Is this the same loving God portrayed in the New Testament? Today we have lost that black and white distinction between good and evil. Let’s be clear about this stricter and more communal view of justice in the Bible.
God’s awesome judgement was finally unleashed. The site of the city of Jericho was discovered in 1868 as Tell es-Sultan. How it survived the collapse of the walls is not discussed in the book.
The New Testament is the record of grace applied to people lost in sin and rebellion. Following the fall of Jericho, according to Joshua, the Israelite Achan pillaged gold, silver, and cloth, in violation of herem, which provided that such booty was the property of God. Nor do we like to accept the fact that when evil spreads, the innocent as well as the guilty are hurt. According to Joshua, her home was built into the walls of the city. While the prophet Ezekiel does not spare the wicked in his denunciations, he also records Yahweh’s words of grace: “If a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die” Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?
The wars of the Bible and the events leading up to and following them include homicide, suicide, fratricide, patricide, matricide, genocide, rape, incest, enslavement of peoples, the destruction of cities and towns, and virtually every atrocity which it is possible for humans to commit upon each other. The accuracy of the history described in the Old Testament and the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, has long been debated. Repent and live!” And there is this compelling verse recorded in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”. When Achan’s perfidy was discovered the Israelites stoned him to death, after which God provided Joshua with a plan to capture Ai. The Israelites destroyed homes, property and peoples, but retained gold, silver, iron, and bronze, as these items were of value to their own treasury.
When the city fell to the Israelites it was razed to the ground, and 12,000 Canaanite inhabitants were slaughtered by the victorious Israelites, though God gave them permission to keep the captured livestock. For example, Deuteronomy 20 contains Yahweh’s instructions about war. All these descriptions of God depict him as unwavering in retribution on evil, though he takes no delight in it, and also unwavering in love and encouragement toward those hearts are turned toward him. This evil was contagious and God’s people were in danger of being infected as well. The Books of Samuel contain both historical information and that known to be derived from ancient legends, as well as anachronisms which preclude it being written in the eleventh century BCE, the time period it describes. With regard to other cities, the command is (verse 16), “Do not leave anything that breathes.”, You probably also recall that the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, and then the Israelites “destroyed with the sword every living thing in it – men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys” (Joshua 6:21). The truth now known is that they weren’t in most cases. The evil surrounding us seems to be growing and moral apathy seeps in everywhere. Archaeological research including radiocarbon dating of the site indicates that the date of the abandonment of the site does not correspond with the accounts in the Book of Joshua. To them the evidence which calls any of the events described into doubt are what is fabricated. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob coex-isted peacefully with the inhabitants of Canaan, refusing to fight over terri- Children were sacrificed to pagan gods.
Among these are types of armor which did not appear for several centuries, horsed troops riding singly (cavalry) rather than in chariots, the use of iron picks as if they were readily available, and a reference to a people, the Kushites mercenaries which were not common in the era of Samuel, but were common three centuries later, which is also true of the other above items. This certainly seems brutal and vindictive, doesn’t it? Let’s take this seriously by quoting a few verses that seem repugnant to us. Tell es-Sultan translates to Sultan’s Hill. For example, Deuteronomy 20 contains Yahweh’s instructions about war. Have you discovered his grace? But that is not the end of the story, nor even the overriding theme of the Bible. Most of the Hebrew Bible, which is the basis of the Christian Old Testament, is considered to be non-chronological in many sections. The Bible presents several histories, that of theology, narrative history, political history, and the development of a people over a period of many centuries, to name just a few. Since then nearly every nation which has gone to war has done so in the belief that its god is on their side, part of the justification for going to war in the first place. War in the Old Testament 15 PACIFISM Many passages express the classic pacifist view that God will bring about peace without violence. Much of the authority for the accuracy of the events recounted was the belief that it was written by those who witnessed the events. Historical and archaeological scholars are nearly unanimous in dismissing the fall of Jericho as depicted in the Book of Joshua as being wholly fictional. Or consider Joshua 11:20, “For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.” From our twenty-first century point of view, we ask, “What good was accomplished by all this annihilation?”, Yet there is clearly another side to Yahweh as well. The roots of Old Testament pacifism are found as early as the patriarchal period. According to the book, this was the cause of the Israelites to fail in the first attempt to capture the city of Ai. Idol worship was rife and the society wholly contaminated. This is what Christians call grace. But still God’s grace shines through. Surely the Lord will not tolerate this abomination to his holiness forever. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Where do we find this stuff? The Israelites fought in accordance to God’s commands in the bible stories, and their God assisted them in the destruction of cities and peoples, including the Amelekites (Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), the Canaanites (Numbers) and the Amorites (Numbers, Deuteronomy). The entire Bible from beginning to end never deviates from this standard of justice as well as grace. A sweeping moral relativism is the result, and children grow up with fewer and fewer moral absolutes to guide them. declares the Sovereign Lord. We seldom hear the term sin anymore, but instead a dozen much milder words are employed. Such is the case with all of the biblical tales, though some are supported by historical references outside the Hebrew Bible, while others are not. Our society does not much care to hear about pain and punishment, and prefers the meek and mild Jesus of some contemporary writers. We must see these terrible retributions in their historical setting. The Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, and Canaanites, were all to be exterminated under this command. Rather, Jesus Christ, the God-man, took on himself the punishment and so satisfied the grisly sentence. In the Old Testament there is so much war and violence sanctioned by Yahweh. Do you have questions about the Bible? The first five books of the Bible recount the people of Israel’s enslavement in Egypt and their being led to the land promised them by God, under the leadership of Moses. The wars of the Bible and the events leading up to and following them include homicide, suicide, fratricide, patricide, matricide, genocide, rape, incest, enslavement of peoples, the destruction of cities and towns, and virtually every atrocity which it is possible for humans to commit upon each other. They went on, according to the biblical accounts, for thousands of years, in a tiny area of the globe occupied by the descendants of the patriarchs. But the plan was and is indescribably marvelous. Wars in the bible begin in the first book, Genesis, and God’s involvement in them is personal and direct. He calls and calls until the very last moment. 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921 • 719.488.9200Terms of Use | Privacy Policy, Biblica – The International Bible Society, Ethiopia’s Children Are Studying God’s Word and Being Transformed, A Fascinating Dive Into How Popular Bible Verses Were Translated, Innovative New Bible Offers Fresh Access to Millions, Conversations With Daughters of the King: My Journey of Leadership, 5 Things You Can Do Today to Reclaim Your Joy (No Pixie Dust Required), Praying for God’s Will on the National Day of Prayer, 7 Incredible Things You Might Not Know About Noah’s Ark. The Canaanite pagan communities would surely intermarry with the Israelites, and God’s people were in danger of succumbing to their sexual perversions and religious degradation. A few days later, as a direct result, the war came to an end. Rahab marked her home with a red cord to inform the Israelites that her house and family was under their protection. The Book of Joshua was not written by Joshua, many of the books describing the wars of Jewish history in the Bible were written long after the events which they describe. Tolerance is presented as the great religious value.
Here are just some of the wars and battles from the Old Testament and Hebrew Bible. Archaeology, conflicting history, and lack of physical evidence of an event taking place are of little concern to them, secure in their belief in the words of the book, and that is their privilege. God’s obvious desire is that sinners should repent and live. Is this the same loving God portrayed in the New Testament? Wikimedia. And in that affirmation lies our only hope.
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