The Covenant - Confronting Genocide 2

An overarching Bible theme is God’s Covenant, or agreement, with humanity. While the word does not appear in the first three chapters of the Bible it is there. God created all that humanity needed and more before He created people. The privilege of living in the garden was unearned either by labour or moral purity. Eve and Adam had unrestricted access to all there was with one exception, ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ (Gen. 2:16,17). The penalty was death, although this did not come instantly. Because of their disobedience the couple were driven from the garden and thus denied access to the tree of life.

Although the story is presented in different ways throughout Scripture the constant remains: God invites humanity to enjoy all the benefits He provides; the offer is extended freely, it is not earned by our moral purity or anything we may do; there is a condition of obedience; and the penalty for unfaithfulness is exclusion from the benefits of the covenant.

As time passed following Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden humanity became increasingly depraved, so much so that the earth was ‘filled … with violence’ (Gen. 6:18)  and the heart of God was broken (Gen 6:6). God’s response was to destroy the earth, saving one family to make a new start. The head of that family, Noah, is described as the only one on earth that had a close relationship with God (Gen. 6:9).

There is a real sense the flood, with its destruction of life, is a fulfillment of Gen 2:16,17: ‘ But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”’ Death is the penalty of sin. Yet God provided a means of escape for Noah, the one good man on the earth, and his family.

The flood provides a new beginning not only for humanity, but for other living things. Both humans and animals are commanded to be fruitful, to multiply, and fill the earth (Compare Gen. 1:22-28 with 8:15; 9:1). At this time God confirms, or establishes, a covenant with Noah, his descendants, and all living creatures that He will never again destroy the earth by flood and gives the rainbow as a sign or reminder of that covenant (Gen. 9: 8-17).

There is a condition: ‘And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die. If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image’ (v 5,6).

Remember, this covenant of which the rainbow is a perpetual reminder was made with all Noah's descendants. The Canaanites, those supposed victims of genocide, were direct descendants of Noah’s son Ham and parties to the Covenant.

Suffice for the moment, the covenant theme continues throughout Scripture. God covenants with Abraham and the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land. The Old Testament prophets speak of a New Covenant, one that is later ratified by the Blood of the Messiah. In Revelation 4 we seen a vision of God’s throne surrounded by a rainbow. Revelation pulls these themes of Covenant, obedience, judgement, exclusion from and inclusion in the blessings of God together.

The question remains, do we see these elements in Joshua? I will continue to explore this in future posts.

Bible quotes from the New Living Translation.

Links to previous posts on this topic:

The Importance of Joshua

http://kenswampmarsh.blogspot.com.au/2016/09/the-importance-of-joshua-confronting.html

The Importance of Joshua - Confronting Genocide 1

Joshua is confronting and challenging. A casual reading leaves the reader with what seems compelling evidence that God not only condones, but in fact commanded, genocide. I have no idea how many people have rejected the Bible and its God after coming in contact with Joshua, but I know that it is a favourite of today’s strident atheist movement. It is a serious charge, one we should not ignore.

We are living at a time when more people than ever as a percentage of the population are university educated. Via both the mainstream and social media we are confronted almost daily with atheistic propaganda, much that seeks to belittle faith, often with one-liners that appeal to preconceived ideas without offering any analysis. Responding with insult, claims that say ‘God said it so I believe it’, or ignoring the matter and hoping it simply goes away are, in my opinion, simply not good enough. If God has given us a brain it is an insult to the Creator not to use it. We need an intellectual response, one that addresses the issues.Faith does not mean we can answer all the questions - if everything was beyond doubt there would be no room for faith. But our credibility is dependent on a reasoned response.

If God, as understood in the Judeo-Christian tradition does exist, and if Joshua is the account He wants preserved of the period it purports to represent, then in a very real sense He has put Himself on trial.He claims that He is love, not that He loves (1 John 4:8), that He is unchanging (Malachi 3:6), ‘... the same yesterday, today and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8). Both Titus (1:2) and the writer of Hebrews (6:18) claim that God cannot, infact it is impossible that He can, lie.

Then there is this statement of Peter’s, found in 2 Peter 3:9; ‘The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.’ Now, if He ‘is the same yesterday, today, and forever’ (Heb. 13:8) it follows that He must have been patient with those Canaanites whose genocide He is claimed to have ordered, willing rather that they repent. For if He wasn’t we must therefore conclude He is a liar who therefore cannot be trusted.

I have been challenged by this subject for some time and believe the charges of genocide can be challenged. This is not easy. It requires that Joshua been seen in the context of the full revelation of God as given in the Bible and the times in which the events took place. I don’t claim to have all the answers but do hope as time passes to fill in some of the gaps in my current understanding.

So this is the first of who knows how many posts on this subject. They will be a collection of thoughts that at times may not come in logical order. Any comments, criticism or questions aimed at helping me clarify my thoughts will be appreciated. And if the project achieves nothing more than helping me delay the onset of Alzheimer's it will, for me at least, prove worthwhile.