Monday, June 2, 2014

Monday, June 2, 2014

Joshua 1:1-9

Many scholars have considered the book of Joshua to be connected to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. In a lot of ways it is a sequel to the book of Deuteronomy, just as the book of Acts is a natural continuation of the Gospel of Luke. Other scholars frame Joshua as a progression in the telling of Israel’s history, which goes through to 1 and 2 Kings. The book completes the story of God’s chosen people and their journey from slavery in Egypt to life in the Promised Land. Moses and Aaron have died, and Joshua has succeeded his mentor Moses, as guide and military leader of the people. 

Joshua is a book that some have described as ‘problematic.’ It is incredibly violent. One wants to see the settling of the Promised Land as a happy ending, but Joshua describes in detail the killing that is done in order to claim the Caananite territories. If one reads it uncritically, one might interpret it as a justification for ‘holy war’ and genocide. The book of Joshua gives the impression that settlement was easy (dirty, but quick), whereas if you skip ahead to the book of Judges, you’ll get another picture. In Judges the settlement of the land seems to be more gradual. Joshua was likely written or edited during or soon after the Babylonian exile, so the violence that makes us cringe was probably meant to create a unified sense of identity for a downtrodden people. Maybe the original hearers were probably conscious of this, and perhaps able to read the text without falling into a dangerous literalism.

In spite of the violence of the book, there are still lessons that we can learn, and truths that the book can open up inside of us. Verse 9 resonates with me: “Go strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (NRSV). There is much about group dynamics and leadership that we might learn by studying the wandering of the people in the desert, and the transition from Moses to Joshua. Some see the Church as having been wandering through a sort of desert over the past few decades. One fellow postulant with our Diocese recently mentioned to me that she felt “called to something that doesn’t yet exist.” It might seem that we are wandering through the desert, sometimes grumbling (and dying off) as we move along. But today’s reading reminds us that God is with us, and will raise up new leaders as necessary. Let’s move forward in and with faith. 

- Matthew Kieswetter