“The book of Joshua is embarrassment enough, with its ferocity and its religious advocacy of mass murder”
Goetz goes on to speak of the “guilt of the living God” because of His activities recorded in places like Joshua six (Quoted by David M. Howard, NAC: Joshua, pp. 184).
It is not surprising that some people would walk away from Joshua chapter six with that opinion, because the story recorded here for us is stark and severe. The problem is in the approach. Most people approach passages like this from a human perspective, whereas they are meant to be looked at from a divine perspective.
In our desire to make the Christian faith more attractive to others we have sought to minimize concepts like holiness, justice and divine wrath, and we have sentimentalized concepts like peace, love and goodwill. Don’t get me wrong, the message of the gospel is “peace on earth, goodwill toward man.” However, that peace and goodwill came at a price and it is only available because of God’s holy warfare against Satan and sin.That holy war began immediately after the fall (Genesis 3:15) and it will culminate when Jesus Christ returns to the earth as a conqueror to establish His earthly kingdom (Revelation 19:11-22) and in between, we have recorded for us the victory that was secured for us by Jesus’ death on the cross (Colossians 2:13-15).
If we choose to ignore or dismiss passages like Joshua chapter six, then we minimize God’s long war against Satan and sin, and as we will see, the events recorded for us in chapter six are related to that long war of God and His plan of redemption.
In our last post, we said that there were five points of focus or emphasis, in the story, and we looked at the first two.
Emphasis #1 – The Specific Instructions – v.1-7
The priests and the army were to march around the city once a day for six days and on the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times then, seven priests were to blow their seven rams horns, the people were to shout, the wall would fall and then they would charge Jericho.
Emphasis #2 – The Solemn Procession – v.8-16
The events of day are summarized (v. 8-11), the events of days two through six are summarized (v.12-14), and the events of day seven are summarized (v.15-16).
Why this solemn procession? Israel needed to learn that no situation is too great for the Lord to handle and no problem is too hard for Him to solve. The inhabitants of Jericho needed to know that God was patiently waiting for them to repent. They had been aware for forty years that judgment was coming (2:9-11), yet, God was graciously giving them one more chance. Rahab and her family are proof that if any others would have repented, God would have spared them.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. NAS
Emphasis #3 – The Shout of Destruction – v.17-21, 24
Verses 17-19 are meant to be parenthetical and they describe some of the other instructions that Joshua gave to the people earlier. These instructions describe how Israel is to deal with three various elements in the attack.
(1) It describes how to deal with the city and its inhabitants – v.17a
17 And the city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD
The phrase “under the ban” is the Hebrew word herem and it is not an easy word to define because it constitutes a concept that is unfamiliar to the modern mind. It literally speaks of something or someone “devoted to God for destruction.” It refers to the irrevocable act of giving of things or persons to the Lord for destruction.
Why would God command that a whole group of people be given over or devoted to the Him for destruction? A study of Scripture reveals two reasons.
- Reason #1 – To punish them for their sin
Genesis 15:16 is a key passage in this regard.
16 Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." NAS
For hundreds of years, God had been patient with the Canaanites even though they were involved in the most vile of sins. Leviticus 18:3-30 gives us a very detailed list.
Leviticus 18:33 'You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. NAS
They committed sins of incest – v.6-18
6 'None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the LORD. 7 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. 8 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. 9 'The nakedness of your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether born at home or born outside, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 'The nakedness of your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for their nakedness is yours. 11 'The nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, born to your father, she is your sister, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's blood relative. 13 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's blood relative. 14 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother; you shall not approach his wife, she is your aunt. 15 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. 17 'You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is lewdness. 18 'And you shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.
They committed the sin of adultery – v.19-20
19 'Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity. 20 'And you shall not have intercourse with your neighbor's wife, to be defiled with her.
They committed sins of child sacrifice and blaspheme – v.21
21 'Neither shall you give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.· They committed the sin of homosexuality – v.22 'You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.
They committed the sin of bestiality – v.23
23 'Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.
Verses 24-30 makes it clear that the Canaanites practiced these things.
24 'Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. 25 'For the land has become defiled, therefore I have visited its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. 26 'But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you 27 (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); 28 so that the land may not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. 29 'For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. 30 'Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; I am the LORD your God.' " NAS
Deuteronomy 9:3-5 describes God’s purpose for sending Israel into the land.
3 "Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you. 4 Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you. 5 It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. NAS
Historians tell us that the Canaanites were involved in the worst sort of sexual and religious perversions, even more than some of the other pagan nations around them.More importantly, they had constantly rejected God and rebelled against Him, seeking to destroy His people. Rahab made it clear that the Canaanites knew what was coming but they were so hardened by their sin that they would not repent (Joshua 2:9-11; 5:1 cf. Exodus 17:8-16; Numbers 21:1-3, 21-35).
