According to the Bible, God tells the people of Israel to utterly destroy the Canaanites. All of them: Men, women, children, infants, animals. Not only are they to be killed, they are to be shown no mercy. More than showing no mercy, they are to be cherem - set apart - for destruction. This, from the lips of a God who is “slow to anger” and “abounding in mercy.” Even giving a moment’s thought to this is enough to make one’s stomach turn. It’s genocide, there’s no getting around that, and apparently God commands his nation of priests to carry this out on the cities, towns and villages in the land they are going to take over.
Some defend this command, believing God is just so whatever God says to do, you do. No questions asked. I mean, who are we to question God? Those who think this way argue the Canaanites were the most horrible people living in the Ancient Near Eastern World. However, the Canaanites were no better or worse than anyone else living back then. The only difference between them and, say, the Assyrians is they lived in the wrong place. They lived in a land that Israel wanted and the way to get it was to wipe them out.
This story and these words echo the words of a King of Moab in the 9th Century B.C. named Mesha. In other words, this kind of violence was not original with the people of Israel. ANE tribes often praised their gods by attributing gross violence to them, and then, after the battle, gave them glory for their victory. The gods were violent warriors who looked out for their people, and were ready to destroy anyone (and in this case everyone) else. Let’s not forget Israel was immersed in this culture, and to a certain extent participated in it. So, what do we do with these stories? The simple answer is “engage them” for what they are. That being a record of people’s conversations about God, how they understand God and what we can learn from that.
December 24th, 2017: The Darkness of Christmas - Michael Hidalgo
December 17th, 2017: Who Will We Become - Michael Hidalgo, Landon Lynch
December 10th, 2017: You’re Never Going to Believe This - Michael Hidalgo
December 3rd, 2017: The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far - Michael Hidalgo
November 26th, 2017: Clarity in Motion - Landon Lynch with Bekah Stewart
November 19th, 2017: Where Are the Blueprints - Scott Opplinger
November 12th, 2017: Protecting and Cultivating - Landon Lynch
November 5th, 2017: Everyone Needs to Hear This (2) -Landon Lynch
November 5th, 2017: Everyone Needs to Hear This - Landon Lynch
October 29th, 2017: Knowing Who We Are - Michael Hidalgo
October 22nd, 2017: Looking at the Horizon - Michael Hidalgo
October 15th, 2017: This is Yours Alone - Michael Hidalgo
October 8th, 2017: Did You Hear That - Landon Lynch
October 1st, 2017: Break It Down - Michael Hidalgo
September 24th, 2017: Dancing with Life - Michael Hidalgo
September 17th, 2017: Holy Spirit - Can You Hear Him - Bekah Stewart
September 10th, 2017: Salvation by Imagination - Michael Hidalgo
September 10th, 2017: A Mystery Made Plain - Landon Lynch
September 3rd, 2017: The Economy of Grace - Michael Hidalgo
August 27th, 2017: Living Stones - Amanda Lum
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