Sane,
My apologies it has taken a while to answer your post. i actually started to answer it, then lost it when I accidently hit the delete button with the mountain of books that are surrounding my computer at the moment. Sorry and hope this answers a few of your questions.
We are never meant to pluck verses out of the bible and read them like you have just done. The Bible is a history book as well as a religious book. It covers earth history from before creation (eternity past) and continues on into the future beyond the destruction of the earth as we know it today (eternity future). It discusses the what, why's, hows of life.. you know the questions we like to put in the too hard basket. Why are we here? Where are we going? What is the purpose of it all.
If you pluck verses out like you did, of course you begin to wonder if the God who is meant to be behind it all is worth following. He sounds very violent and judgemental.
However, let's look at the verses again in the light of what I have just written and they take on a very different picture.
1. Exodus 12:29. There was a major reason why God dealt with the Egyptians as he did, and it was not without warnings. It was also aimed, not at the Egyptian people themselves, but at the gods they were following. To understand this, you need to know Genesis 12. God called the Isrealite nation to Himself to be a special nation. it was to be the source of God's blessing to the entire world. The blessings that had been lost at the fall as described in Genesis 3 and the entrance of sin and death in the world, left the world with no hope. Into that hopelessness came God and His covenant with Abraham and promise, that through him, al the nations of the world would be blessed and God Himself would be praised.
When the Egyptians took the Israelites into slavery, God sent Moses to tell the Egyptian Pharoh to let His people go. Pharoh refused and his heart was hardened.. but even that was for purpose. "Exodus 7:5 states "and the Egyptians will KNOW that I am the Lord"
Every plague that God sent against Egypt was a direct attack on the gods of Egypt which they revered above the Lord Almighty. Even the killing of the first born was directly aimed at the Gods of death. Pharoh could have stopped the things happening immediately, but even though he saw the power of the Most High God and the inadequacies of the Egyptian gods, he continuned to refuse to obey. Judgement came upon the people as it always does. But even in this, there was purpose, that both Egypt and Israel would see and know God. (Exodus 12:12 "I will bring judgement on all the gods of Egypt")
Which was kinder? For God to leave the people in their sin? or to bring judgement and justice to enable the nation to see and know? What was at stake here was not just the here and now, but the whole of eternity.
Your second verse speaks of the 1 Samuel 15:3. Why did God destroy them? You need to read Exodus 17:8-15 and Dueteronomy 25:17 to understand these verses. Read what God says in Dueteronomy 25 especially to understand
"Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt? When you were weary and worn out, them yet you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind. Because they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the Land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot the memory of the Amaleks from under heaven. Do not forget."
There are two things to remember here... 1. Israel was told to destroy the Amalekites, but hadn't the Amalekites already taken Isreal when she was at her most vulnerable?
2. Whereas the killing of the Israelites was for no reason, the order by God to the Israelites to kill the Amalekites served two purposes.. it destroyed an incredibly evil regime and it led to the enemies of the people of God again knowing the God of Isreal was the one true God who would accomplish His purposes on earth. Through all of Isreal's actions, there was meant to be one outcome.. "all the nations of the earth would be blessed" and God would be praised.
3. Revelation 2:23
Revelation 2:23 is visionary language. It is part of vision that John saw and it was revealed to him in human terms to help him understand it.
The "woman" Jezebel is not a real woman at all, but is a picture of the so called church - a religious structure and the adultery spoken of is spiritual adultery.
The name has it's roots in the queen of Ahab found in 1kings 16:31, 18:4-19-1 and in 2 kings 9:10, 30, 36. she was described as a patroness of idolatry, revengeful, murdress, a wife who incited her husband to evil, vain and she met a terrible death.
The Jezebel described in Revelations 2 would immediately have brought visions of this queen to mind... howeve it is not a literal person but as mentioned is a picture of those who claim to be the true church of God, but instead are leading people away from God. The full condemnation of God is thrown at her for many reasons
1. She is leading the church into apostasy by the way she is allowing false teaching and practises to come and take away the true worship of God
2. She has been warned over and over again by God, but refuses to listen.
3. The only hope for her and for those who she is leading astray and who themselves are leading others astray is to repent
Why?? So that ALL the churches will know that I am He who searches hearts and minds and will repay each according to their deeds.
You see Sane, though judgement was sent against the Amalekites who were outside the people of God for their actions against the people of God, the same judgement is sent to those who are from within the people of God but who lead others astray by their disobedience and wrong teaching.
The end result is the same
So that first all men and women may KNOW and may respond to God and that God will receive his rightful praise.
Notice, the harlot woman was given the chance to repent.. even though her actions hurt God terribly, still in love he gave her the opportunity to turn from her sins and come back to him. This is the God you need to be seeing..
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" John 3:16
Does this help answer your questions at all?
Carol