Every wonder that God performed and every victory that God gave His people was a witness to the people of the land, but they preferred to go on in their sins and reject the mercy of God. Never think of the Canaanites as helpless ignorant people who knew nothing about the true God. They were willfully sinning against a flood of light (Warren Wiersbe, Be Strong, pp. 81).
We certainly can’t miss God’s grace in all of this. Rahab was a pagan harlot, but she was saved! Why? Because she was willing to repent and believe unlike her fellow Canaanites. Amazingly, we are no better than the Canaanites, and not but for God’s grace, we too would deserve to punished and judged for our sins (Romans 3:9-23; 6:23).
- Reason #2 – To keep Israel pure
This reason is stated explicitly in Deuteronomy 7:1-11.
1 "When the LORD your God shall bring you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and shall clear away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2 and when the LORD your God shall deliver them before you, and you shall defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. 3 Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4 For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you. 5 But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.6 "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them. NAS
Israel was called out by God to be a channel of His blessings.
Genesis 12:1-31
Now the LORD said to Abram,"Go forth from your country,And from your relativesAnd from your father's house,To the land which I will show you;2 And I will make you a great nation,And I will bless you,And make your name great;And so you shall be a blessing;3 And I will bless those who bless you,And the one who curses you I will curse.And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. "NAS
They were called out to have a threefold ministry. Their first ministry was one of revelation. Through them the Lord would reveal Himself to the world. The second ministry was that of a repository. They were to be keepers of His revealed will and word. Thirdly, they would have a ministry of redemption. They would be the people of the Messiah. Because of this ministry, they could not be contaminated by the evil of the other nations.
Read the Old Testament record, and you will see Satan doing everything he could to pollute the Jewish nation and thus prevent the birth of the Messiah. When the Jewish men married pagan women and began to worship Gods, it was a threat to thepurposes God had for His chosen people (Neh. 13:23-31). God wanted a “holy seed” (Mal. 2:14-15) so that His holy Son could come to be the Savior of the world (Be Strong, pp. 80).
G. Cambell Morgan said, “God is perpetually at war with sin, that is the whole explanation of the extermination of the Canaanites” (Wiersbe pp. 80).
The book of judges would not be in the Scripture today if the people of Israel would have simply been obedient (Judges 1:27-33; 2:11-23).How was Israel to deal with the city and its inhabitants? They were under the ban and were to be destroyed.
(2) It describes how to deal with Rahab and her family – v.17b
Only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.Rahab was to be treated differently than the rest of the Canaanites because of her faith (demonstrated by her works). We will deal in more detail with Rahab and her family next time (v.22-25).
(3) It describes how to deal with the material resources taken in Jericho - v.18-19
18 But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, lest you covet them and take some of the things under the ban, so you would make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it. 19 But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD.
"The word “herem” is used four times in verse 18 although the NAS does not bring that out clearly. Everything in the city was “devoted to the Lord," even the material resources. These items were to be placed in the treasury.Ordinarily, these spoils would have been shared by the soldiers and their families (Deuteronomy 20:14), but not in Jericho because it was herem, for the Lord alone. If anyone disregarded this warning they themselves would become a herem!
This anticipates Achan’s sin in chapter 7 and explains why Israel would be defeated and why he would be put to death. Achan brought about his own destruction and his families and made the nation liable to destruction as well. The sin of one individual can have consequences for the family and the community.
Many scholars believe that Jericho was actually a firstfruits offering to the Lord. Jericho was the firstfruits of victories to come. Sadly, if Achan would have only waited he would have been able to enjoy the spoils to come from victory against other city-states (Joshua 8:27). Many times Satan tempts us to take something or do something for ourselves that we would get from the Lord if we only had waited.
20 So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and it came about, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city.Israel obeyed and did as the Lord had instructed. They marched around the city once each day and on the seventh day they marched seven times and then the people shouted, the priests blew the rams horns and the wall fell down! Just as God had promised it would.21 And 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.When the walls fell they went in and utterly destroyed the city, men, women, children, and animals. Every living thing was destroyed by the sword, and then they burned it with fire.
24 And 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.
What a terrible and sobering scene it must have been. We can only imagine the horror that was experienced by all.
Can we learn something from this passage, and if so, what?
Romans 15:44
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. NAS
Surely we recognize from this passage the depth of God’s hatred of sin and the breadth of His grace toward sinners.
Romans 5:19-21
19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20 And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.NAS
1 comment:
Between your last post and this one I finished reading Joshua. I need to catch up now on your new entries. It kind of got bogged down (forgive me) when they were dividing up the land but I went ahead and finished up the book while you were so busy. I may have questions later after I get into your new posts.
"M"
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