If Kristi were to talk about this verse, she would probably squirm in a similar way that she did when talking about Psalms 137:9. This is because it talks about extremes that are too great to be acceptable to humans. Just look at the response of Moses, and the other Israelites, as described in Hebrews 12:18-19. Even Moses, a holy man who had close fellowship with God, was afraid and undone. More importantly, a voice said that, "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death." That doesn't seem right. Why would an innocent animal have to be killed because it touched a mountain?
All of this goes back to that word... holiness. If you, I, or the president of the United States were to go on top of a mountain, and give a speech, we wouldn't expect anything to have to die, just because it touched the foot of the mountain. However, things work differently with God. He's not like us. He's not like anything else. He's completely holy.
Humans are comfortable with margins of error. If I measure the distance of a foot. A ruler, is, usually, sufficient for my needs. I draw a line, next to the mark on the ruler, as best I can. If it's off by a nanoinch, it doesn't matter. However, God is holy and perfect -- to the degree of being beyond our comprehension. As humans, what are we supposed to do with that?
When God sees sin, even a so-called little sin, is a great offense, to him. As imperfect sinners, we make our own approximations of what punishment should be fit for whatever crime. However, our standards are a complete joke to the sovereign, holy, perfect God. On the other hand, his standards and perfection, blows our tiny minds, to the point of appearing to be unfair.
This perpetuates our struggle to comprehend an incomprehensible God. We're just not able. Although, just because we aren't able, that doesn't mean that God is wrong, or bad. It just means that we're unable to understand.
Imagine a little child, who is taken to the doctor, by her parents. Her parents hand her over to a doctor who sticks a sharp needle in her arm. That needle hurts, and the child knows it. So, what is the child to conclude? Does she conclude that her parents are evil for allowing a man to shove a needle into her arm? Or does she simply trust that her parents know better?
Paul was right, when he pointed out that the pot has no right to judge the potter. A mortal human may try to believe that they know better than God, or they may try to judge God, by claiming that he's evil. However, they're really in no position to do so. This is because God defines what is good and what is evil. He's able to do this, because he's the creator of all things.
Often times, this is where a line is drawn in the sand. It's the line that divides those who choose to trust and believe God, and those who don't. Each person is like the little girl, who must choose to believe that her parents are evil, or she must choose to accept that her own understanding, is limited. We can call this the "trust or judge" decision. A person will choose to trust God, or they'll choose to judge him -- just like the child in the analogy.
We'll come back to this "trust or judge" concept, many times. Let's continue, by looking at the next passage that Kristi mentions, then we'll deal with "trust or judge", conclusively, at the end of the article.
The next passage, that Kristi mentions, is Deuteronomy 22:28-29. It reads as follows:
"Suppose a man is caught raping a young woman who is not engaged. He is to pay her father the bride price of fifty pieces of silver, and she is to become his wife, because he forced her to have intercourse with him. He can never divorce her as long as he lives."
-Deuteronomy 22:28-29
It's obvious that this passage is going to cause trouble. It flies in the face of nearly everything that people cherish, today. Anyone who is supportive of women's rights, would have a field day with this passage. It talks about rape, and then the victim being married to the rapist, as the rapist pays her father, so that he can marry her. There's nowhere to go, on this one! This is almost as bad as it gets! God, surely, hates women. Right? Who would choose to worship such a God?
I didn't pick the order of Kristi's passages, but her timing is perfect. Right after talking about the "trust or judge" concept, we have a prime example of it.
With this passage, there's more to be said, other than "trust or judge". However, in the end, following Christ will always boil down to "trust or judge". Nevertheless, I'll point out the same thing that Kristi mentions, in her video, on this topic.
Kristi points out that, with this passage, culture is, often, taken into account. Indeed, it is. However, as is the case with most people, of today, this doesn't do it for her. Instead, she comes up with other solutions, that she deems as more humane. She, then, goes on to claim that she knows better than God, and that she came up with a better solution, than what this passage demands.
Kristi's response is drenched in the "trust or judge" concept, and, in her case, she's, certainly, chosen to judge God, rather than trust him. However, in this day and age, who can blame her. Right?
This is where we have to dive deeper into the "trust or judge" concept. I'll do so with one, of many, examples that can be found in the Bible. It is through this example, that we'll get a clear picture of the "trust or judge" situation.