"Then the LORD said to [Abraham], 'Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried in a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure'... On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, 'To your descendants I give this land...' "
"However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them- the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites- as the LORD your God has commanded you. Otherwise they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshipping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God."
"Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them- to the Israelites. I will give you every place you set your foot, as I promised Moses, Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates, - all the Hittite country- to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
"He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like on of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters."
"Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses."
"So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled."
The covenant God made with Abram took a long time to fulfill, but as we read in the book of Joshua, when it was fulfilled, it was worth it. That's the focus of the book of Joshua, God's promise, and the obedience of his people who received it. Along the way numerous cities, kingdoms and people are exterminated. Too often we think the book of Joshua as a book about vengeance; we neglect to see the reigning peace that comes from following God. A peace that was not taken through war, but given by God. It was God who did the fighting, though every able-bodied Israelite man was called upon to fight for the promise. Claiming the promise of God was terrifying, there's a reason God tells Joshua three times to have courage and not be afraid. Their opponents were numerous, well established, had the hometown advantage, had better weapons and more numerous gods. In spite of all these things, God fulfills his covenant with Abram- a man who had no future- and shows us a glimpse of His glory.
Did so many have to die? Couldn't there have been another way? When we rewind to Genesis, we see the people who lived in the land had a choice: they could follow God or follow their own ways. They made their choice, and God was patient with them. It took God four-hundred years to bring judgment upon them, as he would not have overthrown the area if only a handful or righteous people remained. As Joshua noted, only one group asked for peace. Only one. And they did so deceptively, because they were afraid for their lives, not repentant of their sin. Everyone else. Everyone, died cursing God and the Israelites. Their time was up. Their hearts were set. They were not going to change. And thus God brought his wrath down upon them.
But was God really just punishing a large group of people? Or was there something more to his actions? In those days each city had its own gods, even though they shared a common pantheon. The gods were lords over certain areas. Each nation would avoid attacking the other on the opposing god's territory; they superstitiously believed a nation to be more powerful within their god's specific terrain. With this approach in mind, they would often avoid battle too near another god's advantage. Unless, they believed their gods' were more powerful. This is exactly what we see happening when God tells Israel to take the Promised Land. He has his people fight on the plains, in the hill country, on the mountains, in the valleys, on the buttes and has them confront every nation on their god's territory. Why? Because he has a point to prove. He's more powerful than them all. Combined. Joshua mentions thirty-one kings God defeated in the Promised Land. Each one of them represents a god, a system of worship and a detestable lifestyle. None of which God was okay with.
Wasn't there something worth saving? Wasn't there something redeemable in those cultures? No. They had become thoroughly corrupt. Like Sodom & Gomorrah, there was only one thing left to do. Totally destroy them. Every living thing. The taking of the Promised Land wasn't a conquest, it was a purging. A purging of sin, that even the Israelites themselves had to go through. Everything that could tell the story or remember the practices of the former inhabitants had to be destroyed. They were to be completely given over to God. Nothing could be held back. Not women, not children, not even animals. Everything had to be put to the sword. Why? Because the LORD cares for the land, just as he cares for his people. He doesn't want us to live in sin or be surrounded by it.
What we read in Joshua is a foreshadowing of the cleansing of Earth. The difference? The final cleansing won't come from the hands of men. It will solely come from the hands of God. God wants to restore and redeem his creation. His Promised Land. The Promised Land is a literal example of God's future plan. It will take hundreds of years to complete, but the fulfilling of the promise is worth the wait. No one who has waited for the promises of God has come up empty. They have always been fulfilled. There are many reasons to be afraid of accepting God's promises. Accepting the promises of God means facing our fears, doubts and all the other gods of this world. One by one we will have the choice to serve those gods, who claim dominion over specific areas of our lives, or we can choose to serve the God, who has dominion over all life. Each god seems very powerful and has it's own set of devoted followers, who may very well be great fighters. But our God is greater. Our God is stronger. Our God is higher than any other. Through Him we have the power to overcome, even though we may not have a place to call home or an established future. God is our future. His plan is not to destroy us, but to make a lasting covenant of reigning peace. At every turn, God will give us the chance to repent and lay down our detestable lifestyles. It's only to those who stubbornly refuse to submit to his promise that will be shown no mercy. God doesn't want this for us, and he didn't desire it for the former inhabitants of the Promised Land. Check out Part II of Without Mercy to see why God gives everyone the chance to repent.
No comments:
Post a Comment