Song of Solomon 1:5-6: Self-Confident Beauty Vs. Self-Pitying Sadness

[4][Others]

We will exult and rejoice in you;

we will extol your love more than wine;

rightly do they love you.

[She]

[5] I am very dark, but lovely,

O daughters of Jerusalem,

like the tents of Kedar,

like the curtains of Solomon.

[6] Do not gaze at me because I am dark,

because the sun has looked upon me.

My mother's sons were angry with me;

they made me keeper of the vineyards,

but my own vineyard I have not kept!

(Song of Solomon 1:5-6 ESV)

v5 - She is dark, but lovely.  Dark - the standards of beauty back then claimed that tanned women were less than perfect, while the most beautiful women were pale.  Rich women didn't have to work in the fields, and could stay in doors all day, avoiding the sun.  Only poor women had to be in the fields.  

Yet she says she is lovely.  She has confidence in herself, in her unique kind of beauty, because of what follows in verse 8: her beloved regularly calls her "most beautiful among women."  Guys, you need to know: most women are insecure about their appearance in some way.  Yet when the people in a woman's life keep telling her that she is beautiful, she will gain confidence that she is, indeed, beautiful.  In this case, her beloved Solomon, the man she knows and trusts, keeps praising her for her beauty, and her heart fills with confidence that he truly does see her as the "most beautiful among women."  

Note that not everyone can say this.  If a random guy on the street calls out to a woman and says "Hey, beautiful," it can be creepy.  That man probably has selfish, dark motives in mind, rather than the love and compassion of a beloved spouse.  There has to be some level of knowledge and trust before a woman sees this as a compliment, and not a questionable act of manipulation.  (At times these requirements are lowered, such as when a woman is in a club specifically to hook up, and prefers that her potential bed-mate not know much about her, or her about him.  But this isn't exactly what we're talking about, here).  

This woman takes immense courage and confidence from her beloved's praising of her beauty.  His words give her life and strengthen their bond.  In quick hook-up settings, compliments can have a limited version of this effect, but it is nothing lasting.  It's a shot of Red Bull instead of a nourishing meal: a quick burst of feeling, but it fades quickly, and can't last.  Women, please do not be taken in by these cheap compliments, by words that are intended to get something from you, instead of give something to you!

Romance without knowledge is manipulation.  Guys who cultivate romantic feelings in girls, without first getting to know the girl, are almost always seeking some selfish thing: a one-night stand, another notch in the bed post, etc.  The girl can feel great to be complimented and pursued, but once he gets what he wants, she is left with little but pain and regret.  

Notice also that there is a sharp difference between chemistry and the kind of manipulation I mentioned above.  Chemistry is a necessary part of getting to know someone romantically; romance is hardly possible without it!  Yet notice that in order for your heart to be in the necessary condition to feel chemistry, you have to feel safe with the person who is flirting with you.  Chemistry is well and good, given that it is a delight felt by both people as they're getting to know each other.  

Chemistry becomes manipulation when it's done without much knowledge, or with a selfish ulterior motive.  Consider a man who meets a girl and instantly begins flirting and pouring on the chemistry.  He knows nothing of her, except that he is attracted to her outward appearance.  She knows nothing of him, except his outward appearance and the fact that he wants to hook up.  In this situation, they won't experience love for each other; at best, they'll feel lust.  How can you love someone if you don't know who they are?  

For Christians who are seeking to meet someone, there has to be some level of getting to know each other before you start opening your heart up to each other.  Note that frequently in this book, Solomon calls his wife "my sister" and "my friend."  Single Christians should treat each other as brothers and sisters, as friends, as they initially get to know each other. Once you know enough about a person to realize this is a person you'd like to explore a relationship with, you can start ramping up the chemistry.

To put it another way: don't begin a Christian dating relationship with emotions, with chemistry, with selfish romance aiming to get something rather than servant romance aiming to give.  Relationships that begin with a burst of emotion can be insanely enjoyable -- until the elation wears off and you realize that you don't really know anything about the person you're with.  I know of one couple who began this way, but didn't really know each other.  In their pre-marital counseling, after they were already engaged, the pastoral counselor asked them a serious question.  Their views were so divergent that the man broke off the relationship, utterly shocked that his fiance could think that way.  She had always believed that way, yet he had never gotten to know her.  If he had started the relationship with questions rather than ramping up the chemistry as fast as possible, he could have saved them both a great deal of heartbreak.

In a different situation, there are many today who try to play the system, who try to take the pleasures of compliments and one-night stands, who try to get high on romantic, sexual feelings, while avoiding the consequences.  They intentionally avoid any commitment, so they're not disappointed by the person leaving in the morning.  For some, this works fairly well; they get their high, and they avoid the pain.  Yet this is a shadow pleasure.  It's a far cry from what this woman is experiencing with her beloved husband!  She doesn't merely get a physical experience.  He knows her, and she knows him.  They know each other's strengths, as well as their weaknesses.  They know, and they still love each other.  She sees what could be an imperfection in her: her dark skin.  No one wanted dark skin in that age.  Yet he praises her for it.  He doesn't say that she's just a 7 out of 10, good enough for a weekend hook-up, but nothing else.  He calls her the most beautiful among women, and he calls her this consistently.  She doesn't have to fear being rejected for her imperfections.  She knows that she always has a man by her side who knows her, who loves her, and who isn't driven away by her supposed flaws.  Instead, he cherishes her for her unique beauty; she is perfect to him.  Compliments that flow from that kind of connection nourish and strengthen the soul!

And after that very long discussion, now we get back to verse 5!

"O daughters of Jerusalem" - she has a group of women around her, like every woman.  These are probably the same as the chorus of the "others," who speak in verse 4, as well as the virgins she mentions in verse 3 (ESV footnotes).  No one is an island.

Also, take note: these others include virgins.  These virgins celebrate the happiness of their married friend -- they don't pity themselves and pretend to be happy for her.  The temptation to throw a pity party for yourself is huge when everyone else is finding a spouse and you're not.  Yet look at these friends.  They celebrate their friend's happiness, which makes them exult and rejoice out loud.  They are made happy by celebrating their friend!  As Scripture tells us elsewhere, rejoice with those who rejoice!  Don't believe the lies of the enemy that tell you to pity yourself unless you get exactly what you want.  God has provided opportunities for you to be happy, even while single -- rejoice with your married friends in their love!  It's the opposite of what we feel like doing, often, but God knows what He's doing.  Choose to follow this path, and you will be happier than you are now.  

