PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Joshua 11-12
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.” (Joshua 11:20)
Why does God, compassionate and merciful (Exodus 34:6-7), not show mercy?
Granted, letting people live would have led to other serious problems.
In reality, this was normal practice at the time, by all the nations.
The northern kings would have done the very same back to them.
The gods and religions of that time were brutal, and so were the leaders.
As hard as this sounds, maybe this was the best of all options.
Who knows, maybe for many people this was an act of mercy.
Maybe death released them from human cruelty into the mercy of God?
These stories are not morality lessons, telling us what to do.
They show how cruel, violent and miserable our world is… still today.
And they show what God has to ensure in order to rescue us.
The gruesomeness of the old covenant reminds us of the bloody mess our world is.
The gruesomeness of the Jesus’s death reminds us what God endures to save us.
Following Jesus, we are saved to love, not kill our enemies!
PRAYER
Lord, you stepped into our bloody mess, and endured our violent cruelty, to set us free.
“the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war” It was God’s plan – Joshua and the soldiers had to act – to fight and cleanse the land. God wanted the other nations religions and practices not to contaminate Israel – a clean slate approach. With the exception of Gibeon, Joshua did that and it says they finally had rest from war. Even the Anakites which struck so much fear into Israel after that first delegation came back to report to Moses and the leaders. – they were also conquered. There was rest – at least for a time! We too need to watch out for what can creep into our lives and contaminate us from having full devotion to Jesus!
Sign of the times.
Doing what was right in their own eyes. The foreign kings would have killed God’s people but God lead His own to purge the land – a place for the people to worship Him as He had promised. A land and a people wholly serving the Lord.
And we still see the mess today, rulers/people going after the desires of their heart to be in control and ignoring the Lord. War is not the answer but it may again remind the people to turn to God and serve Him. War is not the answer but the love of Christ is.
1 I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
no turning back, no turning back.
2 Though none go with me, I still will follow;
though none go with me, I still will follow;
though none go with me, I still will follow;
no turning back, no turning back.
3 The world behind me, the cross before me;
the world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me;
no turning back, no turning back.