sound like a just and loving God? A jealous God, sure, but even he calls himself jealous. But loving and just? How can anyone even remotely kid themselves with a lie like that when books like Jeremiah and Isaiah are right there, plain as day, not even trying to hide the fact that God is a jackass simply because he isn't the center of attention.
I guess he created the universe simply so he could be the center of it?
Whatever the case, let you never forget that the whole of the Bible is not to tell you how to live your life. It's not a code of morals or even stories which explain good behavior to you. No, the Bible is here to remind you that if you are not COMPLETELY 100% faithful to the Biblical God, if you do not think of him every single minute of your pathetic life on this planet, if you do not thank him for every gasp of air he allows you to have, if you do not praise him in a way he deems worthy or if you, in your human weakness, turn to someone or something other than the Biblical God in times of need, then God will. ruin. your. shit. period. Even if God is purposefully ruining your shit right now in order to prove some point (be it a dick measuring contest with another god or just because he happens to be having a crappy day) you STILL have to praise him and have faith in him 100% or else he will never, ever make your life better. Even if the Biblical God rescues you from slavery and then makes you wander a desert for 40 years (during which you have to obey every teeny-tiny law and rule he makes up lest he make it longer than 40 years or simply throw you to your enemies) you are not allowed to lose even an iota of faith.
The moral of the good book (so far)?
Out of every evil in this world: rape, genocide, murder, torture, child abuse, sexual assault, stoning, racism, sexism, classism, etc. The only one God cares about is adultery. He cares so much about adultery that ANY adultery is pretty much the worst sin you could ever do. He has books dedicated to the hell God puts Israel through for not being fully faithful to him at all times. And books before that have been dedicated to the exact way sacrificing rituals are to be performed in order to please God because doing them wrong proves you do not completely love him. And books before this have been dedicated to the evils of adulterous women, who call to helpless men and trick them into laying with them. Adultery. Adultery. Adultery.
I'm sorry, anyone who calls this the good book or uses it as a moral code of any sort is fooling themselves. There is no moral code here. Only verse after verse of a jealous man ranting about not being loved as much as he wants to be and punishing those he wants to love him.
Bonus picture.
Friday: More Jeremiah
Very good rant, indeed. It's so good to have you back!
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