Additionally, speaking as a man, it is one of the least attractive things ever to see a woman pity herself for her singleness.  I don't mean to be heartless and attack a woman who's feeling bad; on the contrary, if you're throwing yourself a pity party because of your singleness, I want to give you hope and joy!  But to do so, we have to explore why pity parties are so damaging, why they're so unattractive -- as well as why rejoicing singles are so attractive.

If there's a woman who is single who wants to be not single, yet she rejoices with her friends when they get hitched -- that's attractive.  This rejoicing woman -- she isn't completely caught up in herself.  She is focusing on others, rejoicing with them.  The pitying woman is selfish, only caring about herself, which can make things awkward and less enjoyable for everyone around her.  A single friend at a wedding who is shrouded in pity is a damp cloth on the festivities.  She's saying that it doesn't matter that these two people have found each other; all that matters is me, and I'm still unhappy, so I'm going to let everyone know how uphappy I am.  Women (and men), this is a time when your emotions lie to you.  Emotions will tell you to pity yourself, that you have a right to be unhappy, but that's the worst option possible for yourself and for those around you.  Fight pity, choose to rejoice with others, and everyone will be happier.  And yes, it is a choice; even if your emotions are filling you with self-pity, you can choose to rejoice, you can choose to smile, you can choose to delight in your friends' love, and soon your emotions will follow your decision.  After all, you have Jesus.  You already have a love greater than what any human can give to you.  That should enable you to rejoice at anytime.  If you put pity for singleness above joy for God, then you're an idolator; you love yourself more than Jesus.  That's the source of your sadness, not your singleness.  

In short: women and men who pity themselves are selfish, and this is unattractive because it tells others that they'll continue to be selfish even in a relationship.  Rather than focusing on others, rather than rejoicing with them, rather than cherishing God first in her heart, self-pitying people will continue to cherish themselves and their happiness first in their hearts, which will lead to no end of arguments, pain, loneliness, and bitterness in marriage.  Those who rejoice with others in their happiness, who can smile even in the darkest times because Jesus loves them, are supremely attractive, because their heart is in the right place.  A life spent with a person who has this others-focused heart will be a joy.  

Anyway, back to verse 5.  This woman is dark like the tents of Kedar, which were made of black goat-hair (ESV footnotes).  The curtains of Solomon were no doubt beautiful, but apparently also dark.  She doesn't want you to think that she's just slightly tanned; she's saying that she's been out in the sun so long that her skin has been baked over and over until it is as dark as black goat-hair.  

v6 - She doesn't want people to stare at her because of her dark skin; she's very self-conscious about her appearance.  She doesn't want to be pointed out in a crowd.

She explains why she's dark, how her brothers were angry with her and made her work outside.  Her brothers were possibly selfish, lazy guys who didn't want to work the vineyard, so they made their sister do it.  She kept the vineyards; they were an agrarian family, farmers all.  

Yet she hasn't kept her own vineyard, a poetical way of saying that she hasn't been taking care of her physical appearance.  Rather than buying dresses, wearing make-up, and doing her hair, she's been out in the fields, sweating, working.  She doesn't look like the definition of beauty in this culture.  If I remember correctly, at this time being slightly pudgy was a positive thing; it meant you were rich enough to eat more than a daily share of food, and you didn't have to do manual labor yourself.  This woman is the opposite of that; she has to work in the fields daily just to get by.

In other words, she would never be on the cover of the beauty magazines of her day.  The fashionable women who lived in the cities likely scoffed at her for not taking care of her body, of caring for her beauty.  They would tell her that she should be self-conscious of her beauty; she hasn't earned the right to call herself beautiful, not by their standards.

But this woman rejoices because she doesn't live by the cultural standards.  She doesn't care if these other people will call her beautiful.  

She cares about her beloved, her husband, her Solomon.  And he adores her unique form of beauty.  He sees her as beautiful, as the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.  This is her strength.  

Men, realize the power you have to make your beloved woman feel good about herself!  If you aren't telling her how gorgeous she is to you, tell her!  Then tell her again!  And don't stop until you die!

Women, a lot of this can seem counter-cultural, so I just want to tell you a story.  A few years ago two friends and I were watching the first season of LOST.  After one episode, one of the guys casually mentioned how pretty he thought one of the actresses was.  This led to a slight argument -- the other two of us didn't agree.  We each thought a different actress was more beautiful.  We came to realize that we each thought a different girl was the prettiest on the show, and we thought it was just obvious that it was the case.  It showed us quite clearly that we each had very different standards of what we thought made a girl pretty.  We didn't understand why we each saw it so differently, but we at least had to admit that there wasn't one standard of beauty between us.

Culture today tries to tell you what makes you beautiful, that you have to look like all the famous women.  Don't buy it for a second.  God has given every woman a unique form of beauty.  That doesn't mean that He made some women beautiful, while others are less so.  It means that to the man you marry, you will be perfect.  Every individual woman will be the standard of makes a woman beautiful -- to her husband.  But even bigger than that, every woman should know that her God in Heaven loves her and cherishes her beauty, because God gave that beauty to her.  Every woman is made in the image of God (Gen 1); thus, God sees some of His own beauty in each of you.  Every woman should know that she is the handiwork of God, the craftsmanship of the One who created the universe (Eph. 2:10).  In the eyes of God, you are beautiful; in the eyes of God, you are loved!

Men, for you, all of this means that you don't have a standard of what makes a woman beautiful until you are married to her.  Then that woman becomes your only standard of what beauty is.  You will undoubtedly be attracted to her long before you slip a ring on her finger, but once you marry her, you need to ask God to keep your heart focused on her, to keep her as your standard of beauty.  I'll talk about this more in a later post, but for now let me simply say that your heart is fully capable of seeing your bride as the most beautiful among women, throughout the whole of your marriage.  If you don't, if your heart isn't there, it's because you are selfishly letting it stray.  If this is true, pray to God for the grace to turn your heart back to the women you pledged your life to.

