“[God is] a vindictive bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser , a misogynistic, homophobic racist, an infanticidal, genocidal, phillicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” ~ Richard Dawkins
“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
“The retribution for a bad deed is one like it, but whoever forgives and makes peace will have his reward with God. He certainly does not like those who do wrong. Yet whoever defends himself after having been wronged, there is no blame on them. Blame lies on those who wrong others and transgress in the land without any justification. Those will have a painful punishment. As for him who endures patiently and forgives, that is a sign of real resolve.” ~ The Qur'an 42.40-42
“It is a vacuous exercise to pick and choose which atrocities were really ordained by any gods and which were not. We should have a zero-tolerance view of any text or collection of texts that at any time endorses genocide, misogyny, and other atrocities. We always judge ancient texts by modern ethical standards, and the Bible should not be treated differently.” ~ Hector Avalos
“Since God doesn’t issue commands to Himself, He has no moral duties to fulfill. He is certainly not subject to the same moral obligations and prohibitions that we are. For example, I have no right to take an innocent life. For me to do so would be murder. But God has no such prohibition. He can give and take life as He chooses. … What that implies is that God has the right to take the lives of the Canaanites when He sees fit. How long they live and when they die is up to Him.” ~ William Lane Craig
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What is the Conquest of Canaan?
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From the scriptures.
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Promised in Genesis
"Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. "But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. "As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite."" - Genesis 15:12-21
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The LORD is making a covenant with Abram and his “seed”.
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This establishes the reasoning for why the Israelites will return to this place with a claim to the land though they never built cities here.
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The LORD is rewarding Abram for his faithfulness to leave his father's house in Ur and go, “to the land I will show you”.
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Though Abram will not see it, God wants him to know he's done the right thing and his labor is not in vain.
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The LORD is revealing a willingness to work His plan of “blessing the nations” through corrupt, depraved, and immoral actors.
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Abram's family is going to end up being one of the most dysfunctional families you can imagine and serve more often as warnings to avoid than they do models to follow.
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In this very verse, God promises to use four centuries of slavery and oppression – which will eventually be judged – to ultimately benefit the children of Abram.
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Rescue in Exodus
"The LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. "So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ... God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. "Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. "So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey."'" - Exodus 3:7-8, 15-17
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The LORD is remembering (memory united with action) His people and the covenant He made.
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A reaffirmation of His faithfulness to the covenant and His willingness to – though He “will be who He will be” – always be their God.
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The LORD is awakening His people and reminding the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden that He hears their cries.
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Though they can't see His plan or His justice, He hears them and their suffering does not go without notice.
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Though He seems to delay, He does not ignore and the fortunes of His people will be accounted for and restored.
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The LORD is stepping into a moment in history that, though full of chaos and disarray and turmoil, He intends to use to restore.
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Judgment will be released upon Egypt and – as we can explore later – their own gods will destroy them.
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This time of turmoil for – as we can explore further – the nations of the earth will actually be a moment of glory and of renewal for the people of God.
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Joshua Steps Forward
"Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying, "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. ... "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."" - Joshua 1:1-3, 6-9
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The LORD is with His people and faithfully keeps His word to them.
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Just as He has been faithful to rescue them, He will be faithful to establish them.
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The LORD steps alongside those who are faithful and gives them His power.
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Joshua is told twice to be strong and courageous. This will happen a lot.
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Joshua is also told to meditate upon the Law that he has received so that he will not lose his way.
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The LORD is inviting the people of Israel to step forward in faith with Him and to continue the journey of trust, promising that He will go with them.
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They are being asked to step forward and to have courage as they make themselves a part of their own redemption.
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One of the first steps – pun deliciously intended – is when the priests are asked to wade into the waters of the Jordan with the ark. Fittingly, it is only when they have stepped into the water that the waters part for them to cross.
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Killing In the Name
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The Destruction of Jericho
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Spies shelter with Rahab
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The march of trumpets.
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The seventh day marching and shouting.
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Fire & Blood.
"They utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword. ... They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. However, Rahab the harlot and her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, "Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates." So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land." - Joshua 6:21, 24-27
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The Defeat at Ai
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Achan takes some of the spoils of Jericho for himself.
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The Israelites send a small army to Ai to destroy it and are defeated.
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Joshua, using lots, identifies Achan as the culprit.
"Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day." And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. They raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day." - Joshua 7:24-26
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Ai part deux
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Joshua takes all the people with him and divides them up.
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30,000 hide behind the city.
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5,000 face it in battle.
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Joshua pretends to flee before Ai
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It's a Trap!
"Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand." So Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. The men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it, and they quickly set the city on fire. When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers. When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and slew the men of Ai. The others came out from the city to encounter them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side; and they slew them until no one was left of those who survived or escaped." - Joshua 8:18-22
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From Historical Record
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No record of Exodus.
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Battles in Canaan happen in the wrong centuries.
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The Assimilation/Uprising Theories.
- The Bronze Age Collapse.
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The Problem(s) of the Conquest Narrative
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Breaks a literal interpretation of “biblical history”.
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Raises questions about the non-violent nature of God.
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If this is God's plan... it failed miserably.
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Conquest fails because of incomplete genocide.
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Judges records the complete failure of the Jewish people unite the tribes under God (they become Canaan, rather than redeem it).
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Results in the period of the kings, which is another failure (they become Babylon, rather than Zion).
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Destroys the “purity argument” on every level.
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Purification by any means other than self-giving love will always create an “Egypt/Babylon”.
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The redemption of the story comes from an impure bloodline.
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