SCRIPTURE: Joshua 6:8-27
OBSERVATION:
I agree, Jill. There is no easy way to sanitize this story. Being who I am right now, I could not have done this. But of course, the times were very different. I do think that we read this story as if the Jerichoeans were innocently minding their own business when WHAMMO, God smote them. In fact, evidence shows that this was a brutal, violent, immoral and cruel culture. Child sacrifice was a part of their religious rituals, playing the babies into the fiery arms of their statue/god. Think of gangs operating in communities today, and magnify the horror, violence and cruely, then multiply it for every group of people living there.
As becomes clear, when Israel does not wipe out all of the other people in the land, they are seduced into their perverse and cruel ways. Sometimes I wonder whether God gets the bad rap, but if we only knew what He knew, we would do the same thing.
APPLICATION:
This is in no way a justification for the crusades. Whatever was going on here, we know that Jesus introduced a new stage in God’s plan, and we no longer “fight” with the weapons of this world, but with “deeds of love and mercy”. There will be many “Christians” who will have a lot of explaining to do on judgment day, how they missed the point of God’s purpose in Jesus.
PRAYER:
Lord, I do not know (or like) what was going on in these brutal times, but I do know that NOW we are called to follow You in showing love, compassion, mercy, patience. Help me to be as bold and confident today in this as Joshua was in His time. Amen.
I have a hard time with this passage as with many O.T. events. Especially I question when we teach it to our children. There are songs and they get all excited about the walls falling down.
We don’t talk about that the Israelites, on Gods’ orders, killed everyone in this city except for Rehab and family. Infact we know there is a ton of killing as the Israelites take the promised land.
I know that I do not understand the way God works or thinks.. I accept that He is the mighty, awesome, Creator and I chose to trust Him when I do not understand.
but I wonder, why did there have to be all this slaughter?…. so many adults and children and babies killed, did they have a chance to know God and they refused? What happened to them? the 10 Commandments say we should not murder.
Is that why the Crusades happened… ‘Christians’ were getting rid of the ‘infidels’ in a similar way to the Israelites doing this. Except I don’t know that God told the Crusaders to do that whereas He did order the other….
So: Lord, again I confess I do not understand and this killing seems terrible to me. Was it terrible for You but it had to be? Please Lord, enable me to understand or to accept that I do not understand and to be at peace with that. Thank-you God, Amen.