Song of Solomon 1:1-4: This Woman is Crazily In Love

I started studying Song of Solomon to learn about love.  I didn't grow up with sisters or with close female friends, so I didn't pick up naturally how to talk to girls, how to attract them, how to treat them properly.  When I first started to try to attract a girl, I was horrible.  I had no idea what I was doing.  Fortunately, God has provided all that I needed to know, here.  Since the study of this book has been so helpful for me, I decided to post a study of it here, so that it can hopefully be of value to others.

I should also note that I have been heavily influenced by Mark Driscoll's sermon series on Song of Solomon, which can be found here: peasantprincess.com  His sermons are excellent, but they focus primarily on marriage.  Given that I have a different focus than him, I'm using his work mostly as a framework, with specific points being taken from the text itself rather than copying his words.

We'll move verse-by-verse through the book.  There is so much to learn here that often just a few verses will take pages and pages of writing to unpack, as is the case with the first four verses, here.

[1:1] The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.

[The Bride Confesses Her Love]

[SHE]

[2]  Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
[3] your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
[4] Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.

[OTHERS]

We will exult and rejoice in you;

we will extol your love more than wine;

rightly do they love you.


(Song of Solomon 1:1-4 ESV)

1:1 - This is Solomon's song.  Based on this simple statement, I will assume that this book refers to the actual King Solomon and his bride.  There are a number of scholars who disagree and say this can't actually be Solomon, but this not merited by the evidence.  

v2 - She dearly desires the kisses of her beloved.  They are at least betrothed, if not married at this point; she knows him, and knows she is safe with him.  She desires him.  When a woman loves a man, and knows she is loved by him, she deeply desires to be with him.  A woman wants his kisses.  This might seem obvious, but it can be soothing to those who have been scarred by past relationships.  Some have been so damaged by rejection that they're not willing to begin new relationships; their history with rejection has told them that they will never be loved or desired.  This passage, and this entire book, speaks against that.  If a man loves a woman rightly, as Solomon loves his bride in this book, she will desire him as much as this woman desires Solomon in this verse.  

When rejection happens and a relationship ends, sometimes it is the person who is rejected.  Maybe they're an alcoholic, or they're mean, or they're bitter, or they're too selfish to properly care for another person.  In these cases, it's still not hopeless; the person who was rejected can grow closer to Christ, repent of their sin, begin obeying the words of God, and grow into a person who is attractive.  

Yet often it is not the person who is rejected, but rather their means of dating.  What I mean by this is that our American society has warped our minds.  Things like romantic comedies (where a person is attracted, courted, and married in the space of 2 hours), pornography (where the focus is selfish and displays no care or concern for the person lusted after), and online dating (where the focus isn't about serving others but finding a perfect match so that I don't have to change) have warped our minds and hearts.  We expect romantic dating to be like these things, yet following behaviors that have been shaped by these things will only destroy romantic relationships.  Romantic comedies can make women expect a man to commit to them far earlier than a man is ready to.  This can lead the woman to grow desperate and clingy, to doubt herself and to freak out about the relationship, when in fact nothing is wrong; the man simply needs time to get to know the girl before he'll commit to her.  Similarly, a man stained by porn can expect sexual feelings to come far earlier than they were intended (specifically, only to be unleashed in marriage).  Porn could also have trained his heart to be attracted to multiple women at once, instead of committing to only one woman.  Online dating can make a person selfish, only willing to accept a person meets their pre-determined criteria (they have to be blond, they must be between 5'10'' and 6'0'', they must like country music, they have to bear a passing resemblance to a certain Hollywood star, etc.).  It can lead to the attitude that I myself am a sort of god; all of these potential suitors must meet my approval.  In other words, it leads to arrogance; there is no flaw in me, but there are hundreds of flaws in all these other people.  I won't change, but I'll expect a person to bend over backwards to meet my criterion before I'll consider them.  

Often if a person is rejected nowadays, it's because their whole approach is shaped by ungodly cultural expectations and attitudes, like those mentioned above.  In this case, rejection is, again, not hopeless.  You must simply change your game.  You have to repent of the sinful expectations and actions of your past, and let the Song of Solomon shape you into a person who can date in a Godly, glorious, fun, passionate manner.  That's why this book is here.  

So if you've had failure after failure in the dating world, don't despair!  God's got your back.  This book will be filled with wisdom.  This book has stayed around for 3,000 years for a good reason; not only is the poetry beautiful and moving, but the wisdom is insanely practical and helpful.  

vv2-3 - She feels that his love is better than wine; as wine makes a person light-headed and drunk, so does his love for her.  She is love-struck, drunk with love.  The relationship has clearly had time to develop, for them to get to know each other, and for him to love her so well that she is captivated by her man.

His anointing oils are fragrant - he smells nice.  This is again an obvious thing, but women like men who smell nice, who are clean, who take care of themselves physically.  It's scientifically proven that a woman's nose is more sensitive than a man's; women can smell things no guy can detect.  Women can smell foul odors from a guy that he simply can't detect.  So guys, you may not understant it, but trust me, your scent matters.

For married people (and even engaged and dating/courting people, in some sense), it is a sign of love and care for your spouse/betrothed that you care for yourself.  You are your gift to them.  Instead of focusing on what you get -- namely, them and their body -- focus on what you give, namely yourself and your body.  It is selfish to expect them to be perfect, while you allow yourself to be lazy and sloppy.  

Also, this means that you should allow your spouse to inform your choices about your appearance, smell, etc.  If your wife hates the smell of your deodorant, change brands!  If your husband really likes you in red, wear more red!  In marriage, your body belongs to your spouse (1 Cor 7:4).  But this isn't slavery; it's a gift.  So give the gift with thoughtfulness, selflessness, and care -- tailor the gift to the receiver!

Single people can still benefit from this knowledge.  Guys, shower.  This would seem to be obvious, but there a great number of guys who have no concern for hygeine.  Guys, if you don't care for your hygeine, it's probably going to be true that women won't be caring much for you.  A lack of hygeine marks you as being lazy and selfish; you don't care that your smell is offensive to others, you just care that you don't have to spend time and energy keeping yourself presentable.  I shouldn't have to say it, but those aren't attractive qualities in anyone.

