The Wrath of God

The Wrath of God Punishment is fundamental to man’s understanding of morals and ethics. Without repercussions one could not distinguish between virtue and sin. The concept of punishment dates back to the earliest civilizations as it is demonstrated in historical literature. The Bible establishes some of man’s first known perceptions of right and wrong. In this sacred story, God often punishes the morally incorrect actions of his people. Some of the earliest human notions of punishment are demonstrated in the stories of “Noah and the Flood” and “Cain Murders Abel.” The Bible uses powerful imagery to depict an underlying idea that the lowest punishments are reserved for people of violence and murder. It is generally agreed upon by all humans that violence is a crime. Violence is considered one of the original sins, and has always been punished since the days of the first civilizations. The imagery used in The Bible enforces the seriousness of violence. In the story of “Noah and the Flood,” God explained to Noah that he was “determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth [was] filled with violence because of them”.1 There is a clear and obvious connection between the violence of man and the harsh punishment of death. One of the most important elements of this passage exists in the imagery as people are referred to as “flesh.” They are not seen as distinct individuals, but simply one body of “flesh” that will be done away with. The imagery associated with violence and punishment is even more powerfully depicted in “Cain Murders Abel” as God reprimands Cain for his evil deed. He utters that Cain’s “brother’s blood is crying out to [him] from the ground” and affirms that Cain will be “cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive [his] brother’s blood from [his] hand”.1 The imagery used in this piece is gruesome and powerful. God’s wrath is intense, for Cain has not only engaged in violence, but also took a precious life. These Biblical stories use violent depictions to show that violence has always been considered a serious crime. The Bible demonstrates man’s personal outlook on murderers, thus supporting the theory of relentless punishment. These Biblical stories describe these violent men in a manner that makes them seem useless. These people are viewed upon as worthless, and thus any punishment seems justified. In “Noah and the Flood,” God “blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground”,1 as if one could simply take a marker and color over them. The earth was full of violent men who were so unimportant to God that he decided to wipe all of them out with a great flood. Similar to this incident, when Cain murders his brother God tells the criminal that he “will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth”.1 Prior to the incident, Cain was a ground tiller with great importance, but once he became a fugitive he lost purpose to his life. The use of the word “wanderer” gives Cain the image of a man without direction in life. The act of seizing all importance from a criminal lies partly in the harsh punishments that man inflicts on them. It is hard for someone to justify the idea of murdering a murderer, so one must derive the perfect excuse to do so. If one takes away the importance of a human being, it makes harsh punishments seem less wrong. The Bible shows that people have always believed in the death penalty as a form of punishment, and it has always been a moral issue that needed consideration. Different levels of punishment are needed, so that the worst sinners can get the worst punishment and the light sinners can be spared. It is often said that humans are evil by nature. Although one cannot confirm this concept, it is true that every human is guilty of sin due to the fact that people lie, cheat, steal, and even kill sometimes. Each crime is wrong to a different degree, and punishment must be decided accordingly. God made a promise to Noah:
I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.1
The story recognizes that man cannot be taught to live completely free of sin. It is seen as something natural, thus justifying that not every sin be punished. This passage employs imagery that stresses the natural criminal in each person from birth. The Bible makes it clear that violence and murder should be punished, but also shows that there are other sins with a lesser degree of severity. This enforces the idea that the lowest punishments can be saved for the worst sinners. God tells Cain that “sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for [him] but [he] must master it”.1 This imposes the idea that sin cannot be completely banished, but one has the free will to choose whether or not to give in to it. One may picture the temptation that constantly surrounds each person and thus further understand the natural enticement of sin. The fact alone that crimes exist in such an appealing form makes it hard for people to be entirely good. The different degrees of punishment help people cope with the idea that they too have committed crimes. By punishing murderers, people who have committed smaller sins feel that their few sins are not as bad in retrospect. The Bible is an extremely old and popular piece of literature that opens eyes to the origins of much human behavior. The main underlying themes of the stories teach moral conduct. Punishment is an important component of such ethics, and so naturally this idea was addressed. Man, in nature, has always been known to be violent and the Biblical stories show that throughout time people have been known to reserve special punishments for these types of criminals. The potent imagery of these Biblical stories help readers to understand the severity of certain crimes, thus justifying the ruthless repercussions.

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