The Text
Last Time on ‘The Story’
Joshua himself does a really good job in summing up the story so far. So, who is Joshua? He is a character who has been peppered throughout the Torah, he was the commander of the army of the Hebrews all the way back in Exodus 17. He was up the mountain with Moses, and (naively) thought that the people were being attacked, when they were actually busy breaking all of the commandments that they had heard from God (Exodus 32). He was one of the spies sent into the land (Numbers 13), one of the two who remained faithful to the LORD. He is appointed as Moses’ successor (Numbers 27, and the beginning and end of Deuteronomy).
The book of Joshua, sometimes considered the sixth book of the Pentateuch, tells of the people of Israel coming back to the land of Canaan, and ‘possessing’ it. It is a much more militaristic tale than modern readers are usually comfortable with, but continues to double down on the Deuteronomic History theme of victory only being achievable through God’s divine intervention. This is nowhere more clear than in the victory over Jerico which is accomplished by literally marching around the city. In this story we also meet Rahab, a prostitute, who fears the LORD, and becomes a part of the line of King David, and Jesus. They also experience defeat when Achan takes some of the things that are devoted to be sacrificed in the name of the LORD. The rest of the story is of continued military conquest and division of the land. Finally, Joshua gathers all of the people at Shechem to renew the covenant once again, and give them a final ‘choose life or death’ speech like Moses had done before him. This speech is our text for today.
Today’s Story
The Setting- Shechem: It is no accident that Joshua summons the people to Shechem for this covenant renewal. It is a large hill (‘Shechem’ means ‘shoulder’) in the north of the land of Canaan, around 40 miles north of Jerusalem, in the land of Ephraem and in modern day West Bank. This is the place that Abra(ha)m first worshiped God in the land of Canaan when he built an altar to the LORD by the Oaks of Moreh (Genesis 12). It is also the site of the Isrealite’s first military victory over the Canaanite tribes, when Simeon and Levi orchestrated the slaughter of the city of Shechem after the rape of their sister Dinah (Genesis 34). In the intervening years, the city was destroyed and then rebuilt by the Egyptians as a part of their Cannanite expansion. After the events of our story today, Shechem would continue to be a major site. Shechem would become the capital of the divided nation of Israel when they seceded from the nation of Judah after the death of Solomon. Archeological evidence suggests that there was a longstanding temple here, including a prominent large stone in the forecourt. The city was eventually destroyed in 67CE.
Long Ago: A good deal of this speech is a remembering of this people’s shared history. Opportunities to remember together are a vital part of forming identity. It recalls a common history, beyond the disagreements and squabbles of the day to day. This is why narrative is so important for us, and why it makes up a great deal of our scriptures. This shared myth (in the anthropological sense) gives a foundation for and forms a people. Recounting the stories of our past, especially remembering the presence of God in them, can also give us a view of a faithful future. Sometimes we can only see God’s activity in hindsight (think the story of Joseph), so remembering what has happened in the past (and discerning God’s activity in it), can give us a better perspective on the present and future. This may be a helpful opportunity to remember the faithful activity of a congregation in the past, as a call to future faith in, say, a Stewardship campaign.
It is also important to remember that this speech is very unlikely to be a word-for-word transcript of the speech of Joshua to the Israelites. All evidence suggests that this book was written some 500 years after the events that it recounts as a part of the so-called Deuteronomic Histories, telling the story from Exodus to Exile. Scholars suggest that this history was compiled as a part of Josiah’s reforms a few generations before the Exile to Babylon. It was then likely re-edited after the Exile with a priestly view of the Law. There is much debate when this particular speech was written in the document’s history, but there is no real consensus among scholars. Suffice it to say, this speech is meant not only to look back to the time before Joshua, but also to add foreshadowing and literary clues for what will happen after Joshua. Whatever Joshua meant to do to prepare his people for what is to come, the writer(s) and editors of the scroll of Joshua are preparing its readers for the rest of the story.
