The people are attempting to explain the world around them. It’s just to show you that theology is in flux. How does this relate to Piper’s assertion that God kills simply because God can? From henceforth, they would become monotheists. In the Jewish story, their God – Yahweh – is the last god standing. As nations conquered other nations, the gods also died along with the people. They believed in many gods and worshiped one. For instance, the ancient Hebrew people were not always monotheistic. Now, what we must remember about the Bible is that the theology contained therein ebbs and flows throughout time. The way I approach the Bible is basically like this: A bunch of people getting together, trying to explain why bad things happen in a world where God is supposed to have some semblance of control. Sure, the texts say that God does these things, but I don’t think everyone’s theology in the Bible is 100% correct. So, when God kills entire populations in the Bible, it’s because he can. He even has roughly 6-10 people a year eaten by sharks. He says that God kills tens of thousands of people a day. John Piper argues that it is okay for God to kill people in the Old Testament because God is God (nice tautology, by the way).

The way I took this question is that this commenter is looking for my theodicy (the answer to how evil can exist in a world where a good God also exists).

Bad things free