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.
August 9, 2015: A Wee Little Man – Landon Lynch
August 9, 2015: A Wee Little Man – Amanda Pennington
August 2, 2015: Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness – Landon Lynch
August 2, 2015: Blessed Are Those Who Hunger After Righteousness – Brian Gray
July 26, 2015: Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness – Caleb Anderson
July 26, 2015: Blessed are the Peacemakers – Kathy Escobar and Karl Wheeler
July 19, 2015: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit – Michael Cusick
July 19, 2015: Blessed Are The Peacemakers – Jeff Johnson
July 14, 2015: Locusts, Honey and Camel Hair – Landon Lynch
July 12, 2015: Blessed are Those Who Mourn – Jodi Green
July 12, 2015: Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit – Ryan Taylor
July 5, 2015: Persecution or Privilege – Michael Hidalgo
July 5, 2015: Beatitudes – Dave Meserve
June 28, 2015: The One Thing I Do Know – Landon Lynch
June 28, 2015: Jesus Is Better Than You Imagine – Jonathan Merritt
June 21, 2015: I Know Who You Are – Michael Hidalgo
June 7, 2015: Leaving at Last – Landon Lynch
June 7, 2015: Leaving at Last – Dave Neuhausel
May 31, 2015: If God Would Send His Angels – Michael Hidalgo
May 31, 2015: If God Would Send HIs Angels – Landon Lynch
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