There’s no getting around it: the Bronze Age was a violent time to be alive.
A humorous trend that recently made the rounds on the internet involved women asking their spouses how often men think about the Roman Empire, only to discover a previously unknown, shockingly frequent amount of time—in many cases, daily! Regardless of how often the ancient world occupies your thoughts, it certainly absorbed the attention of people of ancient times—it was, after all, the contemporary world they lived in. The Late Bronze Age (approximately 1550 B.C. to around 1200 B.C.) was the world Joshua lived and experienced daily when he was called to lead God’s people, and—at least as far as various periods in history are concerned—it was a particularly violent time.
The World of Joshua
Archaeology offers a rare glimpse into this period: take the Amarna letters, a correspondence of letters from Late Bronze Age rulers to the Egyptian pharaoh, for example. The Babylonian king complained, to his Egyptian counterpart, of murderous bands of robbers: “My merchants who were on their way . . . were detained in Canaan for business matters[and they] killed my merchants and took away [th]eir money.”[1] On another rather dramatic occasion, the king of Egypt was expecting to marry a Babylonian princess who never showed up, writing to the Babylonian king that “no one has seen her (so as to know) if now she is alive or if she is dead.”[2] On a journey through Canaan during the Late Bronze Age, there was no guarantee you would make it through to the other side unscathed—or even necessarily survive the trip.
God, who sees the end from the beginning, can act for the greatest good in the universe in a way that no one else can. Although many take issue with the concept that God—who is, in fact, love (1 John 4:8)—required His people to engage in the violence of this time and to enter into a war with the Late Bronze Age Canaanites, God’s justice and fairness can be seen mingled with His patience and mercy. Despite the difficulty many can have with the complexity of this subject, I believe that there is a strong contextual component to the entire matter; I believe, too, that there are still some concerns that can be difficult for the modern mind to accept in our own contemporary setting, and that it’s all right to still have some questions (the important thing is to not give up or stop seeking answers).
Although a fuller response would require a much longer discussion, for the sake of this topic I hope that we can agree that God, who always gives both warnings and opportunities for repentance (in this case, for centuries [Gen. 15:16]), intended for the people who were called to preserve a knowledge of His character (Rom. 3:2) to migrate into a region at the crossroads of three major continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe) in order to be an influence for good rather than for evil. Thereby, He was ultimately bringing judgment on a specific system—a system that led to much sin and suffering (particularly toward infant children [Deut. 12:31])—specifically at a time when the maxim “kill or be killed!” was the prevailing ethos.
In the end Joshua took on this challenge in obedience to God: to accomplish the monumentally demanding task of waging the war God required of him. Even at the most difficult times in human history, God’s character should be kept in mind—that He always acts redemptively and for the good of humanity.
Fighting the “Good Fight”
While I have serious doubts anyone will be called by God to pick up a sword and fight a Bronze Age-style war against anyone in our world today, God does call, and has called, us to a work: to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). I wonder if we have as sure a sense of our calling as Joshua did. Do you sense God has called you to work for Him? Do you feel as though you understand what your God-given task is in your own situation and experience? If you do, that’s very fortunate, and certainly a blessing! If not, I wouldn’t despair: if we want to have an experience with God as Joshua did, it stands to reason that we can emulate him and “have what he had” by “doing what he did.” What did Joshua do?
Scripture says God called him first to “be strong and very courageous” so that he could (a) “observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you” and (b) to “not turn from it to the right hand or to the left,” ultimately so that he could “prosper wherever” he went (Joshua 1:7). He was told that the Scripture that had been written up to that point in time should “not depart from your mouth,” but rather to “meditate in it day and night,” so that he could “observe to do according to all that is written in it” (verse 8). The promise, and familiar passage for many of us, was “you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (verses 8, 9).
Even at the most difficult times in human history, God’s character should be kept in mind—that He always acts redemptively and for the good of humanity.
If we take the time to fill our minds with God’s thoughts that can be found embedded like a gold mine throughout the Bible, we can move forward in confidence with the peace of His presence without fear of failure.
“Seek Ye First . . .”
I can remember a time in my life, though, when I signed on for aggressively ambitious ministry opportunities—evangelistic effort for weeks and weeks at a time, with breaks few and far between—the kind of effort that rapidly leads to burnout. Although I hate to admit it, I remember being so busy with the work I believed God required of me that I hardly took time to pray or to hear His voice speaking to me in His Word. I concerned myself so much with the mission of completing God’s work that I, like Martha, for a time lost sight of the value of worshipping my Savior (Luke 10:38-42). My devotions had become so formal and practiced that I hardly noticed what I was missing, or else so short that I barely spent any time alone with Jesus at all.
