the people go to worship God. But, the Lord said, "I will make him obstinate, however, so that he will not let the people go." (Exodus, 4; 21) So God then sent Egypt ten horrific plagues that wiped out almost everything in the land. Some examples were that he sent locusts to destroy all the crops, he gave all the livestock pestilence so they died, he gave man and beast festering boils. His tenth and final plague was the unkindest of the all. It was called death of the first born, "Every first-born in this land shall die, from the first-born of the Pharaoh on the throne to the first-born of the slave-girl at the handmill, as well as all the first-born of the animals." (Exodus, 11; 5) God acted in such a dire way against the innocent people of Egypt. Why would he slaughter innocent children? It was his fault that he made the Pharaoh obstinate and wouldn't let the Hebrews free. God inflicted punishment just because he wanted to flex his muscles and show off how powerful he really was. "Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children," said Martin Luther King Jr. God did punish people, but not brutally and inhumanely. There were parts in the Old Testament where people did disobey him, and were punished accordingly. God sometimes didn't even punish those who have sinned making him not only a just lord but also a kind one. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God did punish. The people he punished though did something of importance to merit reprimanding. God provided Adam and Eve with everything they could possibly imagine. The Garden of Eden was plentiful and abundant. The only instruction he gave them was "…You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge…the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die." (Genesis, 2:16-17) The Lord gave them instruction as clear as day; nevertheless, they ate from the tree. Instead of killing them immediately like he had previ...
