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.
September 4, 2022: The Messy Middle - Dave Neuhausel
August 28, 2022: Finding Delight - Amanda Lum
August 21, 2022: Jesus is the Question - Bekah Stewart
August 14, 2022: A Deeper Breath of Tenderness - Ryan Taylor
August 7, 2022: The Problem with Peacekeeping - Paula Williams
July 31, 2022: On The Move - Landon Lynch
July 24, 2022: On The Move - Kristin Wright
July 17, 2022: On the Move - Cari Jenkins
July 3, 2022: On The Move - Michelle Cazas
June 26, 2022: Is There A Doctor In The House? - Scott Oppliger
June 19, 2022: I’m Not Done Hoping For You - Amanda Lum
June 12, 2022: You Can If You Want To - Bekah Stewart
June 5, 2022: Did You Catch Anything? - Maggie Knight
May 29, 2022: Deepest Gladness, Greatest Need - Mike Goldsworthy
May 22, 2022: You Can’t Say That Here - Dave Meserve
May 15, 2022: An Initiation - Nick Elio
May 8, 2022: Back to the Beginning-Paula Williams
April 24, 2022: Begin At The Ending - Bekah Stewart
April 17, 2022: Easter Sunday - Michael Hidalgo
April 10, 2022: Mending the Divides –Dave Neuhausel
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