I struggle with this because it IS a reality today. ISIS is terrorizing people in the name of ‘god ‘, claiming holy war and purification of those who do not adhere to their strict, oppressive, religious beliefs. Do they believe a Messiah is coming to usher in righteousness? Yes! Do we justify slaughter of potentially millions back in Joshua as ‘holy war’, as long as it’s OUR belief (and we’re safe at home, thousands of miles away, without daily threat to our lives)? Indeed this is hard.
I understand the concept of holiness and purging from sin. Let us read, sisters, with fear and trembling. God uses hail even to wipe out the disobedient in this passage. Although ISIS is far away, natural disaster is not. And these come on the evil and the good. God’s desire for holiness hasn’t changed since Jesus died on the cross. He desires we all be saved–He desires the Ammorites to be saved, yet did not show mercy. Because we live in peace at the moment, it does not excuse unholy living. Thank Him for His mercy and kindness that leads to repentance.
And we need to be in constant prayer for our brothers and sisters facing immense persecution at the hands of religious holy war. More Christians have died since 1900 than all centuries combined. Pray we will stand firm to the end.
I think part of this is also Gods way of adding credibility to His people. If you look at these passages through the lens of those times vs our modern day society I think all the tribes and countries were violent and brutal. In order for God to be respected as the One true God, Joshua and Moses had to engage in war with the same methods employed by the other tribes to show Gods true power. Once established Kings and leaders began to bow down to God. Whole countries of people dedicated their lives to God. I can’t explain most of this but in my heart I have always been able to be more comfortable with these types of passages knowing it was Gods plan and He had to establish Himself and His people using the same rules of engagement of the times.
Nice post. I study something more difficult on totally different blogs everyday. It will all the time be stimulating to read content from other writers and practice a bit something from their store. I’d prefer to make use of some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link in your web blog. Thanks for sharing.TubeSync
I was struggling with this too and it was recently brought up in church. It was put like this: God had to wipe out all generations and future generations to keep the wickedness from continuing. If He left the children to then they would only continue as their ancestors did. Gods people would not have been able to move in and gain more ground for His people. The older generations taught the younger, thus also securing their fate. We tend to look at the “here and now” while God looks at the future. The ultimate goal is God glorified. When I started looking at it from that perspective, it really helped trust Gods ways more!!
I get that the LORD was completely just in wiping out all these cities and they were worshipping other gods and likely practicing child sacrifice etc… Still it’s hard to hear about so much bloodshed and violence. Especially Joshua 11:20 is a very hard verse- I don’t like the sound of it! God help me accept and trust your goodness when I don’t understand your ways.
It makes me very thankful that I did not live in that time- im such a sensitive person that I probably would’ve been trying to save the babies and children in these cities from being killed by the Israelites and saving the horses in these passages. I would not have been able to handle so much suffering and bloodshed!
Me too!! I am forever changed now that I have a kiddo. I can’t imagine killing an “innocent” like that. Gods ways are not our ways… Still caused me to tear up a bit
I agree, this section is hard to imagine and, really, I don’t like picturing it. One thing I try to remind myself is that if they had shown faith in the God of Israel, they would have been saved. Rahab is an example of that. But it says that God hardened their hearts and none of them were humble. And if any of them WERE, or even decided at the last minute to trust God, I believe their death would take them to Him.
Depicts God as a peaceful force that guides gentle sheep. This isn’t always the case. Remember, we are in spiritual warfare all of the time. It’s bloody and is not peaceful. God wants and demands what He wants and demands. If non believers are in the way of that then they are removed.
Callie, I’m right there with you!. The thought that reoccurs in my head when I read tough passages like this is “He who gives life, also takes it.” I can only imagine that the Lord grieves the loss of all these people as well, that they lead a life of sin instead of faith.
And you’re right! Only God knows the condition of their heart, and these cities had to fall to be in accordance with His Divine Plan, we can rest knowing that He is in control of the eternal state of things, regardless of how hard it is for us to grasp the difficult and gruesome parts of the process. Death is necessary sometimes to bring Life!
I loved the Corinthians passage today! We have the wisdom of God, the power of the Spirit, and the mind of Christ! We no longer have to rest on worldly teachers. As a rather studious girl, this reminds me to seek the wisdom of God before man.
