Sins of People in the Bible (that Reflect Poorly on God)
What’s the big deal about Abram moving to Canaan when he was going to do that anyway? (Heb 11:8, Gn 11:31)
The author of Hebrews attributes the birth of Isaac to Sarah’s faith. Wouldn’t she have had him anyway? Besides that, she had no faith, since she laughed. (Heb 11:11, Gn 18:10-15)
I think it’s wrong how Joseph bought up everything the Egyptians had, because they were the ones who grew the food, and it’s not right that one man should own all the land and all the people of the country. (Gn 47:13-26)
How did Moses give up his title of prince? He was forced to do this because he had committed murder. (Heb 11:24-27, Ex 2:11-15)
How did the Israelites have faith when they were going through the Red Sea? They were totally faithless. Even the Egyptians crossed, though it was obvious that the Sea had been parted not for them but for the Israelites by their god. (Heb 11:29, Ex 14:3, 10-12, 19-20)
Isn’t it wrong to let your husband sleep with another woman that you may have children? A man shouldn’t have children with a woman other than his wife. Why did Sarai and Abram do such a thing if they were supposed to be righteous? Furthermore, Hagar had no say in the matter, as a slave. (Then again, I suppose she wasn’t opposed to the idea either. [Gn 16:4]) (Gn 16:2-4) Why did Sarai blame Abram for having sex with Hagar when she was the one who had come up with the idea? (Gn 16:2-5) How dare Sarai invoke the name of God in her own wrongdoing by saying “May the Lord judge between you and me!” (Gn 16:2-5) And why did Abram let Sarai treat Hagar however she wanted to the point that Hagar would actually decide to run away? Let’s say he did say something but Sarai didn’t listen. How then can Peter later say that she was a godly woman who submitted to her husband? (Gn 16:2-6, I Pt 3:5-6) How could Sarai have just thrown Ishmael out at the age of fourteen when she had been his mother all this time? Again, I see nothing good in Sarai, and it’s really shocking that the bible could say anything good about her either. (Gn 16:2-4, 16:16, 21:5, 8-14) Furthermore, she treated Hagar so horribly that she chose to run away into the desert rather than live in the comfort of a rich man’s home. (Gn 16:6, 13:2)
How could Abram just let Sarai be taken by the Egyptians? Did he not care that she was his wife? Did this not bother him at all that someone would sleep with her? (Gn 12:10-15)
The famine must not have been that severe if Abram later went to the Negeb. What was he thinking letting Sarai be touched by another man? Couldn’t he have just gone to the Negeb or anywhere else? (Gn 12:10-15, 17-13:1)
Why does Abram seem so aloof with his household? Did he not try to teach Ishmael the ways of the Lord or show love or care as his son? (Gn 16:2-6, 21:8-14)
How could Abraham be so cruel as to only give Hagar and Ishmael bread and water to live on as they went their way? He was rich. He could have given them a feast and an entourage to care for them in the wilderness. (Gn 21:14, 13:2, 20:14-16, 21:22, 24:35)
If I was Abraham and God told me to sacrifice my son, I’d think that it was the devil, and not God. What made Abraham so sure that it was God who had spoken to him? What if he was making a horrible mistake? I wouldn’t even think twice. (Gn 22:2-3)
Why did Abraham remarry after Sarah’s death to a younger woman who was still of child-bearing age? What a nasty old man. This woman was probably younger than his son Isaac, probably Rebekah’s age. (Gn 25:1-2, 6, 23:1, 17:17)
Why did Lot offer up his daughters to the men of Sodom, in light of the fact that they were engaged to be married? How then could Peter later call him “righteous”? (Gn 19:8, 14, II Pt 2:8)
Why didn’t Jacob make Levi and Simeon return everything and free the captives? How can we say that God was with an immoral patriarch? (Gn 34:25-30)
How was Rahab being righteous? She betrayed her people. (Jos 2:1-7, 12-14, 6:17, 22-23, Heb 11:31)
How could a truly righteous man make his sons judges after him if he knew they were evil? (Samuel)
I have a real problem with David. Sure, God allowed polygamy, but the only saint in the bible who was “truly” polygamous was David. Abraham and Jacob were too, but that wasn’t their fault – it was their wives who gave them concubines, so I won’t hold it against them, given the culture back then. As for Solomon, he totally went astray in so many ways. But David I cannot respect. In fact, I utterly despise him. How could God call him “a man after his own heart”? (I Sm 13:14)?
