The Skeptics Annotated Bible (205 page)

8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.

10 And
there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face
,

(34.10)
“There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.”
(Not even Jesus, John the Baptist, Muhammad, or Joseph Smith?)
49 Can God be seen?
118 Did Moses see God face to face?
135 Who wrote the Pentateuch?
160 Who was the greatest prophet?

11 In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,

12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.

So Joshua smote all the country ... he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.
—
Joshua 10.40

If you believe in a God of peace, you won’t much like the book of Joshua. Because Joshua’s God is a God of war, and he isn’t bothered by collateral damage. Rather, he insists upon it. “So Joshua … utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.” (
10.40
)

And he’s not just an innocent bystander either. He is an active combatant. “The Lord God fought for Israel.” (
10.42
) God “slew them with a great slaughter” and even “chased them along the way.” Sometimes he “threw down great stones from heaven,” and once he even stopped the sun from moving so that he and the Israelites could finish all their killing before sundown. (
10.10-12
)

Here are some highlights:

• Joshua killed “everything that breathed” in each of the cities that he conquered, “as the Lord God of Israel commanded.”
  6.21
  ,
  8.24-26
  ,
  10.28-40
  ,
  11.8-21
  
• A family is stoned and burned to death (along with their animals) to punish the father (Achan) for looking at “the accursed thing.” “So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger.”
  7.24-26
  
• Joshua kills all the inhabitants of Ai, burns their city, and hangs their king on a tree.
  8.22-31
  
• God curses the Gibeonites to be slaves of the Jews forever.
  9.21-27
  
• He gets right in and fights for the Israelites. He “slew them with a great slaughter” and even “chased them along the way.” What a guy.
  10.10
  
• He threw down “great stones from heaven” so that he could kill even more people than the Israelites “slew with the sword.”
  10.11
  
• He makes the sun and moon stand still so that Joshua could get all his killing done before dark. It was the first Daylight Savings Time.
  10.12-13
  
• “The Lord fought for Israel.”
  10.14
  
• Joshua kills five kings and hangs them on trees.
  10.24-26
  
• “For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly.”
  11.20
  
• Remember that God “is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.”
  24.19
  

1
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,

2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

(1.3-5) God promised to give Joshua all of the land that his “foot shall tread upon.” He said that none of the people he encountered will be able to resist him. But God didn’t keep his promise; many tribes withstood Joshua’s attempt to steal their land. (Jos 15.63, 16.10, 17.12-13, Jg 1.21, 1.27, 3.1-5)

3
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you
, as I said unto Moses.

(1.3)
“Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you.”

4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

5
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee
all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

(1.5)
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee.”

6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

9
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

(1.9)
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”