Readings for today: Joshua 7-10
One of my favorite Bible scholars is a man named John Walton. He taught Old Testament at Wheaton College for over twenty years and is an expert in the Ancient Near East. He is also the author of a series of books titled “Lost World” that cover a series of subjects like Genesis one, Adam and Eve, Torah, and the Israelite Conquest. It’s the latter of those books that helped me better understand the Book of Joshua. Especially the parts where it talks about the stoning of Achan and his family, the sun standing still over Gibeon, and the series of conquests where Joshua “annihilates” the people living in those cities. The main point of Walton’s interpretive analysis is to read these texts not as history per se but as “theological historiography.” In other words, the point of the Book of Joshua is not so much to describe “how” the conquest of Canaan happened or to offer a detailed, blow by blow account of every battle, but to explain “why” the conquest happened.
Theological historiography is a style of writing that emphasizes God’s saving activity over Israel’s achievement. And the key to Israel’s success is remaining aligned with God’s sacred order. This is why the sin of Achan is so serious. He violated the sacred order by stealing something sacred - dedicated to God - and keeping it for himself. His sin creates disorder in the camp, desecrating what was once sacred and leading to the removal of God’s presence. Furthermore, since Israel as a whole exists in a single covenant with Almighty God, his sin corrupts the entire community thus leading to their disastrous defeat in the first battle against Ai. I know this isn’t easy to understand for 21st century, Western Christians since our identity is far more individualistic than communal but it would have made perfect sense to the people of the ancient near east. Additionally, God’s miraculous intervention to make the sun stand still and rain down hailstones on Israel’s enemies is another sign that God is the divine warrior engaging in battle on behalf of His people. This only happens after Joshua purifies the camp which leads to the return of God’s presence and the guarantee of future victories. Finally, the “annihilation” rhetoric used throughout chapter ten was a common hyperbolic device used in the ancient near east to refer to overwhelming victory rather than actual genocide. All this is critically important to understand if we are to discern the true meaning of the text.
So what does any of this have to do with us today? First and foremost, these chapters from Joshua should not be read as divine sanction for holy war. There are no exact parallels between ancient israel and any 21st century nations. Second, we no longer live under ritual purity laws. Those were fulfilled through the death of Jesus Christ. He Himself under went the “Herem” or “sacred ban” or experienced “annihilation” so we no longer have to. At the same time, our covenantal relationship with God does involve the same principles it did for Israel. Alignment. Trust. Obedience. Life just tends to work better when lived in humble submission to God. Second, sin doesn’t just impact us as individuals but has a ripple effect that impacts those around us. Finally, we must trust God’s sovereignty over all of life. Because God rules over everything, every square inch of creation is sacred space and our role as believers is to work to bring the alignment of all human society under His reign.
Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 11-14