1. Show no mercy! A violent and angry God vs. Jesus and the Gospel of peace?

2. Deut. 20:16-18 However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites - as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshipping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.

3. Old Testament Timeline 2000 BC 1500 BC 1000 BC 500 BC Abraham Isaac Jacob/Israel Joseph In Egypt Moses wilderness Joshua Conquest Judges The Kingdom King David Solomon Divided Kingdom Assyria conquers Israel 721BC Babylonian Exile (597BC) Temple rebuilt Exiles return Maccabean revolt (168-142BC) Herod the Great

4. Completely destroy Haram/herem dedicate to God by total destruction

5. Questions Why was it done? Was there an alternative? Was it excessive? Was it fair? Does it set a precedent for future genocide? How does Yahweh = Jesus?

6. 3 Pitfalls 1.It’s the Israelites’ problem not God’s 2.It’s an Old Testament problem which the New Testament makes irrelevant

7. Exodus 34:6-7 “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

8. Jonah 4:2 “Lord, isn’t this exactly what I thought would happen when I was still at home? That was why I was so quick to run away to Tarshish. I knew that you were gracious. You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. You are a God who takes pity on people. You don’t want to destroy them.”

9. 3 Pitfalls 1.It’s the Israelites’ problem not God’s 2.It’s an Old Testament problem which the New Testament makes irrelevant 3.We only need see it as a spiritual allegory

10. 3 Frameworks 1.God’s sovereign justice 2.The Old Testament context 3.God’s plan of salvation

11. 3 Frameworks 1.God’s sovereign justice Canaanites not arbitrary victims Never justified on ethnic grounds Deut. 9:4-6

12. Deut 9:4-6 After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

13. 3 Frameworks 1.God’s sovereign justice Canaanites not arbitrary victims Never justified on ethnic grounds Deut. 9:4-6 Spiritual reality Escape was always possible Yahweh is an equal opportunity judge and saviour

14. 3 Frameworks 2.Old Testament Context Incarnational God Unique, time limited Not expansionist, geographically bounded. Exod 23:31-33 Warfare genre rhetoric

17. 3 Frameworks 2.Old Testament Context Incarnational God Unique, time limited Not expansionist, geographically bounded. Exod 23:31-33 Warfare genre rhetoric Failed to annihilate Canaanites

18. 3 Frameworks 2.Old Testament Context Failed to annihilate Joshua 10:40 Judges 1:21 Joshua 11:12-22 Joshua 14:12 Joshua 23:12-13 Conquest: infiltration: subversion

19. 3 Frameworks 3.God’s plan of salvation The foundation of western morality Blessing for all nations Ultimate end is peace for all nations: Isaiah 2:4, Psalm 87

20. Summary OT God of love Act of justice Warfare rhetoric, not reality Incarnational action Strategic, limited, bounded Bigger picture – peace for all nations Conquest, infiltration, subversion

21. Questions