Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.
Joshua 13:1 (ESV)

“The book of Joshua is troubling to a lot of people because in it God is a warrior and He fights against evil. But in many cases He destroys people.” 
Tim Keller

When reading through much of the Old Testament (specifically the book of Joshua), we are brought into the practical application and messy details of God’s ultimate goodwill being played out in this fallen, broken, and sinful world. God made promises to Abraham generations before that He would fulfill no matter what, but that would be something easier said than done. Because of the brokenness, sinfulness, and disobedience in the hearts of both the surrounding nations and God’s chosen people, God’s very clear promise of inheritance and blessing is somewhat blurred.

We see what some might write off at face value as “genocide,” “unjust conquest,” and holy wars all being done in the name of Yahweh. A few questions begin to bubble up to the surface that we need to address in light of the overall biblical narrative and the character of God… 1. Why does Israel have a right to conquer? 2. Is this “version” of God different than the version of God we see revealed through Jesus? 

So first off, why does Israel have a right to conquer? In short, they don’t! They don’t have the right to conquer and they don’t have the ability to conquer. Israel at this point in the story is still a growing nation in comparison to the other nations and lacks the natural strength, supplies, and military power even needed to conquer any other nations, but despite their weakness we still see them conquering kingdoms (aka Jericho). This reveals to us the supernatural power and plans of God in place, not Israel’s right or ability to conquer neighboring nations.

While there are many stories of Israel conquering other nations and the Bible even uses strong language like, “and they committed them to utter destruction,” these were conquests initiated by God to fulfill the promises He made back in Israel’s infancy. It’s important to note that while God does initiate the destruction of some nations in the O.T., this does not mean that we should assume that God initiates or even approves of all of the conquests that take place. Though not the same, it is similar to the presence of things like polygamy taking place throughout Israel’s history. Just because we see God using people who practiced polygamy throughout Israel’s history does not mean that God ever initiated or approved any of those marriages. Similarly, though we do see God giving the land of other nations to Israel through conquest, this does not mean that God’s stamp of approval was on ALL of the wars we see in scripture. The truth is that there are plenty of wars, battles, and stories of destruction that were simply the fruit of sin and proud kings. It is simply unfair to the biblical narrative to assume that all of the bloodshed included in the O.T. was done at the hand of God. 

In the case of the Canaanites and the rest of the smaller kingdoms to the west of the Jordan, these were initiated by and brought forth through the help of God’s mighty hand. So the question is, why? “Why is God destroying other nations?” “Is this genocide?” “How is this even the same God we see revealed in Jesus?” 

Not “US vs. THEM”, but “GOD vs. SIN”

At face value, there is an “us vs. them” tone to the O.T. Israel vs. everyone else. And if you are coming to passages like Joshua 13 with this sort of lens then you may walk away with the perspective of God as some evil tyrant who desires to see one perfect race walking the earth. 

This is not the case. In the Old Testament, what do we not see is an “us vs. them” narrative, but instead we are given a “God vs. sin” narrative. Yes, the children of Israel are God’s chosen nation being set up to bless the whole world, but they are not necessarily exempt from being against God at times because of their sins…

We see this very clearly illustrated two times in Joshua chapters 5 and 7. 

13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord.
Joshua 5:13-14 (ESV)

Joshua has an “Israel vs. everyone else” mentality and asks this angel whose “side” he’s on, and the answer we get is astounding. “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord.” This is a battle God is waging against SIN, not necessarily other nations.

In chapter 7 we see a man from Israel named Achan sinning against the Lord by stealing devoted items that the Lord commanded not to take. We see the judgment of the Lord turning against God’s own due to their sin.

We even see this “us vs. them” mentality creeping into the disciples in Luke chapter 9 when Jesus is not welcomed by the Samaritans.
52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”[e] 55 But he turned and rebuked them.[f] 56 And they went on to another village.
Luke 9:52-56 (ESV)

Simply put, God is not the initiator of some sort of ethnic genocide; God is waging war against the thing waging war against his creation, and that’s SIN.

GOD’S PATIENCE TOWARDS SIN 

Let’s not forget God’s multi-generational long-suffering He shows toward other nation’s sins. Back in Genesis 15 when God is first committing His covenant towards Abraham, we see God show patience towards the Canaanites rather than showing them His judgment.

16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Genesis 15:16

There’s a point of sin that is “past the point of no return” when God decides to enact judgment on a nation and at this time, though the Canaanites were sinful their “iniquity is not yet complete.”

Let’s remember 2 Peter 3.

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
2 Peter 3:8-9

GOD’S CLEAR WARNINGS AGAINST SIN

So why is God so clear and “harsh” towards sin, especially in the Old Testament? Because He loves. God loves and his hate towards sin is motivated by His love for people. Not only that, but He also KNOWS the consequences that sin will bring even if those consequences don’t show up for generations.

In Joshua 13, we see God demanding that all of these smaller kingdoms be completely taken over. The command was clear, but there were some smaller kingdoms that Israel did not deal with because they didn’t seem to be a threat at the time…
13 Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell amid Israel to this day.
Joshua 13:13

These two unsuspecting kingdoms (Geshurites and Maacathites) were kingdoms that grew up to become major threats to Israel later on in their history. For instance, David’s son Absolom who attempted to overthrow his own father’s kingdom ended up marrying a foreign daughter who was a Geshurite woman.

In short, God’s clear warning against sin is rooted in His clear and steadfast love for the flourishing of all of creation.