Does Joshua 6:21 justify violence in the name of religion? Historical and Theological Setting of the Conquest 1. Long‐Promised Judgment. Four centuries earlier God told Abram, “The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16). Jericho falls when that measure is full. 2. Covenant Fulfillment. Deuteronomy 7:1–5 and 20:16–18 describe “ḥērem” (the ban)—a unique, nonrepeatable judgment against specific Canaanite city‐states occupying Israel’s promised land. 3. Theocratic Instrumentality. Only Israel, under direct prophetic leadership, functioned as God’s temporal instrument of justice (Deuteronomy 9:4–6). No later nation receives that mandate. Canaanite Moral Landscape and Divine Justice Contemporary clay tablets from Ugarit and excavations at Tel Mardikh attest to Canaanite cultic practices of ritual prostitution and infant sacrifice to Molech (cf. Leviticus 18:21; 20:2–5). The Jericho judgment therefore addresses entrenched violence with divinely authorised counter‐violence; it is penalty, not conquest for conquest’s sake. Uniqueness and Non-Transferability of the Command Joshua 6 describes a singular, time-bound event: • It is geographically limited (Jericho, within Canaan). • It is historically limited (Late Bronze Age, c. 1400 BC; pottery forms, scarab inscriptions, and carbon samples at City IV destruction layer support a 15th-century date). • It is covenantally limited (Israel entering the land under Joshua). No biblical text generalises ḥērem to post-Joshua peoples, let alone to the Church. The New Covenant people wage war “not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12). Canonical Consistency: Violence, Mercy, and Progressive Revelation The same Torah that sanctions ḥērem commands love for the sojourner (Leviticus 19:34). Prophets picture nations streaming peacefully to Zion (Isaiah 2:2–4). The Gospels climax with Christ’s self-sacrifice—absorbing violence rather than inflicting it (Matthew 26:52–54; 1 Peter 2:23). Scripture’s trajectory moves from a localized act of judgment to a universal offer of grace, demonstrating continuity rather than contradiction. Ethical Analysis: Divine Prerogative versus Human Imitation 1. Divine Rights. As Creator, God possesses moral authority over life and death (Deuteronomy 32:39). 2. Human Limits. Individuals or states lacking infallible revelation cannot claim ḥērem authority. Romans 13 restricts human governments to measured justice, while Matthew 5 commands disciples to love enemies. 3. Just-War Framework. Later Israelite wars outside Canaan require peace overtures first (Deuteronomy 20:10–12), underscoring that ḥērem is an exception, not the rule. Christological Fulfillment and New-Covenant Ethic Jesus interprets Old Testament judgment narratives as previews of final judgment (Matthew 12:41; Luke 17:26–30). Yet He inaugurates an age of gospel proclamation: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:18–19). The weapon shifts from the sword to the Word (Hebrews 4:12). The Church’s mandate is evangelistic, not militaristic. Common Objections Answered “Genocide?” —No ethnic motive exists; Rahab and her family, Canaanites by birth, are spared and incorporated (Joshua 6:25; Matthew 1:5). Judgment is moral, not racial. “Innocent children?” —Scripture presents divine foreknowledge and post-mortem mercy (2 Samuel 12:23). Temporal death differs from eternal destiny, which God alone judges righteously. “God of Old vs. New?” —Revelation 19 depicts the risen Christ executing final justice. The same God offers grace now; delay is mercy (2 Peter 3:9). Practical Implications for Believers Today • Reject claims of divinely mandated violence outside Scripture. • Proclaim Christ crucified and risen as the sole path to reconciliation. • Engage culture with truth, reason, and compassion, reflecting God’s holiness and love. Conclusion Joshua 6:21 records a specific, divinely authorised judgment within a unique redemptive-historical moment. It neither commands nor models religious violence for later generations. Rather, it testifies to God’s holiness, the gravity of sin, and the urgency of salvation now offered through the resurrected Christ. |
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