This week’s study explored Joshua and the Israelites’ worship in the context of the often (and in some cases literal) uphill battle against the Canaanites (see Joshua 7:4, 5). And although it didn’t seem to make the most sense, Joshua and the people were led to worship at some of the least-expected times. While we are left with a rather graphic picture of the circumcision at Gibeath Haaraloth in Joshua 5:1-9, it should be remembered that this was an act of worship and obedience to God (Gen. 17). They also kept the Passover (Joshua 5:10-12), renewed the covenant (Joshua 8:30-35), and set up the tabernacle (Joshua 18:1, 2), all before the conquest was completed. I can admit from personal experience that it can be extraordinarily easy to become so caught up with the work God has called us to do that we fail to worship Him authentically. But as so many leading figures of the Reformation have been credited with teaching: the busier we are, the more desperately we need a connection with our loving heavenly Father.
God is merciful and patient with His imperfect children. Even Joshua, man of faith and action that he was, did not perfectly seek God at every step of the war: at the first battle of Ai Joshua seems to have thought the site so small and insignificant that he didn’t consult God before the battle, to the detriment of the Israelite army (Joshua 7:1-5). While it is beautiful and right to aim for perfect conformity to the will of God in all things and by His strength gain victory after victory, we should also be willing to acknowledge that God fully knows that we are imperfect and does not fail to mercifully extend His patient forgiveness toward us, although the painful consequences may remain. I don’t believe taking time to recognize and meditate on God’s character in this way must lead to a lowering of our standard for keeping God’s law; rather, it leads us to a greater love and appreciation for the only One who can enable us to truly be like Him.
God Always Provides
Another valuable truth from the book of Joshua worth keeping in mind is that God consistently provided for His people in their worship regardless of the circumstances they faced. In the passage in which Joshua circumcised the Israelites, we are told that when the rulers of the Amorites and Canaanites heard about the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, their hearts “melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel” (Joshua 5:1). In other words, they were breathless at the thought of facing them, their confidence completely gone. Although the Israelites may not have realized it at the time, there was no risk of being attacked while they recovered from the procedure—God had already put fear into the hearts of their enemies.
Also, when the Passover was kept on the plains of Jericho, the text says that “they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover . . . on the very same day. Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land” (verses 11, 12). The “food of the land of Canaan” was just as much provided by God as was the manna from heaven in the wilderness. While we may be tempted to think that the meals we prepare and eat came from the grocers, purchased with our own funds and earned by our own hard work, Scripture reminds us that God is truly our ultimate provider—just as surely as if our “daily bread” was sent directly from heaven.
When the Israelites came to Shechem to renew the covenant, it’s interesting to note that there is no record of conquest in this area. In Patriarchs and Prophets we read that they “left their camp in Gilgal, and marched through the country of their enemies, to the vale of Shechem, near the center of the land. Though surrounded by unconquered foes, they were safe under the protection of God as long as they were faithful to Him. . . .As in the days of Jacob, ‘the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them’ (Genesis 35:5), and the Hebrews were unmolested.”[3] Despite the strategic difficulties, God provided supernatural security as they prioritized their relationship with Him. Even when they set up the sanctuary, though seven tribes “had not yet received their inheritance” (Joshua 18:2), we are told that “the land was subdued before them” (verse 1). In each of these instances God provided for His people and prepared the way before them.
A Call to “Arms”
We have a work remaining for us, much like the work Joshua did: “Now the church is militant. Now we are confronted with a world in darkness, almost wholly given over to idolatry.” “But the day is coming when the battle will have been fought, the victory won. The will of God is to be done on earth as it is done in heaven. The nations of the saved will know no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving—the robe of Christ’s righteousness.”[4]
In the coming months and years, whatever God calls us to, we can be sure of at least three critical truths: (1) He has a place for us; (2) He desires us to keep our eyes on Him; and (3) He will always make provision to make it a reality.
In light of all this, there’s so much to be grateful for. How can we want anything else? We can move forward, trusting in Him. Be strong. Be courageous. God will be with you, and He will supply every need. “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ ” (Heb. 13:5).
[1] El Amarna 8. William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), pp. 16, 17.
[2] El Amarna 1. Ibid., pp. 1-3.
[3] Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1890, 1908), p. 499.
[4] Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), pp. 504, 506.
