PrintIt seems to me that there are times and events recorded in the Bible when God's response to certain human actions or attitudes seems to be, shall I say, “over the top" in a negative way.
Take, for example, the story of Achan (Joshua 7). Now, I know what he did was wrong. But to execute not only Achan but his family members as well? Even if they were complicit in his crime? That, to me, is a tough call.
Another example is the account of Uzzah (2 Samuel 6) when this poor guy seems to have done nothing more than to steady the Ark of the Covenant so that it didn't fall off the cart. For his efforts “the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah and God struck him dead because of this. "That, to me, is a tough call.
I can't even find some explanation or relief by saying that such tough calls are confined to the Old Testament. They aren't.
Acts 5 records an event when two ‘church people' - Ananias and Sapphira - conspired together to defraud the Church community. A strong case involving deceit and hypocrisy could be made against them. But judgment was swift and decisive. In a story that has some remarkable similarities to Achan's story, they both were struck down and died then and there. That, to me, is a tough call.
But the ‘tough call' story that really gets to me at this time of the year is found in the Christmas narrative recorded by Luke. It is the account of what happened to the priest, Zechariah, when he had a divine encounter of the terrifying kind. Having heard the announcement from the Archangel Gabriel, Zechariah asked what seems to me to be a most reasonable question: “How can I be sure this will happen?" For his question, Zechariah is struck dumb and unable to speak until the promised son is born. That, to me, is a tough call.
Mary seems to ask the same question - or, at least, a similar question - and she receives reassurance and, in some measure, an explanation. I want to pursue this line of questioning in my next post. Why was Zechariah treated so differently to Mary?