But for those who do keep themselves shiny and clean, there's still much to be learned.  Instead of buying deodorant that you think smells good, ask your mom, your sister, or a few female friends for recommendations.  You can extend this to clothing, shampoo, hairstyle, etc.  If you're looking to attract a woman, get some womanly advice on what's attractive!  What looks good to you, what smells good to you, might not be so good to a member of the female gender.  

Similarly, women, get some advice from Godly men on what's attractive.  I advise you: don't look to the world for fashion advice.  Their focus isn't on landing you a solid Godly man for life-long marriage; their focus is on sex, on greed, on getting you to buy as much as possible, on instant pleasures rather than life-long joys.  As an obvious example, I consider a woman far more attractive if she's covered up than if she's exposing great quantities of herself.  A woman who exposes herself may be physically beautiful, but there's a greater chance that she would not be a good life-long partner.  A woman who doesn't need to expose flesh to attract a man is far more likely to be a great wife; if her strengths are her character, her love for God, her intelligence, her wisdom, her compassion, her imagination, I would consider her far more attractive that a woman who just appeals to flesh.  So women, when you consider your appearance, tailor yourself for the kind of man you want to be with.  A Godly man who will love and cherish you will not be looking for the woman with the most sensuous attire.  (At least not right away; as Song of Solomon will indicate in a few chapters, once you're married and have the privacy of your own bedroom, it's beautiful to bring that kind of attire into play).  

Back to the woman in this passage.  She adores Solomon's name, his reputation.  She loves the fact that her beloved is well-thought of by the other ladies.  She doesn't have to convince people that this man is worthy of her attention; they know he is.  They know his name, his reputation.  They know, and they approve!  

Men: seek to be this man.  Make yourself known in public; don't sit in your room and play video games all day, away from people.  Make a good name for yourself, such that people will be glad and grateful to know you.  

Women: seek this kind of man out.  Seek a man who is known, who is approved.  If he is a loner, with few close friends, that can be a red flag.  If a man can't keep friends, don't believe that he'll be able to keep your affections, either.

Couples: be known.  Don't go at this alone.  Make sure that you have insight to your relationship, people older and wiser than you speaking into it.  In general, the better known you are, the safer you are.  When you go at this alone, or when one of you is a loner with few close friends or family, a lot of pain and even danger can result.

Pro tip: Guys, if you have mutual friends and connections with a woman you're interested in, use them!  At the initial stages, if she can get good, glowing reviews about you from people she already knows and trusts, that's money in the bank!

v4 - Draw me after you; let us run.  Notice that she says "draw me after you."  She wants the man to lead, for him to draw her after him.  She doesn't want him to be domineering or lording over her, but she does want him to lead.  She wants him to lead, to draw her after, and for them to run together.  

Men: lead.  She wants you to have confidence, to be leading, to draw her after you.  Women are NOT attracted to men who are cowardly, who hide behind their women, who are afraid of leading, who cannot take risks.  (Those women who are attracted to men like this have their own problems; typically, they're viewing the man more like a son, a child, and less like a man; they want to mother him instead of be his equal in marriage).  So men: lead!  Women: find a man who can lead.  Don't settle for less.  If he won't lead now, there's a good chance he won't be able to lead later, and you'll keep lording over him for the entire relationship.  Trust Scripture: you don't want that.  Men who can't lead, who still have the maturity of a child, will not make good spouses.

The king has brought her into his chambers.  He led her to his chambers.  She delights in this!  This harkens back to Genesis 1-2, to Adam's commission and duty as a man: cultivate a place, a Garden, where God is worshipped, where she knows she is safe to enter, that her worship of God will be protected and encouraged, where they will live together while following God's call on their life together.  Solomon has done that; he brings his bride to his chambers, to a place where she is safe to love God and him.  

In religious temples, there is often a Holy of Holies, an inner sanctum that is protected fiercely.  It is set aside for the priest to commune with the deity, for that relationship.  This chamber of Solomon's is like that, but dedicated to the marriage relationship, rather than a purely religious experience.  This chamber is set aside, holy, protected, dedicated to the bride and groom, to their love.  Love like this, protected and cherished, pleases God deeply.  Just look at how it's portrayed in Scripture!  The Holy of Holies is protected for worship.  The marriage chamber is protected for love, for the man and woman to enjoy their relationship with each other in privacy, in safety, in worship.

For those who are still single, make this your goal.  Men, get a job, get a college degree, work. Earn enough to provide a safe place for a woman to live, to worship God and to love you.  She doesn't want to live in your parent's basement.  Work now so that when you get married later, you can lead your bride into your chambers, into a safe place for her and for your marriage.

Women, don't just look for a man who's physically attractive and charming.  Look for a guy with a job.  Look for a guy with a good work ethic, who will gladly provide.  Hint: these guys don't tend to spend 12 hours a day in front of a TV playing Call of Duty.  If a guy spends the majority of his time playing games instead of doing something productive, he's acting more like a child than a man.  Until he grows up, he's not fit for you.

Throughout Song of Solomon, a group of friends speaks into this relationship.  Most translations simply call them "the others."  These others exult and rejoice in the love of this man and his bride.  They are exceptionally pleased and happy that these two know each other, love each other.  

Take note, couples: if your family and friends don't rejoice that you two are together, that's a massive danger sign.  Sometimes the family is wrong; they have the wrong expectations, such as when they want their daughter with a doctor/lawyer, specifically for all the monies, and ignore the man who will love their daughter far better than this rich man.  But it is more probable that the family can see more clearly than their love-struck child, and recognize that this person is not good for them.  In short: if your friends and family and church family don't celebrate your relationship, you need to take some time to re-evaluate it, to pray and think over it.  

The others extol their love more than wine; they are approving this man whom this woman loves.  The "you" here is masculine; they are approving the man, specifically, not just their relationship.  View this as a big group of bridesmaids, all approving and celebrating the man their dear friend is marrying.  They could not be more happy with her choice of husband.  That's what's going on here.  Men: make sure that you make yourself known to these women, to your bride's family and friends.  Let them probe you; give them a chance to know you and approve of you. View it like dating her mother and father; give them gifts, have long conversations with them, do things for them.  Endear yourself to them.  She will delight in their approval of you, and you will live in much more peace and harmony if her family and friends approve of you, instead of being cold towards you.  

And all that's just the first 4 verses.  We've got 8 chapters of this stuff to go through.  This should be a fun ride!