Served Other Gods: This remembering, however, is not a rosy recasting of a golden past. Joshua is going somewhere with this sermon, and it starts with a strong statement about their own ancestors who did not always serve the LORD. We have the tendency to see our heroes as perfect, which they almost never are. Despite Genesis working very hard to cast Abra(ha)m in an honest light, it is easy to remember him for where he ended up, rather than where he came from. Here, Joshua reminds the people that Abraham was not always the friend of God, but grew up worshiping other gods from ‘beyond the river.’ If father Abraham was not immune to the worshiping of false/other gods, then who are you to think that you are. This is brave remembering, remembering the faults of those who have come before us, so that we are reminded of our own.
This is the brave work going on in anti-racism, contemplative, and ‘deconstructing’ circles, among others. Recognizing the dark sides to our history within the church is not an easy or fun thing, but it is necessary. There is much of our history and theology that is so tied up with white supremacy, patriarchy, heteronormativity, ableism, empire, colonialism, violence, antisemitism, etc, etc, etc, that we need to grapple with. If we do not really face these rotten places in our institutions, that rot will continue to spread. Many in our culture have been questioning these systemic sins in the body religious, and many of them have chosen to leave organized religion partially because of our unwillingness to remember, to see, to repent, and to truly reform the church.
I Handed Them Over to You: There is a loaded phrase. Joshua sums up the expansionism of his namesake book as God handing the defeated peoples over to their hands. This brings up all sorts of things for us, for me it brings up images of the Trail of Tears, Doctrine of Discovery, and Western Expansion. Displacement is a major issue and has been the cause of heartache, violence, wars, and genocides from the dawn of time. Our hearts ache when we hear of those in the past who were forced off of their land, and of those who continue to be. What makes this even worse, is the idea of such violence being not only condoned, but ordered by God. This is especially the case when we reflect on the long and bloody history of the Christian Church which has used such scriptures and concepts as these to support our own hateful and violent ideologies. When we look at these types of stories, we see them through the lens of all that came after them. However, to conflate the expansions of Joshua with the Crucade or the genocide of First Peoples can also separate us from the intention of these texts.
First of all, the invocation and understanding of divine powers for battle was a commonplace way to see them in the ancient world. Battles were seen as the physical manifestation of a contest between the gods. When one army had a victory over another, it was seen not as a result of their military might or strategy, but ultimately their god’s victory over the other army’s god. This is why there are accounts of an entire battle being decided by a contest between two warriors (like in the battle between David and Goliath). This is also a major understanding of the events of the Deuteronomic histories. Throughout, you see military victories being attributed to the might of the LORD, and the righteousness of the Israelite armies, and defeat as a sign that there is ‘sin in the camp’. So the inclusion of texts that suggest that God orders the destruction of a certain city may be very much the theological interpretation of events after the fact, rather than a literal
divine order. This is absolutely Joshua’s purpose for this retelling, God was on their side, and as proof he submits their victory.
Second, the numbers in our heads for these atrocities are very different from their actual numbers. According to an extensive archeological study the estimated Bronze age population for the city of Shechem was around 2,700, Jericho was 3,924, and Jerusalem around 5,300. Those are the big cities for their days, most towns and settlements were more like 15-50 people. According to the U.S. Census bureau, having a population of 5,000 or fewer is the definition of a ‘small town or city’ in the United States today This is not to lessen the impact or the value of human life at all, but it is important to understand what we are really talking about.
Add to this the victory parameters for an ancient battle were very different. Claiming territory was a matter of allegiance rather than dominance. These were not empire building battles which killed or displaced the majority of a population, these were small skirmishes where the elders of a city recognized the legitimacy (or expediency) of the invading army’s victory, and made a treaty with them. Occasionally, the leaders would be killed, but most of the citizens would be given the opportunity to convert (at least in name) or to flee. Saul’s actions in the story of the defeat of the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15 suggests how rare it was to kill the king of a city in an invasion. The rest of the Deuteronomic Histories makes it clear that the Israelites did not kill all of the Canaanites, these tribes will continue to struggle over power for hundreds of years.
Finally, we need to be honest about the relative power of the tribes of Israel and the other tribes. This was not a colonizing force, this was not like the British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese kingdoms using the Doctrine of Discovery to take land and lives from indigenous first nations on Turtle Island (North America) and other places. Nor was this like the United States of America breaking every treaty that they made with the First Nation tribes, treaties that were forced upon those tribes in the first place. This was not colonizers in the United States and Canada building ‘Indian Schools’ where thousands of children were forcibly taken from their families in order to ‘educate’ them, and which actually killed many of them. Despite the way that they sometimes represent themselves, all evidence suggests that this was a small nomadic tribe coming up against at least equal if not superior local tribes. That would make these skirmishes more like border disputes than imperial expansion. I wonder what it says about us that we assume that the Israelite tribes are imperial colonizers, rather than a scrappy outsider tribe. Perhaps that we are so used to being on the side which misuses and abuses superior strength, then thinking outside of that assumption is difficult for us.
Again, I think the most troubling thing about these texts is how they have been used to justify far larger and more horrific acts. How they have been used not as a rally cry for a relatively small and nomadic peoples to be righteous, but kings, emperors, and presidents to assert domination and totalitarian control. We grieve the senseless loss of life, and seek to bravely acknowledge the sins of our fathers (gender exclusivity intended) who did violence to the texts as they were doing violence to our siblings. We must be mindful of our Liberating God who frees the poor and defeated, and takes up arms against their oppressors. Most of all, we need to have ears to hear the rally cry of those who would use veiled religious language to justify the murder of innocents, nationalization, and empire.
I Gave You The Land: Here is where we are getting to what Joshua is really trying to say. The Hebrew people are living in houses that they did not build, eating from fields and vineyards that they did not plant. I just wrote an article in our newsletter for Stewardship season about how fundamental this thought is, that we only have what we have because of God’s grace. It is so easy to think otherwise. Most have worked hard for what they have, to be sure, but a great deal of the opportunities that we have are dependent on when and where we were born, our race, our natural skills, etc. qualities that we have no control over. Just think about the major wealth gap between generations, or regions, or countries. Sometimes, we get to see just how fortunate we are to have what we have, like when we have inherited cities and vineyards. These are the special times when we see the way things are, rather than the way they appear to be. And yes, this does include where those things came from. Pretending that people are not the casualties of our economic systems and theologies is one of the ways that we fool ourselves, especially in a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-American-mythology (mythology in the common sense, here). One of Joshua’s points is the strong claim that they would not be able to have any of this without God’s action (rooted in the theology of battle stated above) which should lead them to a proper response to those actions.
Therefore Serve the LORD: This is where the whole sermon/speech is going, a moment of decision. Our evangelical siblings are good at creating a decision point for belief, an alter call type situation; in the Reformed tradition, we tend to talk more about a daily decision for discipleship. Either way, a decision needs to be made, and may be made every day; to serve the God who has brought you through so much, or the gods of the past, the gods that ultimately pale in comparison to the LORD. To be sure, this is the same decision that we are called to make today. Today we are not tempted as much by other divine beings (Chris Hemsworth’s abs aside), but we certainly are swayed by the siren song of the “Gods of the Market Place”. The gods of money, fame, capitalism, selfishness, technology, self-sufficiency, media, influence, Facebook/Meta/whatevertheyarecallingthemselves, white supremacy, race, cultural relevance, etc, all these images call our names, and we so often put our trust in them, rather than the God who has already saved us. Every day is a new chance to seek first the Kindom of God, and God’s righteousness, and let everything else fall into place behind it. Do not be fooled, not to choose, is to choose. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
You Cannot Serve the LORD: So, I am going to be honest with you, I feel this one. I don’t know if Joshua is feeling burnt out or he has just been in this business long enough to be completely jaded, either way he is not having it. The people give a rousing answer, ‘we will serve the LORD who has saved us, and not the foreign gods’. and Joshua scoffs. ‘Yeah right’ he says, ‘I know you think you won't, but you will. I know you think that you will be strong, but come Monday morning, you are going to go right back to it’. Francis Chan says that in America we are really good at conviction, but not so good with follow through. We are quick to agree that we need to change, but tend to lack the conviction to actually do so. Leaders tend to get a front row seat to this lack of sustained response. How many times have we heard ‘good sermon’ from someone we know will not actually put anything into practice? We can understand why Jesus finishes his sermon on the Plain with the parable of building your house on the rock or sand (Luke 6:46-49). Joe Boyd, in his spectacular one man show on the Gospel of Luke has Jesus address this story to a fictitious listener who keeps coming to hear, but never puts the words into practice.
