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The Text: Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.
Contextually, this verse refers Numbers 13-14 where Israelite spies were sent into the land of Caanan, lied about what they saw and convinced Israel leaders and elders to murmur against Moses. For the sin of grumbling, judged the whole of Israel, forcing them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, and only those under the age of twenty would be able of enter the promised land.
For many Credobaptists and those to deny original sin, who hold to the Age of Accountability this verse teaches children below the age of accountability were exempt from God’s judgement due to their age—— “our little ones” who have “no knowledge of good and evil.” They reason those that have “no knowledge of good and evil” at minimum are morally neutral or as extreme as being sinless or guiltless.
My contention is "knowledge of good and evil" is a Hebraism which yields a closer linguistic fit meaning "maturity and immaturity" rather than sinlessness or guiltlessness. See my previous post OP 12/4 on Is. 7:14.
The question is raised: Were the “little ones” who had “no knowledge of good and evil” exempt from God’s judgment of Israel. ABSOLUTELY NOT. The judgment placed upon the “little ones” was they were forced to wander for 40 years in the desert. The exemption of death is seen as a pardon and an act of pure grace by God allowing the promises to Abraham to continue.
This is the only passage of Scripture that God provides an “age based” exception to His judgments. No where does Scripture indicate such an "age based" exemption exists elsewhere or to be continued in the NT era. The OT is replete of examples where children fall under God's judgment which are not "age based."
Examples would be:
THE JUSTICE OF GOD. If children and infants are seen as innocent of sin, hence infantile purity and do receive God’s judgment, would this make God unjust. As Mark Beach has said,
God is not unjust.
Contextually, this verse refers Numbers 13-14 where Israelite spies were sent into the land of Caanan, lied about what they saw and convinced Israel leaders and elders to murmur against Moses. For the sin of grumbling, judged the whole of Israel, forcing them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, and only those under the age of twenty would be able of enter the promised land.
For many Credobaptists and those to deny original sin, who hold to the Age of Accountability this verse teaches children below the age of accountability were exempt from God’s judgement due to their age—— “our little ones” who have “no knowledge of good and evil.” They reason those that have “no knowledge of good and evil” at minimum are morally neutral or as extreme as being sinless or guiltless.
My contention is "knowledge of good and evil" is a Hebraism which yields a closer linguistic fit meaning "maturity and immaturity" rather than sinlessness or guiltlessness. See my previous post OP 12/4 on Is. 7:14.
The question is raised: Were the “little ones” who had “no knowledge of good and evil” exempt from God’s judgment of Israel. ABSOLUTELY NOT. The judgment placed upon the “little ones” was they were forced to wander for 40 years in the desert. The exemption of death is seen as a pardon and an act of pure grace by God allowing the promises to Abraham to continue.
This is the only passage of Scripture that God provides an “age based” exception to His judgments. No where does Scripture indicate such an "age based" exemption exists elsewhere or to be continued in the NT era. The OT is replete of examples where children fall under God's judgment which are not "age based."
Examples would be:
- The tenth plague. Because of the sin of one man, all first born of the Egyptians were killed. No age based exemption.
- Sodom and Gomorrah. Because ten righteous people could not be found the cities were destroyed along with all the cities in the valley. All died under God's judgment. No age based exemption.
- Assyrian & Babylonian captivity. Children were punished for the sin of the elders or Israel in general. No age based exemption.
- Death of David’s son. Because David committed murder by proxy, his son seven day old life was taken from him. No age based exemption.
- The extreme example of the Flood. All unborn, infants, toddlers, and adolescents are killed by the flood and fall under eternal condemnation, based upon the sins of their parents, and grandparents participated in. Inherit natural depravity on all humans is evident in the Flood. Infants who are incapable of actual sin, here destroyed as well as adults. The cause of death for infants is original sin, because they are not capable of actual sin. The flood was just because all sin whether original in Adam or actual is a CAPITAL OFFENSE. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
- In the Flood, either infants and children were truly guilty or God was punishing the innocent. If they were not guilty of breaking a known commandment, then they must somehow be guilty because of their relationship to Adam. They must share in his guilt. They must have "sinned in Adam." That is the truth of imputation.
THE JUSTICE OF GOD. If children and infants are seen as innocent of sin, hence infantile purity and do receive God’s judgment, would this make God unjust. As Mark Beach has said,
“Baptists, while protecting the Justice of God from inherited guilt, maintain these same guiltless infants can and do suffer sin’s environmental consequences or the polluting effects of sin.
“Infants and young children then are specifically created to suffer the curse of death for no sin of their own—a curse that includes disease, illness, war, genocides, murder, abortions, neglect, injury, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, forced famines, infanticide, starvation, child sacrifice, etc.
“This is a self- contradictory stance. For, if infants are without personal sin and guilt, then they have not merited the suffering they are made to endure. This is nothing other than unjust suffering.”
God is not unjust.
