I was in shock about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. And one morning after it hit me, I just started to sob. I felt like I was tuning into a collective cry for justice for the unrighteous killing of a righteous man. And it reminded me of a story in the book of Jasher. This book didn’t make it into the bible. The bible does reference it (Joshua 10:13, 2 Samuel 1:18). There is a book of Jasher, which is obviously disregarded as the “biblical” version. They think it’s not actually that book. But you can judge for yourself.
In that book of Jasher, there is a record of why Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. What was the final tipping point for God? It’s mentioned in Jasher. I find myself thinking when will God get involved here? How many more innocent people have to die?
And there is a bargaining in Genesis about this:
Genesis 18.22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD. 23 Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” 26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28 “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
In the next chapter, Lot flees to a smaller city that was meant to be destroyed as well, but pleads to be able to stay there. That town is saved because of his righteousness. It was saved for one righteous person.
Genesis 19:21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 “Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.
(Zoar means little or insignificance)
The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah has always been clear, biblically. It’s not if you just ask a random person though. I’ve written about this.
Ezekiel 16:49 Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
Jasher 19:44 And the LORD was provoked at this and at all the works of the cities of Sodom, for they had abundance of food, and had tranquility amongst them, and still would not sustain the poor and the needy, and in those days their evil doings and sins became great before the LORD.
According to Jasher it was not simply that they did not help the poor and needy, it’s that they literally punished people who would help them. If you were caught trying to help a stranger by giving them food, you would be condemned. Now, consider the fact that in the New Testament, food is the equivalent of the Word of God. Jesus said my food is to do the will of Him who sent me (John 4:34). Our daily bread is to do God’s desires for us. That’s why in the Lord’s prayer “Give us this day our daily bread,” comes right after, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus didn’t switch topics on us. Our food is God’s divine will for us.
What people do spiritually/mentally shows up in the physical realm in parallel.
Charlie Kirk was attempting to give food (good understanding) to people who were starving for knowledge (though full on propaganda). The murderer had judged Kirk as evil for Kirk’s mission of trying to help people who were starving (for knowledge).
From the Book of Jasher that we have on the destruction of the area:
Jasher 19:34 And they took Paltith and brought her before their judges, and they said to them, Thus did she do, and it is she who supplied the poor man with bread, therefore did he not die all this time; now therefore declare to us the punishment due to this woman for having transgressed our law.
35 And the people of Sodom and Gomorrah assembled and kindled a fire in the street of the city, and they took the woman and cast her into the fire and she was burned to ashes.
36 And in the city of Admah there was a woman to whom they did the like.
37 For a traveler came into the city of Admah to abide there all night, with the intention of going home in the morning, and he sat opposite the door of the house of the young woman's father, to remain there, as the sun had set when be had reached that place; and the young woman saw him sitting by the door of the house.
38 And he asked her for a drink of water and she said to him, Who art thou? and he said to her, I was this day going on the road, and reached here when the sun set, so I will abide here all night, and in the morning I will arise early and continue my journey.
39 And the young woman went into the house and fetched the man bread and water to eat and drink.
40 And this affair became known to the people of Admah, and they assembled and brought the young woman before the judges, that they should judge her for this act.
41 And the judge said, The judgment of death must pass upon this woman because she transgressed our law, and this therefore is the decision concerning her.
42 And the people of those cities assembled and brought out the young woman, and anointed her with honey from head to foot, as the judge had decreed, and they placed her before a swarm of bees which were then in their hives, and the bees flew upon her and stung her that her whole body was swelled.
43 And the young woman cried out on account of the bees, but no one took notice of her or pitied her, and her cries ascended to heaven.
44 And the Lord was provoked at this and at all the works of the cities of Sodom, for they had abundance of food, and had tranquility amongst them, and still would not sustain the poor and the needy, and in those days their evil doings and sins became great before the Lord.
45 And the Lord sent for two of the angels that had come to Abraham's house, to destroy Sodom and its cities.
There are many who have absolutely no pity for Charlie Kirk, beyond those who were sadistically gleeful. Their hearts have gone cold.
Justice & Righteousness
The terms ‘justice’ and ‘righteousness’ are frequently used together in the Bible as a hendiadys, a rhetorical device where two words connected by “and” express a single, complex idea rather than two separate concepts. Watch this video series to learn more about that.
Because Justice & Righteousness is what God is. Those who hate God will also hate justice and righteousness. Of course they turn the meanings around like changing the definition of good to evil, and evil to good. So it’s no surprise they focus a lot on justice and what’s righteous in their eyes. They can pray for justice, but God knows their heart.
Waiting on God
He listens to those who cry out for actual justice, not performative biased “justice.” And God is long-suffering wishing those who do harm would repent. It’s why God takes so long to answer prayers for justice. His mercy exceeds our own.
Christ said to pray for your enemies. The mission, God’s plan and purpose, is to try to help people repent and start doing some good instead of evil. So, they don’t wish evil people dead, they wish them to repent.
Ezekiel 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord YHWH: wherefore turn (repent), and live.
If you’re interested in the Christian take on this, here is an older video of mine on the subject, and I may have changed my thoughts a bit since I recorded it, but probably not too much.
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. In these moments, it’s hard to be Christian, and follow that example. We cry out for justice to be served. He hears the prayers of the righteous.
Proverbs 15:29 YHWH is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
We have to look internally and see what we can change about ourselves in this time. We have to clean ourselves as much as possible, while knowing that God may save a city just because we’re in it, even if it’s filled with evil. He’s just more merciful than we are.
But, eventually, people with good hearts are led out of those cities and into safer places, because eventually the evil will be destroyed for righteousness’ sake. Vengeance is God’s, not ours to take.
But, we can pray, and we can clean ourselves up and ask for courage to be better. We should enforce our boundaries, and speak up when things are wrong/evil. But we should not want to take another person’s life. That’s up to God. And we, Christians, should not celebrate the death of the wicked, but pray for them to wise up for their own good. Everyone coming out of the dark into the light helps us too.
You may also enjoy some other articles of mine:
Biden & Democrats' Schadenfreude is a Red Flag: Look For How People Treat Their Enemies
Wishing Death On Someone: The False Belief That Life Would be Better Off With Someone Dead
Now I've Got You, You SOB Cancel Culture: In which those who feel like victims turn into the persecutors of the flipped triangle