It could be compared to what the Allies set out to do during World War II. In The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest, John Walton suggests that the point of Israel’s invasion was more about the dismantling of the community of which the Canaanites were a part of than ending their lives. The problem wasn’t the people, but idolatry. The conquest was more about ending the Canaanites’ religious and cultural practices than ending their lives. Given that mission, let’s talk about the misguided idea that Joshua and the Israelites were motivated by the act of killing a people group. How does killing the Canaanites fit in with Israel’s calling to be a kingdom of priests and a blessing to all the nations? Isn’t starting a war the opposite of blessing the nations? Why would God command his kingdom of priests to kick things off with an invasion?īefore we land on answers to those questions, we need to take a deeper look at the culture and characters in play here. This is where the book confuses a lot of people. The only problem was that the land was full of other people who didn’t want to leave. God called them a “kingdom of priests,” and this land was to be the place where their royal priesthood would begin (Exodus 19:4-6). After all, the plan was that Abraham’s descendants would be a blessing to all the world (Genesis 12:1-3). Joshua’s job was to lead the people across the Jordan River into Canaan and take back the land God promised Abraham. Why would a good God send his people to take land that belongs to another nation? Is this just one more example of people using religion to justify violence and conquest? My god is telling me to take your land, so here I come! If Jesus says to love your enemies, why does God declare war on them in the Old Testament?įrom Moses to the Book of Joshua: The Conquest BeginsĪfter the exodus from Egypt, Moses passed his leadership of the Israelites to Joshua. Let’s start with what’s hard about this story.Įven a cursory reading of Joshua can provoke questions that leave us confused, angry, and perhaps even ready to give up on the Bible and on God. Now we come to the Israelite’s invasion of Canaan found in the book of Joshua. In part two, we looked at God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. We are at the end of a three-part series addressing violence in the Bible. However, a deeper reading reveals that the reasons for the conquest were more complex, the scope of the destruction was smaller, and God’s mercy was present throughout. Most readers imagine that God commissioned his nation to vengefully wipe out an entire nation of Canaanite men, women, and children. It’s also one that we’re not typically equipped to understand at first glance. The conquest of the Canaanites in the book of Joshua is among the most challenging passages in the Bible for modern readers. Why Did God Command the Invasion of Canaan?
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