When God messed up as me, they messed up big time! And because people refuse to say that they messed up doesn’t follow that they didn’t.
You may be wondering, What is this person talking about? Well, I’m talking about the “God of all flesh,” who has shown himself or themselves to be unfriendly and unjust to some people, while perhaps making other people defend their injustice as just.
The religious folks often claim the God of justice is theirs, but when you point out some actions that are unjust, they would say that whatever their God does is just. Why? Because we are sinners and deserving of death? So God can come in at any time and randomly take away lives, even that of children, to satisfy their wrath upon sin?
Some would say I’m being harsh; another would say I’ve been misinformed, but isn’t that what it is, according to the holy book? God does as he pleases, or doesn’t he or they? Well, I want to point out something obvious in the holy book: when God turned against his own people and showed how vengeful and unjust he, she, or they really are. I mean, when God messed up as me.
Previous Read: If God Is For Us, Who Can Be Against Us?
Did God Mess Up?
I think I began in a high tune, but let me tune down the volume of the conversation. Usually, I’m not always like that; I just go off sometimes to show my detest for some apologetics that don’t really make sense to me, and perhaps in this reality.
In 2 Samuel 24, an interesting event is narrated involving King David, the Israelites, and Yahweh, their God. It begins with the idea of their God being angry at the people and causing King David to conduct a census. David told Joab, the captain of the host, to go and number all the people of Israel for him, beginning from Dan to Beersheba.
While Joab wanted to object to the idea, he had to follow through with the king’s order, went with the other captains, and numbered the people of Israel. Within nine months and twenty days, they numbered the people of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 24:9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
After King David received the report of the census, he was hurt in the heart; he felt bad, went to God in prayer, and asked Yahweh, his God, to forgive him. David acknowledged his sin of numbering the people and requested mercy, but what did Yahweh God do?
The morning of the next day, Yahweh’s words came to David’s seer, Prophet Gad, and commanded him to go to David and give him three rewards to choose from for his actions. One of these three options below was the thing that Yahweh, their God, offered to do for them:
- Bring seven years of food scarcity upon the land.
- Make them weak before their enemies or running from their enemies for three months.
- Bring a plague on the people for three days.
David, having to choose from three evils, decided that it was better to fall into his God’s hands because, according to him, his God was great in mercies. From three evils? Yes, you got that right! So what happened?
The Lord brought the plague on the people of Israel from morning to what was called the appointed time (perhaps the three days), and seventy thousand men were recorded dead, from Dan to Beersheba, as a result. What about women and children? Hmm…
Then, the angel that was instrumental in plaguing the people turned to do likewise to Jerusalem, but Yahweh God changed his mind, repented of the evil, and reversed his judgment, and told the destroying angel to stop. Wow! God did what? Is that how they bring judgments on people and watch them suffer as if they are nothing?
2 Samuel 24:17 And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.
So the righteous judge didn’t know what he was supposed to do? Why need a mortal to remind the immortal what they should know to do well? Did he have to try and mess up first?
It got so disastrous and painful that King David, who would proclaim God’s loving kindness for killing and destroying his enemies, approached God and told him that he got it wrong this time. In other words, God messed up as me.
Interestingly, God was caught up here that he, she, or they couldn’t give an excuse for destroying thousands of lives for a single man’s action, which, according to the narrative in Samuel’s account of the event, he, Yahweh, made David do. The chronicle’s version would suppose that instead of Yahweh, Satan was involved in the motivation. But at the end, David had to build an altar to entreat the same God to keep the plague from the people.
At least David did what many Christian apologists and some other religious folks wouldn’t do; he called God out for the unjust action towards the innocent for his servant’s supposed sin. I understand that some people can’t help but defend the character of their God, so go ahead and justify the unjust act of your God.
But answer me this one question: If it were a good thing your God did, why did he stop his or her tool of destruction from advancing to Jerusalem? I guess they didn’t want to show such a version of “goodness” to them, or was it mercy? Cool.
When God Messed Up As Me
The phrase, When God messed up as me, is a construct of two things: the Yahweh God concept and a song titled Messed Up As Me by Keith Urban. I put both together to further my point with a when, indicating a timeframe.
On March 1, 2024, Messed Up As Me by Keith Urban was released, making waves on the charts. The song written by the following, Michael Lotten, Jesse Dillon, Rodney Clawson, and Shane McAnally, contains the kind of information that I thought would really fit into this discussion.
The third and fourth lines of the lyrics say, and I quote, “When I get gone, I get real gone; when I get it wrong, I get it real wrong.” When you listen to the song, you will think of it as a romantic rendition, but I thought it further, and here is something we can learn a thing or two from.
As messed up as me and all alone
And all of your friends have all gone home
And you hatе that the truth is nobody leaves your hеad and your heart
And your bed and your sheets as messed up as me
As messed up as me
Here, we see two people who are incompatible; one is telling the other how she messes their lives up, but they find it difficult to face the truth, or should I say they hate to hear the truth of the matter? Sounds like something going on in the mind.
When you read stories like the one in 2 Samuel 24, one could wonder if that God exists in such a way; it would explain a lot of what people are experiencing today. But it will go on to show that such a God is not all-loving, not all-powerful, or is evil.
As it appears, my Christian brothers and sisters have a hard time admitting that no one messed up the way their God did. Well, some of them have gone as far as denouncing that their God ever did many of the things ascribed to him in the holy Bible because they know the implication of those actions. They understand that it would support the idea of a God who messed up like me. Therefore, “God was absent,” so they say.
However, they’ve got a problem. While they think they have a point, of which they do, there are other Christians who object to their position. A common reason would be that it questions the accuracy and authority of the holy Bible, which is the true word of God. Another would be that they limit the ability of God to do whatever he or they please, which would question if their God is all-powerful.
These sections rise and fall together, as they continue to argue and condemn each other because they cannot agree on what God does, can do, and will do, talking of what God did in the days of old. So, God, why not help us out, or did you?
