God, Did You Demand Infanticide?--July 8, 2019

You are good to all, O gracious God,

with compassion over all you have made.

Forgive me, I cannot believe that you had

no compassion for the men and women,

the children and infants, of Amalek.

You spared Saul who became Paul.

If you would not have spared a

single baby, would Jesus

have commended his

spirit into your

hands?

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 62; 145; 73; 9

1 Sam. 15:1-3, 7-23

Acts 9:19b-31

Luke 23:44-56a

Selected Verses

Ps. 145:9

The LORD is good to all,
          and his compassion is over all that he has made.

1 Sam. 15:2-3

Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.  Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

Acts 9:19b-21a

For several days [Saul] was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”  All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name?

Luke 23:46

Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.