It was wrong of David to try to get revenge on Nabal. How can he overreact like a violent, irrational man? Is this the one whom God calls “a man after his own heart”? Even worse, he was planning to kill people who had nothing to do with Nabal's decision. (I Sm 25:21-22, 13:14)
How could David say that the wicked continually stir up wars, if he was always stirring up wars himself?! (Ps 140:2, I Sm 27:8-11)
Why did David curse all the house of Joab, instead of just Joab? (II Sm 3:27-29)
How could God say that David was a man after his own heart if David put the Moabites in 3 lines, killing 2 and sparing the third, and the bible speaks of this as some wonderful victory! (I Sm 13:14, II Sm 8:2)
How could David have been a righteous man if he went to war over an honor issue (to war with Hanun of Ammon)? (II Sm 10)
Why did David split Mephibosheth's land in two and give half to Ziba if he had wronged Mephibosheth? (II Sm 19:26-29)
Why did David’s servants advise him to get a beautiful girl to take care of him and keep him warm when he slept? Couldn’t one of his wives have done this? If she wasn’t going to be a concubine or a wife, what did it matter that she was beautiful? (I Kgs 1:1-4, II Sm 3:2-5)
Why should a man be killed just b/c he cursed the king? (II Sm 16:5-8, I Kgs 2:8-9)
David is so contradictory in the Psalms. He wants God to save him, but also wants him to utterly ruin all his enemies, though they have both sinned against God and according to David, one is not better than the other. (Ps 6:1-4, 8-10) He does this frequently in the Psalms. It sounds really bad after reading Ps 51.
If Solomon was so wise, why did he have so many wives, and collect silver for himself and have many horses, seeing that all this was wrong in the eyes of the Lord? (Dt 17:16-17, I Kgs 10:26-11:3, 10:21)
How could God use Solomon to write part of the bible when he was so far gone? (Dt 17:16-17, I Kgs 10:26-11:3, 10:21, I Kgs 11:1-10)
Why did Elisha put a curse on Gehazi’s children as well, when they did nothing wrong concerning the case of Naaman? (II Kgs 5:25-27)
I just think the whole story of Esther is ludicrous. The trouble starts just because Mordecai won’t bow to or pay homage to Haman, because he believes it goes against being a Jew, for some reason. Since when has it been a sin to respect those in authority, or your leaders? (Est 3:4-5) Furthermore, Mordecai never considers that he might be wrong, even remotely, but rather cries out to God like a blubbering fool when he could very easily solve the problem himself, which would have been the sensible thing to do. (Est 4:1-2)
OK, now this is just wrong that Mordecai said the Jews could kill their enemies including the women and children. (Est 8:11)
How could Jeremiah ask upon them the ultimate curse, especially for just trying to kill him? Why is his life so important that he can ask that they not be given eternal life? (Jer 18:23)
Caleb committed incest with his father's wife after his father died! Why would one who trusts in God do this? (I Chr 2:24, Nm 14:38)
The author of Hebrews attributes the birth of Isaac to Sarah’s faith. Wouldn’t she have had him anyway? Besides that, she had no faith, since she laughed. (Heb 11:11, Gn 18:10-15)
I think it’s wrong how Joseph bought up everything the Egyptians had, because they were the ones who grew the food, and it’s not right that one man should own all the land and all the people of the country. (Gn 47:13-26)
How did Moses give up his title of prince? He was forced to do this because he had committed murder. (Heb 11:24-27, Ex 2:11-15)
How did the Israelites have faith when they were going through the Red Sea? They were totally faithless. Even the Egyptians crossed, though it was obvious that the Sea had been parted not for them but for the Israelites by their god. (Heb 11:29, Ex 14:3, 10-12, 19-20)
Isn’t it wrong to let your husband sleep with another woman that you may have children? A man shouldn’t have children with a woman other than his wife. Why did Sarai and Abram do such a thing if they were supposed to be righteous? Furthermore, Hagar had no say in the matter, as a slave. (Then again, I suppose she wasn’t opposed to the idea either. [Gn 16:4]) (Gn 16:2-4) Why did Sarai blame Abram for having sex with Hagar when she was the one who had come up with the idea? (Gn 16:2-5) How dare Sarai invoke the name of God in her own wrongdoing by saying “May the Lord judge between you and me!” (Gn 16:2-5) And why did Abram let Sarai treat Hagar however she wanted to the point that Hagar would actually decide to run away? Let’s say he did say something but Sarai didn’t listen. How then can Peter later say that she was a godly woman who submitted to her husband? (Gn 16:2-6, I Pt 3:5-6) How could Sarai have just thrown Ishmael out at the age of fourteen when she had been his mother all this time? Again, I see nothing good in Sarai, and it’s really shocking that the bible could say anything good about her either. (Gn 16:2-4, 16:16, 21:5, 8-14) Furthermore, she treated Hagar so horribly that she chose to run away into the desert rather than live in the comfort of a rich man’s home. (Gn 16:6, 13:2)
How could Abram just let Sarai be taken by the Egyptians? Did he not care that she was his wife? Did this not bother him at all that someone would sleep with her? (Gn 12:10-15)
