Why did God want to hurt people in the Old Testament?

Paul33 wrote: It is man that sins and dies, and God knowing it beforehand does not make him the direct cause of evil or death.

I agree with him.
People have a hard time understanding that God knowing what you will choose is not the same as God choosing for you.

As a parent I understand it though.

I know my children well. I can advise them, guide them, and teach them, but there are times that I know they ~will~ make the wrong choice, no matter what I say. I can either make the choice for them, and thus take away their free will, or I can be there, with my heart breaking, watching them stumble. Some stumbles are part of "growing up."

God doesn't want us to stumble, but He knows our hearts. He can make it impossible for us to sin, but in doing so, we become less than what He created us to be. So, He gives us free will, and allows us to accept or reject the love He freely offers to us.

 

Ben W,

Using your logic, if you know that you are going to hurt your wife with words or actions, causing her grief and pain, why get married in the first place?

 

It occurred to me to think in terms of gardening.

I have a beautiful climbing rose bush, and I have morning glory. I love both of these plants. When I planted them, I planted them because I love them. I also happen to know that it is the nature of both of them to climb, wander, and attach to things around them. Because of that nature - I sometimes have problems with them. From time to time both of these plants become destructive. They weaken the bricks of my home if I'm not careful, they choke the trees around them - if I allow it, they crowd out the Iris and Kings-Ransom-Roses near them. Both of these plants also sometimes get "bad" buds. So I prune the plants. If a rose bud is wilting, faded, drooping, rather than risk losing the entire plant while the roots try to hold up and support the rotting blossom, I prune out the blossom. Rather than let the morning glory choke the King's Ransom, I cut off the vines that have turned hostile on its neighbors.

If I did not prune these plants from time to time, I would lose the garden first, and then these plants themselves, because - allowed to continue without the pruning - they would eventually kill themselves.

 

Amen, Sister TexasSky -- Preach it!