Peter Denies Jesus: Discipleship Failure and the Glory of God

[66] And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, [67] and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” [68] But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. [69] And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” [70] But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” [71] But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” [72] And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
(Mark 14:66-72 ESV)



There is a lot that can be said about Mark 14. It's a long chapter, with a lot of things to tell us about the Passion Week of Jesus. Yet today, due to what's been going on in my life recently, I feel inclined to study this passage. This is a prime example of discipleship failure, and I want to see what this passage can tell us about how God deals with our failure.


First off, what this passage means to its original audience. For this, let's go verse-by-verse.

66 - Peter is close to Jesus, as close as he can come. He doesn't want to abandon his Master. Yet Jesus is on trial for His life; this is not what Peter had expected at all. He had expected Jesus to ascend to the Throne, to take control of Israel, drive out Rome, and rule with Peter and the disciples at His side. Instead everything is shattered.

Peter now realizes how greatly he failed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He likely didn't appreciate the gravity of the evening; when Jesus said He wouldn't drink of the vine again until the Kingdom, Peter may have had delusions that they were on the cusp of initiating the second Golden Age of Israel, and within a very short time, they would be feasting and drinking wine in celebration of their victory.

Instead, Jesus was falling on His face in the Garden, begging the Father to spare Him this cup. Peter and the others failed to pray; they didn't see the horrors approaching for their Messiah. So they didn't pray, and their Master was taken prisoner.

What regrets are going through Peter's head, right now? Is he thinking that if he had prayed harder and better, Jesus could have been spared from the arrest? If Peter had been on his guard, could they have escaped? Is this all his fault?

And then, Jesus already told Peter that Peter would deny Him three times this very evening. So if Jesus knew, then Peter wasn't to blame. Or was he? I can imagine all of this going through Peter's head, with much more.

One of the servant girls came up to him, and

67 - seeing Peter, she accused him of being with Jesus. At any other time in this Gospel Peter would have been proud of this association. Yet now he's terrified. They just arrested his Master, his Rabbi, and might put Him to death. They could do the same to Peter, if they realize who he is. The disciples ran away from the Garden to save themselves, to keep themselves from being arrested. Peter came back, in a fashion; he wants to be close to Jesus, to see what will happen to Him, maybe to help Him. Maybe Peter isn't even thinking clearly, but just knows that he wants to be close by. Maybe he's already feeling guilty and wants to be see if he can do anything to help.

But here this girl is calling him out. She knows who he is. From the Gospel of John, we know that John let Peter in this close, and the servant girl at the door recognized Peter. This is why she says "also" in v67. She sees Peter with John, and knowing that John is a disciple, she accuses Peter of being one.

68 - But Peter denied it. This night, he doesn't want to be associated with Jesus. This night it could mean his death. This night, he puts himself higher than Jesus, in terms of importance. He still loves Jesus; he's still here, as close as he can get. But he doesn't want to give up his life for Jesus. Peter isn't there yet.

And for the first time, a rooster crows. It's almost hard to imagine Peter not remembering Jesus' words right now, but it he was still drunk / hungover from all the wine at the last supper, and he's been up all night. Further, his entire world has been turned around and he has no idea what's going to happen to next. I suppose it is believable that his mind was on other things, and he only barely registered the rooster's crow.

69 - But the servant girl really thinks she knows who Peter is. So she goes around and tells everyone that Peter is one of Jesus' disciples. Maybe she is just being a loyal servant, identifying someone she thinks her bosses/owners might like to arrest, because of his association to the man currently on trial. Maybe she's telling the courtyard guards, in case they might want to arrest Peter.

In any case, it's dangerous. If he is positively identified, he could be arrested and tried, then killed. So Peter denies it. He doesn't want to leave, but he also doesn't want to be known as a disciple of Jesus. Not now.

70 - But the girl has caught the bystander's ears. Now they start to see the connection, and they hear his accent. They realize he's from Galilee, not Judea. He's probably the only Galilean in the courtyard at this hour, besides John. He stands out.

71 - But he's almost at the breaking point. He starts cursing himself and swearing not to know Jesus. He's making a scene desperately trying to deny any connection between him and the man on trial.

72 - And then immediately the rooster crows a second time, and Peter remembers. Jesus said this would happen. And Peter can't do anything but weep.




What does this tell us about us, about human nature?

Peter thought he was a disciple of Jesus' for a long time. He thought Jesus was his Master, and that he would gladly die for Him if the need ever arose.

Then Jesus was arrested, instead of ascending to the throne. Peter expected to march with Jesus to victory. Instead, association with Jesus can now mean an inglorious death.

So now, Peter denies Jesus with curses and swearing.

I don't think Peter's heart changed. I think the stresses of this situation revealed that Peter's heart had never been fully geared towards Jesus before. Peter loved Jesus, but he ultimately loved himself a bit more. When it came time to choose between death with Jesus and life with himself, he chose himself.

He was eager to go along with Jesus, to follow Him to victory. Yet this revealed that he was so eager, not because Jesus would be glorified, but because he himself would receive power, be in command, be recognized, etc. He likely wanted Jesus to be glorified, of course, and probably would never had said or even thought that what he was really after was his own glory. Yet this situation revealed how much he had been lying to himself, before.

Our capacity for self-deception is enormous. Peter was fully convinced he would die for Jesus, that Jesus was his highest priority. Then a few hours later, Peter can't deny how self-centered his heart is.

We should never think we know ourselves purely or perfectly. We often need others to show us our blindspots, to help us grow, to keep us accountable. We deceive ourselves far too easily. We want to be deceived into thinking that we are better than we are. We want to justify behaviors that are wrong. We want to cut ourselves some slack.

But without others in our lives to speak into our lives, to spot out this weaknesses, we'll be like Peter and realize after it's too late that we never really knew our own hearts. We thought we knew ourselves, but we were wrong. And now we watch our lives collapse around us.

We are far more selfish than we ever let ourselves realize.



What glory of God is this passage revealing?

In the first place, Jesus clearly knew the future. He prophesied exactly what would happen. Peter witnessed this many times before, and it was always a positive thing: my Master knows the future! How cool is that?

Yet now, it's painful. Jesus knew what was in Peter's heart, and He saw it coming with pinpoint accuracy.

