Everybody likes a good story.

Better yet, everybody likes it

when a good storyteller tells that story. And, in the Homeric
fashion, the Bible was first an oral story. So Im going to share
with you all a story that you likely know, but this time, dont
analyze. Just listen.
Joshua was ready. The angel had given him Gods command.
All that was left was to enact it. The city was already terrified of
the Israelites, for their reputation preceded them. They had
already conquered many cities in the land of Canaan and Jericho
would likely not be the last. Joshuas spies had gone in
beforehand ascertaining this information. And though Jericho was
heavily fortified, with walls surrounding the entire city, it would be
an easy victory for Joshua had faith in God. Joshua, 7 priest, the
Israelites, and the Ark of the Covenant marched around the city
each. Not one word was spoken by the entire group of Israelites.
No children cried, no people complained of sore feet, no
command was given by Joshua. And they did this for seven days,
on the seventh day marching around the city seven times with the
priest blowing their trumpet each time. Sevens the magic
number here. The Israelites gave a great and mighty shout on

Joshuas command and, miraculously, unbelievably, the walls of

the city came tumbling down to the ground like a magicians
curtain being dropped without them ever having to touch them.
Joshua instructed that all the precious metals and valuables be
given for the glory of God. Anything sullied with the adulation of
another god was not to be touched. Everything in the city was to
be destroyed, save Rahab the prostitute along with her family
who had helped Joshuas spies. All the men, women, children and
livestock were killed as well. Joshua declared that whoever rebuilt
the city would lose their firstborn and whoever built up the wall
again, their youngest. (Sidenote: The city has, obviously, been
rebuilt)
This story is known by everyone, young and old. A story of
how faith can move mountains or, in this case, tear down walls.
The story is symbolic of victory through God and the promise
made to Abraham of a land of milk and honey. But to delve
deeper into the story, we must acknowledge that it is riddled with
theological flaws. There is probably nothing more offensive to
modern sensibilities than Gods sanction of genocide against the
Canaanites says Robert B. Coote. The biggest issue in the

passage lies in the fact that God allowed, condoned, and even
enforced the killing of an entire people for for what?
To answer that, youll have to sit through a bit off a history
lesson. As you hopefully know, Moses freed the Israelites from
Egypt and post-liberation they trekked through the dessert on
their way to the land of milk and honey. Things happened (when
dont they) and many of the Israelites died and Moses was denied
entrance due to his unfaithfulness. After Moses died the new
leader became Joshua. In the time that they had been trekking,
the Israelites had passed through many countries, asking for
permission to pass through. Pause, take a step back. Many of
these countries, seeing the Israelites, decided that the safest
course of action would be to attack them, either to kill them or
scare them away. The Middle East was and continues to be a
place where safety is not always the highest, so it is safe to
assume that this was a normal, even reasonable, response of said
country. When the Israelites were attacked, God granted them
victory. This became true for every hostile country that would
attack the Israelites when they tried to pass through, which were
many. And so began the Conquest of Canaan.

Keep in mind, although the Israelites were in essence, wiping

out these nations, they did it purely defensively. They were a
displaced people, searching for a land in which they could re-erect
their culture and start over. But the rules changed when they
reached Canaan. Moses had left Joshua one final message from
God. He was to drive out all the people in the country of Canaan
and to destroy all their idols and worship sites. Otherwise the land
would be sullied and unfit for the glory of God. And so the
conquest of Canaan began. And Jericho was first on the list.
There are several different theological reasons one can
interpret why God sanctioned the genocide in Jericho. Perhaps it
was because the people of Jericho were wicked due to the fact
that they worshiped other Gods and their hearts were hard,
therefore God had to kill them all to preserve his reign. But this
was true not just for the residence of Jericho, but for all those in
the Land of Canaan. And as for the Israelites, it is made
abundantly clear that they were not a completely moral, devout
and righteous society like sometimes portrayed. These people
complained, whined, and questioned God at every corner. But
they still eventually followed Gods command. Those who did not

were, through various process, weeded out during the Israelites

trek out of Egypt to a new land. These people were, in conclusion,
Gods chosen people merely because they were less wicked than
the less. So it would be a grave assumption to assume that God
sanctioned the genocide of a people for their supposed
wickedness. We must assume that the Israelites did not reside on
higher ground than the other inhabitants of the land and likely
followed the culture of the land as well.
Or we can look at the cultural reasoning. Robert B. Coots
says, Jericho, which lay about four miles west of the Jordan, was
the prime urban settlement beside the Jordan where it flows
closest to Jerusalem in the high land. Thus Jericho helps mark the
boundary of the land to be conquered under Joshua. Jericho also
dominated the route south to the rest of the western side of the
Dead Sea basin. Here was concentrated the increased production
of incense in Palestine. There was, evidently, no lack of strategic
advanced to laying siege to the city of Jericho.
And it was a siege. By the time that the Israelites had
reached Jericho, news had already spread fast about the Israelites

