© 2015 The Wired Word
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In the book of Joshua, the people of Israel are preparing to cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land. Their leader Joshua asks them to draw near and hear the words of the Lord. He says, "By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites" (3:10). Each of these groups might be considered "indigenous people" today, as might the Israelites themselves, who were from that area before moving to Egypt during the famine.
More shocking to us nowadays is the manner in which these people are treated. When the Israelites fight the battle of Jericho, they destroy by the edge of the sword "both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys" (6:21). This is in obedience to the guidance of God in the book of Deuteronomy: "you must not let anything that breathes remain alive. You shall annihilate them -- the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites -- just as the LORD your God has commanded" (20:16-17). The purpose of this killing is "so that they may not teach you to do all the abhorrent things that they do for their gods, and you thus sin against the LORD your God" (v. 18).
Such annihilation is an example of killing in the name of God, which is being done today by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. This terrorist group has a long list of enemies that it wants to destroy, from the United States to the Arab oil sheiks. ISIS even wants to conquer Muslim countries such as Iran, Iraq and Syria. Just this week, a terrorist allegedly linked to ISIS blew himself up and killed dozens in Turkey -- a predominantly Muslim country.
"Its slaughter-and-condemnation-fest has been indiscriminate in large part because it believes Islam must be cleansed before it can be successful in jihad," writes Kurt Eichenwald in Newsweek. "It's the fatally flawed logic of true believers." ISIS wants to slaughter everyone who does not follow God according to its perverse theology.
So how can Christians read passages such as Joshua 3 without falling into "the fatally flawed logic of true believers"?
Douglas Hargis, a member of the editorial team of The Wired Word, suggests that we first understand why God would command the annihilation of indigenous people in Joshua. "If we do not take the time to even try to look at this from God's point of view, then we will continue to hold up our own points of view as if they are the standard by which we judge God. Second, we must determine whether the event in question -- known as 'the conquest of Canaan' -- is a one-time event, not intended to be repeated, or whether it is an ethical example intended for us to emulate, follow and repeat over and over again."
First, Hargis suggests that God commanded the extermination of the Canaanite groups because they worshiped the god Molek, who demanded child sacrifice (1 Kings 11:5, 7, 33; Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5; Jeremiah 32:35). This was abhorrent to God and the primary sin for which God would eventually punish the Canaanites. Annihilation is ordered because of their idolatrous influence on the Israelites.
In similar fashion, Moses warns the Israelites in Deuteronomy 7 that a similar extinction awaits them if they turn away and follow Canaanite gods (v. 4) and if they ever forget the Lord and fail to obey the Lord (8:19-20). In the end, this is precisely what happened -- the Israelites became idolatrous and God used the Assyrians and the Babylonians to destroy them in judgment.
Second, Hargis asks whether the extermination of a people is to be repeated throughout history. "The rules of war referred to earlier from Deuteronomy 20 make it very clear that the Canaanite extermination was an exception to the rule and not to be exercised in warfare in general. Warfare should always begin with the offer of peace if there is surrender. For the Canaanites no such offer was to be made since this was the land that the Israelites would call home and it needed to be purged of the idolatry." His conclusion is that God's annihilation order would be limited to the conquest of the Promised Land, and therefore "Christians cannot use the extermination of the conquest of Canaan to justify the extinction of a people."
Not everyone on the TWW team finds Hargis' explanation satisfying, because it still requires us to justify God's command to show no mercy to the Canaanites, including their children. One explanation that does not blame God posits that the Old Testament was written from the perspective of the Israelites. If they wanted to obliterate their neighbors, possibly they could convince themselves that God told them to do it, and thus their scribes recorded the story that way. The problem is, if this explanation is correct, some parts of the biblical account must be incorrect.
TWW team member Frank Ramirez suggests another angle, one found in the Bible itself. "You may be very uncomfortable with the mass slaughter of Joshua," says Ramirez, "but then you read Judges (which also has some awful passages) and you realize these people weren't wiped out. Judges tells a totally different story of competing nations living side by side."
So in the end, we conclude, as have many before us, that an answer to this question that covers all the objections is not forthcoming. But perhaps TWW team member David Hall points us in a helpful direction when he says, "I always view the events of the Old Testament as necessary to keep a people alive from whom would spring the hope of all mankind, Jesus Christ."
More on this story can be found at these links:
ISIS's Enemy List: 10 Reasons the Islamic State is Doomed. Newsweek
Turkey 'ISIS' attack: Horrifying moment suicide bomber blew himself up killing 28 caught on camera. Mirror
The Big Questions
1. A quote from Mark Twain's book Letters From the Earth: "The two Testaments are interesting, each in its own way. The Old one gives us a picture of these people's Deity as he was before he got religion, the other one gives us a picture of him as he appeared afterward. The Old Testament is interested mainly in blood and sensuality. The New one in Salvation." How does this observation align with your understanding of the Old and New Testaments? What problems arise when you assert that the character of God changes over the course of the biblical story?
2. David Hall, a member of the editorial team of The Wired Word, writes, "I always view the events of the Old Testament as necessary to keep a people alive from whom would spring the hope of all mankind, Jesus Christ." How was the conquest of Canaan necessary to keep the Israelites alive? In what way might these military victories have supported the eternal purposes of God? Do the ends justify the means?
3. "You may be very uncomfortable with the mass slaughter of Joshua," writes editorial team member Frank Ramirez, "but then you read Judges (which also has some awful passages) and you realize these people weren't wiped out. Judges tells a totally different story of competing nations living side by side." What problems arise when we focus only on God's will in Joshua, while ignoring the story of Judges? Where do you see multiple messages from God on the topic of warfare? In your opinion, do the Scriptures have a conversation within themselves, or must Scripture speak with one voice on all issues?
