Page 118 - Pentateuch - Student Textbook

As we think also about the “ban” in ancient Israel, it is valuable to reflect on more current events. We
wonder if God is still working as he did in the day of Moses. Does he still judge nations? Is he involved in
the destruction of people groups? Can he even use his judgment to bring people to himself as they heed
his warning signs?

Many ancient peoples have disappeared from the face of the earth. Only the ruins of their cities remain.
Art works give us glimpses into their
daily life. We do not have God’s view
of these cultures. He is not still giving
us revelation to understand today’s
world. But we might be able to
compare history uncovered in the
stones of ancient cultures with the
theology of the ban in the Pentateuch.
Consider the following example from a
Peruvian society from around A.D. 100
to 800, a society that does not exist
today.

For prisoners of the Moche,
Huaca Cao Viejo’s elaborate
art was likely among the last
Fig. 77: Peruvian prisoners bound by rope. A.D. 1 - 500 sights they saw. Naked,
bleeding, and bound with
nooses, they were led into the ceremonial plaza. Perhaps they heard the pacific surf
rolling onto the beach in the distance; perhaps all they heard was the pounding of their
own hearts. Once inside they witnessed one of history’s most gruesome sacrificial rites.
A Moche priest adorned in gold slit their throats one by one. Those in line who didn’t
turn away or faint saw a priestess catch the blood in a golden goblet for the priest to
drink. Scholars know about these ceremonies by studying Moche artwork, like the frieze
of naked prisoners discovered on Huaca Cao Viejo’s plaza walls. Bones of sacrifice
victims – incorporated into the frieze and buried under the plaza floor – show evidence
of extreme torture before the grisly executions.
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We wonder about world events like the spread of communism in the 20 century. Millions of people
lost their lives in the U.S.S.R. and China. We wonder about the Nazi extermination of six million Jews
during World War II. The examples seem endless. The world does not seem to change much. In 1994
during the space of about 100 days, some 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda, almost 20% of the
population. With the rise of Islam, more people are losing their homes and their lives in places like
Nigeria, Egypt, Syria, and other countries. Can God really be working in such events? We wonder if Satan
isn’t the one who is actually behind genocide and other atrocities.

We must distinguish responsibilities. Yes, Satan is active in this world. He was often behind the religious
practices in Canaan that led to child sacrifice (1 Cor. 10:18-21). He is often behind the terrible events in

128 Peter Gwin, “Peruvian Temple of Doom,” National Geographic, July 2004, 109.

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