and their army of unbeatable power. Their reputation preceded

them and the citizens of Jericho were quaking in their sandals.
And then something amazing happened to the city of Jericho.
Something almost unbelievable.
Modern science has given us the tools of archeology to
unearth the past. Which we have. And we can find something
surprising. What we have unearthed has showed us something
almost unbelievable in itself: that the traditional conquest model
of the conquering of Canaan by the Israelites described in Joshua
probably didnt happen. It could, likely, be like this sermon; a
narrative. Remember the Bible was originally passed down orally.
And who doesnt like a good story. The story of Joshuas belief
LITERALLY knocking down walls as tall as cities without laying so
much as a finger on it. This practically unbelievable story would
likely hold listeners rapt with attention, making believers out of
the hardest cut of skeptics. So is it a bad thing that the story
could be just that? A story. Fictitious as the Harry Potter novels
themselves.

Definitely not. There is still much to be learned from this

passage. To be questioned, mulled over. To doubt.
James Barr ask, can we accept the divine sanction of
genocide and remain moral at the same time? My guess would be
probably not. Do we have to? Also probably not. Many more
historians and theologians infinitely more qualified than I can give
explanation upon explanation as to why God would allow the
murder of a people and the significance of this mandate. Did God
himself sanction this? If so why? Does this mean that God is
wrong or is my religion wrong? Did this even happen? If it didnt
happen, but its still in the Bible, what can I learn from this?
Is there something to learn from this?
To the last question, of course.
In the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?, three runaway
prisoners, Everett, Pete, and Delmar, go on an epic journey that
runs parallel to the Odyssey. The goal of the trip: retrieve the 1.2
million dollar treasure Everett claims to have stolen and buried
before being arrested. A treasure that turns out to be entirely
fictitious. Along the way, the runaways encounter varying

situations, each one more comic than the last. One of the funniest
scenes has to be when our three travelers happen upon a
baptism. Pete is the first to rush into the water shoving aside
others in his desperation to be baptized. Delmar follows shortly
after, believing Petes claim that he will be absolved of all sin. For
the next 40 or so minutes of the movie, Pete and Delmar are
men of God. Despite the fact that neither had the faintest idea
what the baptism actually entailed they believed whole heartedly
that they were clean and their sins were absolved. And while this
speaks a great deal about their faith, I dont believe it speaks
highly of their character. Their faith while fervent, is in the
moment. There was no thought, no consideration behind their
decision. They wished to reap the rewards of their crop without
actually planting any seed. They literally (yes proper employment
of the term) rushed into things, without thinking about
consequences, or really anything for that matter.
In order to have a strong faith, we must ask questions. Hard
questions. Questions that you have no answer for. Questions that
you will find no answer for. Questions that you may never get an
answer for.

You are a teacher and one of your students, a young boy no

older than ten, is obviously not getting enough food to eat at
home. The act of you telling anyone about this will most certainly
lead him into a group home, where he may come out more
scarred than if you had left him at home. If you send food home
with him you risk losing your job. What do you decide to do?
You are a young woman walking alone at night and as you
reach the parking lot where your car is parked an unfamiliar man
approaches asking if you could help him jump start his car. Do you
help him?
You see a young man on the news, who shot and killed nine
people at a church. A church that welcomed him to their bible
study and sat with him for over an hour. Would you still invite this
man to eat dinner with you, just as Jesus did?
Life is not black and white. And neither are real life questions
that are applicable to us as modern Christians. Neither is the
bible. When Joshua looked back upon the city, he didnt whoop
and holler for joy. Likely, with head hung in sorrow, he cursed the
very soil and those who would attempt to rebuild the city. While

we dont know why some things in the Bible pan out in the way
they do, maybe, consider for a moment, that the people in the
Bible didnt either. Joshua, Moses, Noah, Abraham, David, Hagar,
Rahab, Mary, were all forced into tough situations where they
could really do nothing but have faith in God. But dont you think,
maybe, they asked questions too? Do you think they had all the
answers?
Questioning what you know will test your faith. Questioning
what you dont know will pull at the very fabric of it. These
questions will cause you to doubt. They will lead you down the
road less traveled. These questions will define your faith.
And they will make your faith strong.
Because when we dont ask questions, we are selling
ourselves short. Short of the knowledge and wisdom that we can
gain by questioning. Because sometimes, other people can be
wrong. And a lot of the time, you can be wrong. So leave your
preconceived notions at the door. Because there is no place for
them in Gods kingdom.
And because faith shouldnt be easy.