4. Mary Sells, another editorial team member, notes that "God always does extreme things to come to the aid of his people." Although the conquest of Canaan might strike us as an excessive act, she asserts that "God did the most extreme thing to reunite with mankind: manifest as human in the form of Jesus. The message transformed and transcended the previous Old Testament experience, becoming the command to love God, oneself, others -- even enemies." How can Jesus be understood as an extreme act of God? What "extreme" act or choice have you or your church made to advance the good news of Jesus Christ?
5. Editorial team member Charles Alkula writes, "I believe that we have an obligation to own up to the deeds of those who came before us particularly as it impacts upon the present and future generations." What would it mean to "own up" to the deeds of the Israelites as they conquered Canaan? How about the deeds of the settlers who killed Native Americans? What can we learn from these deeds of the past to help us with our decisions today?
6. What do you think of the idea that the destruction of the Canaanites was more the will of the Israelites than the will of God?
7. Is the act of questioning God always an act of rebellion against God? Or does God welcome our questions? Joanna Loucky-Ramsey, a member of the editorial team, notes that "God is not afraid of our questions." How is questioning God a way of being in relationship with God? Is there a part of Scripture you question? What do you want to ask God about?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Genesis 15:13-14
Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions." (For context, read 15:1-21.)
God makes a covenant with Abram (later called Abraham), and promises that Abram's descendants shall be as many as the stars in the sky. God promises that Abram will be given a land, but his offspring will be enslaved for 400 years before they enter this Promised Land occupied by "the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites" (vv. 19-21).
Questions: Why does God not give the Promised Land to Abram immediately? What lessons do Abram's offspring need to learn during their years of slavery? Why do we sometimes need to wait for God's promises to be fulfilled and God's justice to be delivered? Are all nations being blessed through Abram's obedience? How are you blessed through Abram's obedience?
Genesis 18:23-24
Then Abraham came near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it?" (For context, read 18:16-33.)
The Lord sees the grave sin of Sodom and plans to destroy the city. Abraham asks if God will "not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it." The Lord answers, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake" (v. 26). Then Abraham negotiates the number down to 45, to 40, to 30, to 20, and finally to 10 righteous people. The Lord concludes, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it" (v. 32).
Questions: Although God has a right to destroy Sodom for its sinfulness, why do you think Abraham enters into this negotiation? What causes God to withhold annihilation for the sake of ten righteous people? What does this say about the character of God? Considering situations which you think might require intervention or judgment from God, which would you try to negotiate with God about?
Leviticus 19:33
When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. (For context, read 19:33-34.)
The holiness code of the Israelites covers a wide range of behaviors: revering parents, keeping the Sabbath, leaving crops for the poor, avoiding witchcraft and particular sexual activity. Part of the moral holiness of the Israelites involves treating resident aliens fairly, and even loving aliens because the Israelites "were aliens in the land of Egypt" (v. 34).
Questions: What is the difference between the aliens of Leviticus and the indigenous people of Joshua? Why are aliens to be loved and indigenous people to be destroyed? Which path do you feel God is calling us to take today, and why?
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (For context, read 3:16-21.)
John makes clear that God "did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (v. 17). Michael Harnish, a member of the editorial team, says that a noted difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is that "God had a child." He observes that God's interactions with humans culminates in sending his Son Jesus to earth to solve problems.
Questions: How does the gift of Jesus complete God's relationship with the people of the world? What hope does Jesus give people of every race and culture? What hope does he give you?
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (For context, read 6:20-23.)
The apostle Paul tells the Romans that they were once "slaves of sin," and that their lives would end in death (vv. 20-21). But now that they have been freed from sin and enslaved to God through their faith in Jesus Christ, the "end is eternal life" (v. 22). Editorial team member Ed Thomas notes that "God loves his people but free will and the choice to disregard God's directives traded utopia for the earthly world we have today -- which is brutal. However, God gives us the ultimate survival kit for this world in Jesus."
Questions: Where do you see "the wages of sin" in the lives of the indigenous people of the Promised Land? In what sense, if any, were their deaths justified? What is our Christian responsibility toward people of different races and cultures today? How can we bring a message of peace and life instead of violence and death?
Revelation 7:9
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. (For context, read 7:9-17.)
John sees a vision of a multitude from every nation standing in heaven before Jesus, the Lamb of God. This international gathering is made up of people who have "come out of the great ordeal" on earth -- "they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (v. 14).
Questions: What does this vision tell you about the diversity of God's people in heaven? How does it influence how you should treat people of different races and nationalities today? In what ways to do we prepare for life in heaven by our behavior on earth?
For Further Discussion
1. In A.D. 637, Muslim invaders conquered and killed Christians in the Middle East. Christian crusaders then killed Muslims during the Middle Ages, and fighters in the Islamic State are now killing Christians and other Muslims. What justification, if any, can be given for killing in the name of God today?
2. God ordered the slaughter of the Canaanites because of their idolatrous influence. How are we supposed to deal with idolatry today?
3. Killing in the name of God is often done out of a desire to purify a community. But what is the usual outcome of this type of violence?
4. How does the terrorism of ISIS shape your view of religious violence? What does it inspire you to do as a Christian?
5. What are the challenges of living with resident aliens today, and how should Christians respond?
6. In what ways are our relationships with foreigners changed by the discovery that "God so loved the world" (John 3:16)?
Responding to the News
Seek out a neighbor from a different race, culture, or religion and attempt to establish a relationship. Listen to their story and share some of your own, attempting to offer the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer
Help us, Lord, to remain faithful to you in the face of idolatrous temptations. May we find our peace in you, and in our relationship with your Son, who lived and died for the salvation of the world. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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2015 Communication Resources
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