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.
March 26, 2017: Bearing This Together – Landon Lynch
March 26, 2017: Bearing This Together – Amanda Pennington
March 19, 2017: Guilt and Innocence – Michael Hidalgo
March 12, 2017: Justice, Forgiveness and Death – Landon Lynch
March 5, 2017: Every Last Particle of the Universe – Michael Hidalgo
February 26, 2017: Unloading the Camel – Kent Dobson
February 26, 2017: Redeemed For a Life of Worship – Landon Lynch
February 19, 2017: We Are Meant For This – Michael Hidalgo
February 12, 2017: Everything and I Mean Every Thing – Landon Lynch
February 5, 2017: Heavy and Light – Michael Hidalgo
January 31, 2016: The Reason We Give (Community) – Landon Lynch
January 24, 2016: Always With Us – Michael Hidalgo
January 24, 2016: Always With Us – Dave Neuhausel
January 17, 2016: A Special Place – Scott Oppliger
January 17, 2016: A Special Place – Landon Lynch
January 10, 2016: Give It Away Now – Michael Hidalgo
January 10, 2016: Give It Away Now – Landon Lynch
January 3, 2016: It's Not All Good – Michael Hidalgo
January 3, 2016: It's Not All Good - Landon Lynch
December 24, 2015: Christmas Eve Homily – Michael Hidalgo
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