Which reveals an even greater glory of God: He knew all of our failures before He ever called us to follow Him. Jesus knew He was calling a flawed, imperfect, impetuous, arrogant, selfish man when He called Peter to be his disciple. Yet Jesus still called him.

And after Jesus rose, He again called Peter. He didn't make Peter do penance, or do things to atone for his denial. Instead, Jesus simply re-states His love for Peter, and appoints him to care for His sheep.

God doesn't want us to atone for our failures. We don't need to hide ourselves from Him when we've failed. He already knew; He knew we would fail in that way long before we were ever born. And it didn't stop Him from calling us to be His.

We don't need to work to make things right between ourselves and God. We'll never be perfect; we'll always be stained by imperfection and failure. Yet Jesus already did the work to make things right with God. He already went to the Cross, taking our failures and sins and stains and imperfections on Himself, and dying for them, suffering God's wrath against them. He did this to make us clean, to make us perfect.

So when we fail, we don't need to beat ourselves up about it. We need only to admit it and move on. Jesus knows we fail; our failure can never surprise Him. That's the majesty of God: He works through us, despite our weaknesses. When we are weak, He is strong.

If anyone questions whether God exists, they have only to look at the frail, imperfect people God uses to change the world. Peter was not a genius, he wasn't uniquely talented, he was a standard blue-collar worker who was bold while being stupid and constantly missed what Jesus was saying. Peter is the biggest failure in the 12 disciples. And yet Jesus choses for him to lead them. Peter didn't accomplish these things by himself. All he can do by himself is fail and weep. Only by the grace of God can this traitor become the fearless preacher and evangelist of the book of Acts.

Perhaps Jesus elevates Peter to this office precisely because Peter has failed so much. Peter used to be stupidly bold, confident without cause. Yet here that implodes; the man who boldly declares he'll die with Jesus instead wets himself when confronted by a young servant girl. He realizes he's a fraud, and he weeps, knowing he has denied his Master, effectively ending his discipleship.

Peter is uniquely humbled by this experience. Jesus exposes his heart, and Peter sees the depths of his self-deception, his stupidity, his false confidence, his sin. And yet Jesus still calls him, still apoints him, still empowers him, still uses him. Peter, perhaps more than any other apostle, realizes that he is not being used because he's such a great guy. He doesn't deserve the position he's given. It is only by the grace of God, the completely undeserved gifting of Jesus, that sees Peter become anything more than a commom fisherman.

So after this night, and after the resurrected Jesus re-instates him, Peter lives and breathes humility. He realizes it's not about him.

It's all about Jesus.



This also means that Christians can never, ever view themselves as better than someone else. We did not deserve our salvation. We fail God constantly. The only reason we're saved is because God is giving us something we could never earn for ourselves.

The best of us are usually the worst of us. Peter because the leader of the 12 Apostles, yet he was the worst failure of them all. In human terms, he deserved that office the least. Yet God equipped him beyond himself, and Jesus called Peter to it specifically. Peter thought he had lost forever the opportunity to serve Jesus; that's why he weeps at the end of chapter 14. Denying your Rabbi meant that you were done as a disciple; your career in ministry was over from that point. Peter thought he would have to go back to fishing, which is why you find him fishing again at the end of the Gospel of John. Jesus restored him to the office he had forfeited willingly. He didn't deserve it, and he knows it. That's why Peter worships Jesus: Jesus is far better to Peter than Peter could ever deserve. The Master who forgives all sin and calls you to a life that transcends failure -- this Master is one worth serving!

This is how awesome our God is. He doesn't let our failures defeat us. He saves us, even from our imperfect selves.



And if I can interject a historical note, this passage is one of the reasons why we can trust that the Scriptures weren't editted and changed throughout the years. People often assert that the Bible was editted and changed constantly by those in power, to support their own power base.

There are many problems with this idea, one simply being that there is absolutely no historical evidence of it. The earliest manuscripts we have, dating all the way back to the 1st century, are the same as the rest we find throughout history. They haven't been altered in any substantial way (there are a few scribal errors, misplaced punctuation, etc., but those are easily spotted and fixed).

A second argument against this is to realize how often the disciples fail. Peter became a prominent leader in the early church, easily one of the most powerful men. Yet he didn't change these stories at all. He didn't use his position and influence to make himself appear better in these stories. He left the painful truth there for all to see.

It would be so easy to simply delete this passage, because the entire point of it is to show how Peter deceived himself and failed. You could just remove this part, remove the line about the disciples running away when Jesus was arrested, and suddenly you have a story where Peter doesn't fail so much. With a few careful deletions, you can make it seem like Peter knew what was happening all along, trusted Jesus, and after Jesus rose from death, it would make perfect sense why He would appoint Peter as leader, if Peter seems to be faithful through it all. Instead Peter appears as the worst of all the disciples.

This would be akin to a presidential candidate writing an autobiography describing how their life is nothing but a series of failures, and they are actually the worst qualified candidate in the race. That would undermine their position and destroy their authority. Yet that's what Peter does. He's not building a power base through politics. He's not creating a facade of him being a super Christian. If people know anything about him, they know him to be a failure, a bad disciple.

Yet Jesus still loves him. Jesus still calls him. Jesus still appoints and equips him. Jesus still uses him to lead the early church through some of its hardest times.

Not because Peter is amazing. Because Jesus is glorious. Because our God does not judge as humans do, and He calls us to be more than we ever could amount to, ourselves.

We know we can trust the Scriptures, because they're honest. These people aren't fake. They're exactly as real as we are, right down to their hidden sins and failures. So when Jesus loves even the worst of failures, we can have absolute confidence that He can love us.



What should we change in our lives?

If we don't have people like this in our lives, we need them. Find them, make sure they're trustworthy. Give them access to your life, to really know you, and to speak openly to you about your strengths and weaknesses. It might be painful, but it's necessary.

Also: when they speak, listen. Peter had this guy: Jesus. Jesus told him exactly what would happen, how selfish his heart really was. Peter didn't listen. It didn't feel right. They were on the cusp of victory, he thought; how could he possibly deny his Master, his King?

But Jesus was right. Peter's heart was still selfish. If Peter had listened, how much pain could he have avoided?

We should also stop trying to hide our failures, or pay God back for them. He already knows. He knew before He ever called us. And it didn't stop Him from calling us in the first place.

