The Ways of GodSýnishorn

God’s Ways Are Different From His Methods

God’s ways don’t change because they are driven by His character. However, the methods He employs can vary dramatically.

For example, God’s character is always holy. God will never act in an unholy way. To do so would violate a fundamental aspect of His character. Because of His holiness, He will never overlook sin, and He will discipline sinful people using various methods.

One of the most troubling Bible accounts for many people is when God commanded Joshua and his army to kill every man, woman, child, and animal in the city of Jericho (Josh. 6:17–21). Such judgment, even on wicked people, seems excessively harsh and certainly uncharacteristic of Jesus, as portrayed in the Gospels. So, we must go back to God’s character and examine His ways to shed light on His actions in this case.

The land of Canaan was filled with (unsurprisingly) Canaanites, comprised of various peoples such as the Hivites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites (Josh. 3:10). Their religion was idolatry. Their primary gods were Baal and his consort, Asherah. These were fertility gods, which meant that farmers sought to placate them so they would grant rain and abundant harvests.

When gods are primarily responsible for your farm animals procreating and seeds germinating, you can imagine the depravity that could develop in religions designed by people. A popular feature of such religions was having male and female prostitutes available to engage in sex with worshippers at the temple as an expression of worship. Worse yet, the god Molech ostensibly called for people to demonstrate their devotion to him by sacrificing their children on his altar. Even some of the Judean kings, such as Ahaz and Manasseh, participated in this horrific evil by causing their children to “pass through the fire” (2 Kings 16:3; 21:6 HCSB).

Imagine God’s righteous indignation as He watched the Canaanites rejecting their Creator and practicing their depraved, man-made religion. Consider God’s thoughts as men had their wives wait outside the temple with the children while they went inside to “worship” with a prostitute. Ponder God’s heart when He saw farmers, greedy for a bumper crop, handing their babies to a priest to be burned on an altar. This was not merely a different world religion from Judaism, it was a debauched, sexualized, violent, and materialistic religion that destroyed people for selfish gain. How offensive to a righteous God!

The ways of God are always holy and righteous, but how He expresses His righteousness varies depending on the situation and the severity of the sin. God always behaves in a holy manner. It is, therefore, crucial to distinguish between the ways of God and the methods of God. God’s ways remain the same, century by century. The actions God takes to express His ways, however, are adjusted to times, cultures, and circumstances.