Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys. -Joshua 6:21
Yes. Another "fun" children's bible story where they dress up and march in a circle to make the walls of Jericho fall. But what about what happens after the walls fall? Men and women, children, old people, every living thing... slaughtered. Because God gave them the land.
There is a lot of violence exactly like that in the Old Testament, most of which is said to be ordered by God. Rob Bell does a good job of talking about a lot of that violence in his book, What Is the Bible? But what he addresses took place during the time of the Judges and Kings. This earlier violence doesn't really work with what he talked about.
I would love to know the whole truth to these stories. Was it really God telling them to slaughter every living thing inside the cities? Or was it just the way of men to put their land lust at the feet of their gods? Didn't the same kind of thing happen thousands of years later when Europeans made their way across the Atlantic? And because the indigenous people were "heathens" they felt God was on the side of the white Christians. I can't help remembering that vision Joshua had of the Captain of the Army of the Lord who said he wasn't on either side.
However, if in fact God was making a place for a tribe to grow and develop into a tribe to bless all other tribes, perhaps we can just set it down to the ways of the world. It was how things were done and God works through whatever he has to work with. At that time, violence was the way. I wonder if we have really grown at all?
God of Peace,
Will we ever truly get it? Help us learn how to solve our problems peacefully and with love and respect for other cultures.
Amen.
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