I struggle with this because it IS a reality today. ISIS is terrorizing people in the name of ‘god ‘, claiming holy war and purification of those who do not adhere to their strict, oppressive, religious beliefs. Do they believe a Messiah is coming to usher in righteousness? Yes! Do we justify slaughter of potentially millions back in Joshua as ‘holy war’, as long as it’s OUR belief (and we’re safe at home, thousands of miles away, without daily threat to our lives)? Indeed this is hard.
I understand the concept of holiness and purging from sin. Let us read, sisters, with fear and trembling. God uses hail even to wipe out the disobedient in this passage. Although ISIS is far away, natural disaster is not. And these come on the evil and the good. God’s desire for holiness hasn’t changed since Jesus died on the cross. He desires we all be saved–He desires the Ammorites to be saved, yet did not show mercy. Because we live in peace at the moment, it does not excuse unholy living. Thank Him for His mercy and kindness that leads to repentance.
And we need to be in constant prayer for our brothers and sisters facing immense persecution at the hands of religious holy war. More Christians have died since 1900 than all centuries combined. Pray we will stand firm to the end.
Excellent points. Great perspective and advice.
Amen amen amen!
Amen!!
Yes thank you for this sober reminder.
I think part of this is also Gods way of adding credibility to His people. If you look at these passages through the lens of those times vs our modern day society I think all the tribes and countries were violent and brutal. In order for God to be respected as the One true God, Joshua and Moses had to engage in war with the same methods employed by the other tribes to show Gods true power. Once established Kings and leaders began to bow down to God. Whole countries of people dedicated their lives to God. I can’t explain most of this but in my heart I have always been able to be more comfortable with these types of passages knowing it was Gods plan and He had to establish Himself and His people using the same rules of engagement of the times.
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Nice post. I study something more difficult on totally different blogs everyday. It will all the time be stimulating to read content from other writers and practice a bit something from their store. I’d prefer to make use of some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link in your web blog. Thanks for sharing.TubeSync
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I was struggling with this too and it was recently brought up in church. It was put like this: God had to wipe out all generations and future generations to keep the wickedness from continuing. If He left the children to then they would only continue as their ancestors did. Gods people would not have been able to move in and gain more ground for His people. The older generations taught the younger, thus also securing their fate. We tend to look at the “here and now” while God looks at the future. The ultimate goal is God glorified. When I started looking at it from that perspective, it really helped trust Gods ways more!!
I get that the LORD was completely just in wiping out all these cities and they were worshipping other gods and likely practicing child sacrifice etc… Still it’s hard to hear about so much bloodshed and violence. Especially Joshua 11:20 is a very hard verse- I don’t like the sound of it! God help me accept and trust your goodness when I don’t understand your ways.
It makes me very thankful that I did not live in that time- im such a sensitive person that I probably would’ve been trying to save the babies and children in these cities from being killed by the Israelites and saving the horses in these passages. I would not have been able to handle so much suffering and bloodshed!
Me too!! I am forever changed now that I have a kiddo. I can’t imagine killing an “innocent” like that. Gods ways are not our ways… Still caused me to tear up a bit
I agree, this section is hard to imagine and, really, I don’t like picturing it. One thing I try to remind myself is that if they had shown faith in the God of Israel, they would have been saved. Rahab is an example of that. But it says that God hardened their hearts and none of them were humble. And if any of them WERE, or even decided at the last minute to trust God, I believe their death would take them to Him.
God is a God of peace AND war. Modern day Christianity often dep
Depicts God as a peaceful force that guides gentle sheep. This isn’t always the case. Remember, we are in spiritual warfare all of the time. It’s bloody and is not peaceful. God wants and demands what He wants and demands. If non believers are in the way of that then they are removed.
Good point re: spiritual warfare – I hadn’t considered this aspect in relation to these passages in Joshua!
Callie, I’m right there with you!. The thought that reoccurs in my head when I read tough passages like this is “He who gives life, also takes it.” I can only imagine that the Lord grieves the loss of all these people as well, that they lead a life of sin instead of faith.
And you’re right! Only God knows the condition of their heart, and these cities had to fall to be in accordance with His Divine Plan, we can rest knowing that He is in control of the eternal state of things, regardless of how hard it is for us to grasp the difficult and gruesome parts of the process. Death is necessary sometimes to bring Life!
I loved the Corinthians passage today! We have the wisdom of God, the power of the Spirit, and the mind of Christ! We no longer have to rest on worldly teachers. As a rather studious girl, this reminds me to seek the wisdom of God before man.
I am working on this too, Savannah. It’s hard to break the habit of calling a confidant or just grumbling in my mind before stopping to consult Him.