Joshua 8:1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed; take all the fighting men with you, and go up now to Ai. See, I have handed over to you the king of Ai with his people, his city, and his land.
I am a pacifist. I believe that, as a follower of the Prince of Peace, war is never the answer. I believe in very vigilant non-violent resistance to evil but attempt to resist violence at all costs. That's my belief - it may not be yours. But as a pacifist, I have to say that reading the book of Joshua is very challenging. Most of the book of Joshua is the story of Joshua leading the people to conquer the Promised Land - God handing over city after city and kingdom after kingdom. It reads like (and frankly, is) a military history of this time period.
So when we read Scripture that challenges a core principle like this, what do we take from it? For me - I take two equally important messages from the book of Joshua. The first is humility - my pacifist position might be wrong. Based solely on the book of Joshua - it looks like it. In the verse above, Joshua gets a message from God that God has handed over Ai. It's important to remember in all of life that we may not be right. Also though, Joshua reminds me that God keeps God's promises and God provides for God's people. God had promised these people a home, and God provided. It's not presented in a way I like, but God didn't ask my opinion. Thanks be to God!
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Worship with us for Holden Evening Prayer tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 7 pm. Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment