Are there parts of the Bible that make you uncomfortable?  Irritated?  Angry?  Historically, our text for this week, Joshua 10:16-43, is one of those texts.  We’ll be looking at the Southern Campaign in the Conquest of Canaan.  And, once again, we’ll see that God tells the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites.  And, once again, we’ll probably cringe and question and doubt.  And that’s okay.

At this point in the Book of Joshua, it’s time to deal with the issue of Old Testament Apologetics by answering the question, “How could a loving God command genocide?”  This passage raises all sorts of hard questions —

        What do we do about the Battles of the Bible? 

        Is God a Moral Monster? 

        Why is God doing this?

        What is Holy War?

        Would Jesus do this?

Yes, it’s a heavy topic.  And I’m going to try and answer these hard questions.  But rest assured, we will get to Jesus by the time we’re done.  And we’ll know Him better when we get there.  Wow, Joshua is proving to be so much harder than you may have thought!  But, hopefully, digging deep into this great book is giving you a greater understanding of the Scriptures and strengthening your faith.  And that’s Good News!  I’ll see you Sunday! Dr. Dave