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.
March 5, 2023: Dirt - Michael Hidalgo
February 26, 2023: A Picture of the Divine - Dave Neuhausel
February 19, 2023: The Message is The Medium
February 12, 2023: Girl Stand Up - Bekah Stewart
February 5, 2023: Living in the Tombs - Michael Hidalgo
January 29, 2023: And Also - Jonathan Merritt
January 22, 2023: Four Wisdom Sayings - Michael Hidalgo
January 15, 2023: Nothing Wasted - Amanda Lum
January 8, 2023: The Tragedy of Loving Little - Michael Hidalgo
December 24, 2022: The Extraordinary Ordinary
December 18, 2022: Kings and Other Things - Michael Hidalgo
December 11, 2022: A New Exodus - Bekah Stewart
December 4, 2022: Go Back a Different Way - Michael Hidalgo
November 26, 2022: Take Her Home - Michael Hidalgo
November 20, 2022: You Were Expecting Me? - Amanda Lum
November 11, 2022: A Tale of Two Crowds - Michael Hidalgo
November 6, 2022: Faith in the One Who Sees You
October 30, 2022: Good News for Postmodern Humanity - Brian McLaren
October 23, 2022: Living the Future in the Present - Michael Hidalgo
October 16, 2022: When You Can’t Go Back - Michael Hidalgo
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