In one passage of the Bible, God tells King Saul of Israel to kill people. God says to the king, “Kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child” (1 Samuel 15:3). How is it possible to reconcile this with a scripture passage like John 3:16: “For God so loved the world?” How can a God of love kill people, even children? It doesn’t seem to make sense.

The real answer comes when you see the whole purpose of God for mankind.

This is a question that has stumped many people trying to make sense of the Bible. The real answer comes when you see the whole purpose of God for mankind.

God, the loving Creator of all mankind, has killed or ordered the killing of many, many people. Consider the killing He did in the flood of Noah’s time; with the fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; in Israel’s invasion of Canaan. Consider the continuing wars of Israel against her enemies. All of this killing amounts to a lot of dead bodies! What is going on here if God is so loving?

To answer, let’s first of all establish that only God has the right to take a human life. He has given this right to man’s governments. “The authorities that exist are appointed by God,” says the apostle Paul (Romans 13:1). The ruler “is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Romans 13:4). When God told King Saul to kill men, women and children, He authorized Saul with the right to kill.

Everywhere in Scripture where God kills people or orders people killed, He does so because His victims practice evil. For instance, He sent the flood because the “wickedness of man was great in the earth” (Genesis 6:5). He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because the inhabitants were “exceedingly wicked and sinful” (Genesis 13:13). He ordered Saul to kill all the Amalekite men, women children and even animals because they were Israel’s enemies (1 Samuel 15:2).

God would rather not have to kill people. He says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked would turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). However, He has to do it to advance His purposes. His ultimate desire is for “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

Since God has killed all these people, how is He going to save them? The answer reveals one of the great truths of the Bible that the world does not know. God is going to resurrect all of the people who have ever died, including everyone He killed. Jesus said, “The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth” (John 5:28-29).

At that time, all the “dead, small and great” will be “standing before God” (Revelation 20:12). God will restore all the people he has killed to flesh and blood life. He will give them back the life He took! Then these people who once practiced evil will have a chance to turn to God.

God kills people to thwart their evil that interferes with His purposes. But remember, “The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up” (1 Samuel 2:6). Their evil at one time put them at odds with God’s purposes. When God brings them up from the grave, He will show them how kind and loving He truly is. Then, if the people God has killed believe and obey Him, they will understand why He had to kill them. They will thank Him for making them alive for evermore.