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.
October 13, 2019: One Life – Michael Hidalgo
October 6, 2019: Hold it Like This – Michael Hidalgo
September 29, 2019: As It Should Be – Michael Hidalgo
September 22, 2019: It's A Matter of the Heart – Amanda Lum
September 15, 2019: More Than Words – Michael Hidalgo
September 8, 2019: Fruit, Meat, and Murder – Michael Hidalgo
September 1, 2019: The One About Nature and Grace and the Divine - Michael Hidalgo
August 25, 2019: Only One Thing is Essential? – Scott Oppliger
August 18, 2019: Get Ready - Amanda Lum
August 11, 2019: Baptism Sunday – Michael Hidalgo
August 4, 2019: What Jesus Said About Relinquishing Power – Paula Williams
July 28, 2019: Thou Shalt Not Cancel – Adam Phillips
July 21, 2019: Love Your Enemies - Jasper Peters
July 14, 2019: Life Remixed – Cari Jenkins
July 7th, 2019 - Christ in You - Brit Baron - Guest Speaker
June 30, 2019: A Spiritual Teacher – Michael Hidalgo
June 23, 2019: Held, Kept, Embraced – Amanda Lum
June 16, 2019: Truth and Lies and Oil – Paula Williams
June 9, 2019: Love Says – Michael Hidalgo, Hannah Thom
June 2, 2019: What's Not to Love? – Jon Gettings
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