The famine must not have been that severe if Abram later went to the Negeb. What was he thinking letting Sarai be touched by another man? Couldn’t he have just gone to the Negeb or anywhere else? (Gn 12:10-15, 17-13:1)
Why does Abram seem so aloof with his household? Did he not try to teach Ishmael the ways of the Lord or show love or care as his son? (Gn 16:2-6, 21:8-14)
How could Abraham be so cruel as to only give Hagar and Ishmael bread and water to live on as they went their way? He was rich. He could have given them a feast and an entourage to care for them in the wilderness. (Gn 21:14, 13:2, 20:14-16, 21:22, 24:35)
If I was Abraham and God told me to sacrifice my son, I’d think that it was the devil, and not God. What made Abraham so sure that it was God who had spoken to him? What if he was making a horrible mistake? I wouldn’t even think twice. (Gn 22:2-3)
Why did Abraham remarry after Sarah’s death to a younger woman who was still of child-bearing age? What a nasty old man. This woman was probably younger than his son Isaac, probably Rebekah’s age. (Gn 25:1-2, 6, 23:1, 17:17)
Why did Lot offer up his daughters to the men of Sodom, in light of the fact that they were engaged to be married? How then could Peter later call him “righteous”? (Gn 19:8, 14, II Pt 2:8)
Why didn’t Jacob make Levi and Simeon return everything and free the captives? How can we say that God was with an immoral patriarch? (Gn 34:25-30)
How was Rahab being righteous? She betrayed her people. (Jos 2:1-7, 12-14, 6:17, 22-23, Heb 11:31)
How could a truly righteous man make his sons judges after him if he knew they were evil? (Samuel)
I have a real problem with David. Sure, God allowed polygamy, but the only saint in the bible who was “truly” polygamous was David. Abraham and Jacob were too, but that wasn’t their fault – it was their wives who gave them concubines, so I won’t hold it against them, given the culture back then. As for Solomon, he totally went astray in so many ways. But David I cannot respect. In fact, I utterly despise him. How could God call him “a man after his own heart”? (I Sm 13:14)?
It was wrong of David to try to get revenge on Nabal. How can he overreact like a violent, irrational man? Is this the one whom God calls “a man after his own heart”? Even worse, he was planning to kill people who had nothing to do with Nabal's decision. (I Sm 25:21-22, 13:14)
How could David say that the wicked continually stir up wars, if he was always stirring up wars himself?! (Ps 140:2, I Sm 27:8-11)
Why did David curse all the house of Joab, instead of just Joab? (II Sm 3:27-29)
How could God say that David was a man after his own heart if David put the Moabites in 3 lines, killing 2 and sparing the third, and the bible speaks of this as some wonderful victory! (I Sm 13:14, II Sm 8:2)
How could David have been a righteous man if he went to war over an honor issue (to war with Hanun of Ammon)? (II Sm 10)
Why did David split Mephibosheth's land in two and give half to Ziba if he had wronged Mephibosheth? (II Sm 19:26-29)
Why did David’s servants advise him to get a beautiful girl to take care of him and keep him warm when he slept? Couldn’t one of his wives have done this? If she wasn’t going to be a concubine or a wife, what did it matter that she was beautiful? (I Kgs 1:1-4, II Sm 3:2-5)
Why should a man be killed just b/c he cursed the king? (II Sm 16:5-8, I Kgs 2:8-9)
David is so contradictory in the Psalms. He wants God to save him, but also wants him to utterly ruin all his enemies, though they have both sinned against God and according to David, one is not better than the other. (Ps 6:1-4, 8-10) He does this frequently in the Psalms. It sounds really bad after reading Ps 51.
If Solomon was so wise, why did he have so many wives, and collect silver for himself and have many horses, seeing that all this was wrong in the eyes of the Lord? (Dt 17:16-17, I Kgs 10:26-11:3, 10:21)
How could God use Solomon to write part of the bible when he was so far gone? (Dt 17:16-17, I Kgs 10:26-11:3, 10:21, I Kgs 11:1-10)
Why did Elisha put a curse on Gehazi’s children as well, when they did nothing wrong concerning the case of Naaman? (II Kgs 5:25-27)
I just think the whole story of Esther is ludicrous. The trouble starts just because Mordecai won’t bow to or pay homage to Haman, because he believes it goes against being a Jew, for some reason. Since when has it been a sin to respect those in authority, or your leaders? (Est 3:4-5) Furthermore, Mordecai never considers that he might be wrong, even remotely, but rather cries out to God like a blubbering fool when he could very easily solve the problem himself, which would have been the sensible thing to do. (Est 4:1-2)
OK, now this is just wrong that Mordecai said the Jews could kill their enemies including the women and children. (Est 8:11)
How could Jeremiah ask upon them the ultimate curse, especially for just trying to kill him? Why is his life so important that he can ask that they not be given eternal life? (Jer 18:23)
Caleb committed incest with his father's wife after his father died! Why would one who trusts in God do this? (I Chr 2:24, Nm 14:38)