Why Did God Allow Children To Be Killed In The Old Testament?

In the Old Testament we find God ordering the Jews to kill all the men, women and children of the land He gave to the Jews.  Why does God allow children to be killed?  This is a tough issue.  Let's see if we can work this issue through and come up with a few thoughts.

To start, God is the Author and Sustainer of life and He has the right to grant life or take it away according to His perfect will.

The people that God judged in the Old Testament were very bad people.  Also -- and this is very important -- God always offered people forgiveness before judgment. The ones who were judged chose to be judged. God announced judgment. Anyone who wanted to flee could have fled. God doesn't judge the innocent.

Now, children's futures have always been determined by their parents. A child whose parent is a drug addict, for example, will suffer because of his parents action, whereas a good parent will provide a solid environment and his children will benefit form it. These parents were wicked -- not only because they sinned against God, but because they involved their children in the matter. It is their fault, not God's.

The children of these wicked people had no chance in life. Would it have been better if God had killed the parents and spared the children? No. The children would have died a slow and horrible death. Being under the age of accountability God took these children to heaven.

If you're interested, the book, "The Case For Faith" has an entire chapter devote to this question. They do a nice job handling the question.