I think at least a part of this frustration is with ourselves, because we are also on the front row of our own actions. We know how willing we are to say ‘yes’, and then say ‘no’ with our actions. We know how meaningful the conviction part can be, how much we do really feel that we should do something about whatever it is, and yet we also know just how difficult it is to put it into practice. Someone in one of my study groups mentioned her background in mental health counseling, and how this is a regular part of it. There is real conviction behind the intention to take our meds, or do that thing that we really need to do, and then we don’t. Whether it is my personality or ADHD, there are often times when the thing that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I really need to do, is definitely not the thing that I am actually going to do. It is frustrating from the inside, it is frustrating from the outside, and sometimes we feel like Joshua.
Thankfully however, God’s grace goes beyond Joshua’s (or our) frustration. Joshua does not have a great opinion of the people’s ability to fulfill their promises. The writer(s) and editors of this book are also looking back at their own people's response in the years after this. They are foreshadowing the poor response, in order to present their own generations’ response to this same question, to serve the God who has liberated them, or the gods around them. There is always a chance for a faithful response. We are told at the end of Joshua that that whole generation was, in fact, faithful. This was likely all written (or at least compiled) during the reign of King Josiah, who did lead a successful reformation. Neither of these lasted too long, but they each made a difference for their own generation. Each generation, each person has the opportunity to rise to the occasion, to learn from the mistakes of the past, and truly serve the LORD. And God is ever faithful, ever more ready to receive us than we are to turn. Thanks be to God.
The Rest of the Story
Wowee, we have quite a jump to the next story. The tribes of Israel will continue to struggle with the Canaanite tribes and their gods. After Joshua, there are no national leaders for a while, instead God raises up ‘Judges’ in times of need. These warrior/prophets rise up in times of great distress. The pattern goes like this:
the people do “whatever is right in their own eyes” which usually means a lack of righteousness, they start to serve other gods.
God empowers one of their enemies to dominate them.
The people finally realize that they messed up, and cry out to the LORD.
God raises up a Judge who leads them in righteousness(ish) and the people do ok for a while.
Then the people do whatever they want, and the cycle starts all over again.
The book of Judges has all the marks of a decent Mel Gibson movie (Bravehart or the Patriot specifically) with flawed heroes who outwit the military might of their enemies. Despite the troubling nature of violence, Judges is full of some pretty cool stories, Ehud, Gideon, Sampson, and the original girl-boss herself, Deborah. However, the people start to get more and more tired of this pattern, and the judges get more and more flawed. Finally they ask for a national leader like all the other nations around them, which brings us to 1 Samuel, and eventually the story of David.
Pop Culture References
There are lots of ideas of choice, one of my favorites is the pill scene from The Matrix. Neo is faced with a life-changing choice, to continue to serve the false gods of the Matrix, or dive down the rabbit hole to the real world.
The “Hero's Journey” usually includes the choice to join the adventure, and many choices along the way. There is always the implication that another choice could be made.
For a little poetry, the aforementioned “Gods Of The Copy Book Headings” by Rudyard Kipling is one of my favorites. It truly speaks to the gods that we find around us.
Hymn Suggestions
Today We are Called to Be Disciples (GTG 757, PH 434)
A Mighty Fortress is Our God (GTG 275, PH 260)
Standing on the Promises (GTG 838)
When Peace, Like a River (It is Well) (GTG 840)
Shout to the North (GTG 319)
Links
Bible Project video on the Test
Bible Project video on the book of Joshua
Prayer of the Day
Lord who will provide. You have given us abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. You have given us all that we have. You call us to trust that you will continue to provide for our daily needs, rather than the gods from the past and the gods around us today. Help us to have faith that you can supply our needs, according to your riches and glory. Amen.