Joshua 7 -12, Psalm 54
I am very uncomfortable with the idea of Holy War. God has been used and misused over human history as an excuse to conquer, kill and dominate cultures, peoples and society for too long. And the result is an extreme mistrust for anyone who dares to claim religious affiliation. The assumption being that only radicals, extremists and terrorists dare to associate themselves with their faith. And that is not true.
And then I read these chapters of Joshua and I realize that the fight to claim the Promised Land was considered a "holy war." (A holy war that unfortunately extends into our day and time.) In other words, the battles in the book of Joshua and later in Judges depict a war that is ordained and blessed by God. God goes before them. God gives them the victory. God dictates how they shall fight. Over and over again we read that the army of Joshua did "as the Lord God of Israel commanded."
The most disturbing aspect of the Book of Joshua for many of us is the divine command to annihilate the cities they conquer. In Hebrew, this is a herem or "ban." According to the ban, enemies were to be completely exterminated. This idea wasn't unique to ancient Israel. Other ancient Near Eastern societies also practiced the ban. In the theological tradition, such destruction was to be dealt out because "foreigners" or non-Israelites, were viewed as impure idolators. They were seen as threats to Yahweh and his people that must be removed. Regardless of the reasoning, I believe most read these passages and wonder why so many had to die. We wonder why God is portrayed with such vengeance and anger.
In reading these chapters in Joshua, we need to continue to remember that this book was written and edited to support a specific purpose. The historians who finished the final written form of Joshua did so during the Babylonian exile. They wanted to give the people hope for deliverance and so they wrote their history emphasizing Yahweh's unbreakable power. Their words were not intended as literal depictions but as a means of encouragement for a broken and exiled people. It is a shame that their words now fuel so much hatred.
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