We should finally, fully trust in the Gospel of Jesus: He took ALL of our sins upon Himself, removing them from us forever by suffering their just penalty on the Cross. We'll never be stained by our failures again. Even when we fail, we can know that we are already washed clean and forgiven by the blood of Jesus. We don't do good deeds to pay God back for our sins, to make penance; we do good things in sheer gratitude for the grace that God has given us.

The Fear of God is the Beginning of True Community

The Fellowship of the Believers

[42] And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [43] And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. [44] And all who believed were together and had all things in common. [45] And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. [46] And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, [47] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

(Acts 2:42-47 ESV)

I almost brushed past this passage.  It's kind of "Oh that's nice, everything's going well.  Let's move on to something interesting, something that can teach me how to do ministry."

This passage has a great deal to teach us about ministry, specifically about how to have a church this healthy.

It moves sequentially.

Start with verse 42: They all devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  They didn't just listen to a sermon, enjoy a few donuts, and say a quick prayer.  They devoted themselves to these things, like we devote ourselves to video games, or to football, or to shopping, or to gossiping, or to the pursuit of sexual pleasures.  They were consumed by the desire to have more teaching, more fellowship, more prayers, more communion.

Then verse 43: Awe and fear came upon every soul.  This is key.  They didn't just commit to a church gathering; they were consumed by awe and fear of a God who is bigger than themselves.  They weren't worshiping themselves in church, serving their own need for spiritual things.  They were in awe of a God so great that He is deserving of all worship and praise.

In other words, they weren't selfish.  They weren't concerned first and foremost with themselves; they were concerned first and foremost with God.  This is absolutely essential to a healthy church, and it's something many churches don't have.

Many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  This undoubtedly increased the awe and fear of God, but notice that the awe and fear did not start here.  First, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to communion, to prayers.  Then awe and fear came, and it was reinforced through signs and wonders.

Granted, one could say that a sign began it all, with Jesus rising to Heaven and tongues of fire landing on all the apostles.  But the point is that the signs were not their substance.  Their substance, their day-to-day spiritual subsistance, was teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayers.  Signs and wonders were the icing on the cake.

Consider it like food.  Signs and wonders are like sugar, or energy drinks.  They are great ways to begin a meal; they kick your metabolism into over-drive.  But if that's the only food you have, you won't be healthy.  You may have spurts of energy and passion, but then you'll crash, and have nothing to fall back on.  You need a healthy diet full of breads, meats, veggies, fruits, dairy.  That food sustains you, so that when these bursts of miracle energy drinks come, you can fully enjoy and appreciate them.

In other words, it's usually not true that if people only saw a miracle, then they'd believe.  It certainly works this way with some; they saw Jesus heal, so they believed.  But others saw Jesus heal and said He had a demon.  Miracles by themselves aren't as important as we make them out to be.  It is far more important to be devoted to true teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayers.  Only with a solid foundation in these can you properly be in awe and fear of God.

You can be in awe of something you don't know, but after that initial wonder fades, what's left?  Usually nothing.  We move on, change the channel, or find something else to amaze us.  For awe and fear to support a healthy relationship, we have to know the One of whom we are in awe.  For awe to truly sustain us, we have to have a relationship to fall back on when the high of wonder fades.  

Notice that verse 44 comes after 42 and 43.  In other words, you can't strive for unity directly.  You can't have sessions to promote unity, to bring people together.  It might work for a weekend, but not for a lifetime.  To truly achieve this level of unity, Christians must be devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and to prayers.  We must be truly in awe of God, truly fear Him.  Only then can we actually be united.  Only then can we gladly sell everything we have and give the money away.

Can you imagine a selfish Christian selling everything they have and gleefully giving the money away?  By definition, it's impossible.  To unlock this kind of generosity and joy, a Christian must be devoted to the things of God and in true awe and fear of Him.  

To sum it up, you don't have an amazingly healthy church by focusing on having a healthy church.  You get a healthy church as a by-product of being devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayers, and most importantly, of being in awe and fear of God.  Without that, you can never have a healthy church.  You might have a healthy social club where people greet each other with smiles, but you won't have a place where people joyfully sell their possessions to take care of all the needs around them.  At best, you'll have a gathering of selfish people who enjoy each other because they're already like each other.

Glad and generous hearts do not come about as a result of catering to the whims of congregants, of designing a church specifically to please its members.  Glad and generous hearts only come about when the people are so captivated by Jesus that He is more important to them than they themselves are.  And I think you should know how to get there, since I've already repeated it about a dozen times.

Look at verse 47.  These people were praising God even when they were selling away all of their possessions and giving the proceeds away.  When is the last time you saw this happen in an American church?  We can praise God; we have amazing worship services.  But can we praise God when our lives suddenly are not centered around ourselves?

These Christians had the favor of all the people.  It's not hard to see why.  Even in American culture, people who sell their riches just to help those in need make the front cover of TIME magazine.  It's engrained in our souls; we celebrate sacrifice that helps other people, especially those in dire need.

Contrarily, no one celebrates a social club that is so selfish, it's members rarely give more than 1-2% of their income ot help others.  No one celebrates a church that builds a $7 million new sanctuary while people in their city are starving to death.  No one celebrates people who gleefully run to the store to buy the latest fashion trends or video games, yet cannot spare a few dollars to buy medicine for children who will die without it.

If a church truly looks like this Acts 2 church, then it should be no wonder that God will add to their number daily those who are being saved.  On the other hand, if a church looks like most churches in America, then it's no wonder that God is not adding people to it.  

It almost feels like I'm being too harsh, but I think the text warrants this.  If people are in church because they love God and want to worship Him in true awe and fear, then that church is usually growing, and it's usually healthy.  If people are in church for any other reason, then it usually isn't growing or healthy.  These other reasons can be nearly anything: it's what you've always done, it's where you hang out with your friends, you want your kids to be brought up right, you want to take care of your nagging spiritual conscience, you want to be served a good religious experience, you're dragged by a family member or friend, you feel guilty for sin and want to atone for it by doing "good stuff", you really like the music, the pastor is funny, the youth group is entertaining, there's a hot girl there that you want to hit on, etc.  

