As I said in the first post in this series, there is a real sense in which God puts Himself on trial in the Book of Joshua. The charge is genocide. Is God a vengeful, blood thirsty tyrant? Is it possible that He is best represented on this planet by the likes of Islamic State?
If we are to judge God, what standard of proof do we require? Australian civil courts work to a balance of probabilities. Is that standard suitable? Based on the evidence before us, is it more likely than unlikely that God is a genocidal maniac? Or do we apply the higher criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt?
That is an individual decision. The point is courts do not require absolute proof because most of the time, if not always, there always remains room for doubt. This is just as true when it comes to God. Faith is only possible in the absence of absolutes.
This understanding allows us to make judgements about Joshua and other places in Scripture that challenge our ideas of God’s inherent goodness. We must, as does a court, weigh up the evidence before us. We must consider the instructions God gave about the conquest of Canaan, the way these were carried out, and how God reacted to the final outcome. If we understand the Bible as a progressive revelation of God we must also consider these events within the full revelation of Scripture.
As has been stated in earlier posts, God’s covenant promises require human obedience. We see this for example in Exodus 19:5,6 where God is speaking to Moses: ‘Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 6 And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel’. Generally speaking, whatever things God promises are conditional on our obedience.
As we see in Exodus 23:20-23, this same condition applied to the conquest of Canaan. The land will be theirs if they ‘are careful to obey’.
“See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. 21 Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. 22 But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. 23 For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely.
In verses 29 and 30 we see this would not happen overnight: ‘ But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you. 30 I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land.’
In verse 32 we find another condition. Israel was forbidden to make any treaty with the inhabitants of the land. Later, in Deuteronomy we find this instruction repeated. Here, however, we find the ‘no treaty’ rule applies only to those living in ‘the land you will enter’. This is expanded on in Exodus 34:12-17:
“Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. 13 Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.
15 “You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them. 16 Then you will accept their daughters, who sacrifice to other gods, as wives for your sons. And they will seduce your sons to commit adultery against me by worshiping other gods. 17 You must not make any gods of molten metal for yourselves.
Three days before Israel was to cross the Jordan River to the Promised Land God gave this instruction to Joshua:
‘Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do’ (Joshua 1:7,8).
As leader, Joshua was expected to thoroughly understand his ‘marching orders’ and to follow them fully. Success depended on this. So how did they go?
The next post in this series will discuss the story of Rahab the prostitute. Her story will be assessed against the specific instructions given by God and in the context of the full revelation of the Bible.
Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation
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