It seems weird to our modern ears, since everything in American culture screams that life is all about us, and we have a right to be selfish and take care of ourselves.  Yet that's not the message of this passage.  In this passage, the Christians aren't being selfish.  They're self-less, giving away everything.  And notice that every need is being met, with glad and generous hearts, in true community that sincerely cares for everyone.  

And it didn't happen with government initiatives, or food-for-the-hungry programs, or cute commercials on TV.  It happened by people drawing near to God, knowing Him, and being in fearful awe of Him.  

To make it simple: if your church is primarily about you, then you are what's making your church unhealthy.  If your church is primarily about God, then amazing things will happen.

Biblical Genocide

A Brief Word About Genocide in the Bible

People often rage against the God of the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, because God commands and condones genocide against entire ethnic groups.  They are furious, wondering how in the world a God of love could do such despicable acts.

These situations certainly need to be dealt with.  But I caution a modern person against picking up the Bible, flipping straight to these passages, and then raging against God.  You don’t know the full story.  And just to illustrate the folly of that, consider the United States.

Suppose you knew nothing about the U.S., but just casually flipped on the TV on the night President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed by Navy Seals.  You might be outraged.  How could a modern, enlightened government condone assassination?  Are we that bloodthirsty?  How could America spend billions of dollars just to hunt down and kill one man?  He probably didn’t even deserve that!  How corrupt is this government?

If you have no idea who bin Laden was, or what he had done, or what kinds of things he would gladly do if given the chance, you have no understanding of why an assassination was ordered.  Yes, normally it is despicable to kill people.  But in this case, bin Laden was responsible for the deaths of thousands of U.S. citizens.  They weren’t soldiers trying to kill him; they were civilians, simply going about their day, probably having no idea of who bin Laden was.  Bin Laden hated America and would gladly keep up his attacks if given the time, resources, and personnel.  

There may even be a few Americans who think the assassination was still deplorable, that no modern nation should resort to such things.  Yet consider the alternative.  Would you rather let him live and work freely, arranging further attacks and killing thousands more Americans?  This is a man who is unwavering in his contempt for America.  Would you really let him roam freely, knowing that thousands of your fellow citizens, or even your family and friends, may pay the price with their lives?

In this situation, most people today would acknowledge that we had to pull the trigger.  bin Laden was an enemy committed to killing us; it was literally us or them.  We realize the assassination was necessary, and we accept.  Most of us even cheered when we heard the news!

So we do admit, at some level, that killing can be justified.  Yet when we open the Bible, we automatically assume that none of the killings were justified and that God is a homicidal maniac, gleefully ordering thousands to their deaths.

If we did our research, we might realize how bloodthirsty these cultures were.  When Israel invaded the Promised Land, the tribes there were not innocent hippies, loving peace.  They were sacrificing their children in fires, worshipping their pagan gods.  They delighted in attacking and destroying people groups they didn’t like.  Worst of all, they cared nothing for God, the One who had created them and blessed them with every good thing they ever had.  Instead of worshiping Him, they worshiped demons, declaring rebellious, murderous spiritual beings as more worthy of praise than the very God who created them.  Their sins stank to high Heaven; God was fully just in killing them.  Yet even so, God is more gracious that any human.

Consider that when the Patriarchs were living in Israel, these same people groups were already living there.  Yet God did not wipe them out then.  In Genesis 15, as God is speaking to Abraham, He tells him, “And they [Abraham’s descendsnts] shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”  Instead of wiping them out when they first sinned, God allowed them hundreds of years to change their ways.  They had priests telling them the ways of God; Melchizedek, the priestly king of Salem, lived on the current site of Jerusalem, knowing and proclaiming the words of God to the surrounding peoples.  Yet the Amorites refused to listen.  They persisted in their sins, their rebellion.  

Imagine the United States having an enemy, a culture that literally fed their babies to fires, and who completely hated us.  They would destroy us in an instant if given the opportunity.  Any President would be justified in declaring war against them and defending the country by removing this threat.  Yet imagine the United States instead allowing this country to live.  Not only that, but the U.S. keeps giving it gifts.  Presidents keep open dialogues, constant communication, trying to resolve a peace with this people group.  This goes on for 400 years.  Yet despite all that the U.S. can do, this country still hates America and will do anything to destroy us.  

That’s the situation Israel was in when they went in to take the land.  Remember that Israel is the people of God; He is their leader.  He has been immensely merciful to the Amorites, to the peoples who lived in the Promised Land.  He kept preaching His word to them, kept lavishing blessings on them, kept giving them life and health.  He gave them century after century after century after century to turn to Him, to stop rebelling against Him, to accept His peaceful solution.  Yet they persisted in their rebellion, in their hatred of God.  So after all this time, God finally said enough is enough.  Because of their continual, willful, unrepentant rebellion, God destroyed them.

Still, do not think that Israel has a special place of being able to kill whomever they want.  God warned them, saying that if they followed the example of the Amorites, He would eventually kill them and drive them out of the land for the same reasons that they destroyed the Amorites.  Israel didn’t listen.  They became exactly like the Amorites, even worshiping the same pagan deities and sacrificing Israelite children to the flames.  The valley of Gehena, just outside Jerusalem, was well known as a place where the fires never died and the worm didn’t cease.  The screams of babies burning to death could frequently be heard from its depths.  It is no wonder, then, that Jesus later used Gehena as a frequent illustration of what hell was like.

Yet even then, God was patient.  He wanted centuries, almost a millennium.  He sent prophet after prophet, messenger after messenger, all warning Israel to repent or face the same judgment they dealt to the Amorites.  They didn’t listen.  They killed the prophets.  They continually spurned God, ignoring Him to whore themselves out to whatever pleasures they desired, not caring that they were killing children and letting the poor starve.  After centuries upon centuries of rebellion, God eventually did raise up a foreign power to slaughter Israel and drive them away from the land they had covered in blood.

God is not cruel.  He is not bloodthirsty.  He continually pleads with people to turn to Him, to repent of rebellion, to know His peace and love.  Only after their continual rebellion, after having countless chances to settle the matter peacefully, does God finally use violence.  

God is far more patient, graceful, and understanding than the best world leaders Earth has ever known.  He loves His enemies even to the point of pouring out blessings on people groups who hate Him, and He does so for centuries, pleading with them to repent of rebellion and turn to Him.  No human being is that good.  No human people group is that good.  

Our God is.