There are many passages in the Bible that explicitly say that Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is merciful and loving. Here’s an example:
But that’s far from the whole story. The Book of Joshua describes the conquest of the lands promised to the Israelites. Chapter 12 lists 31 kingdoms that were conquered under the leadership of Joshua. But those kingdoms weren’t just conquered. Every one of the kings of those kingdoms was killed. And not only that, but every one of the cities and towns over which those kings ruled was destroyed. And not only that, but all of the men, women, and children who lived in those cities and towns were killed:
God himself actively participated in this slaughter:
Furthermore, God ordered this slaughter:
Exactly why did God plan to slaughter all of those people? The answer is provided elsewhere in Deuteronomy:
So God didn’t want the Israelites to intermarry with the people of that region. But if God were actually merciful and loving, was there no other way to prevent the Israelites from intermarrying the indigenous people of the promised lands, or was slaughter the only possible option?
An omniscient God would have known that this problem would arise, and he could have planned for it at the time when he created the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, the galaxies, and the earth itself. An omnipotent God could have created a force field around the entire region to prevent anyone else from entering. Then, when the Israelites arrived, he could have disabled the force field to let the Israelites enter a region that would have been fertile, lush, and unpopulated.
Or alternatively an omnipotent God could have left the promised lands at the bottom of the Mediterranean sea. Then when the Israelites arrived he could have lifted up the promised lands from the sea floor and the Israelites could have entered a region that would have been pristine, new, and uninhabited.
Or a truly omnipotent God could have lifted up all of the 31 kingdoms to carry them out of the way. If God had done that the inhabitants of that region would have been immensely grateful-- and he would thereby have gotten thousands of new followers as a result. Instead the only new followers he got were Rahab of Jericho and the other members of her whorehouse.
Slaughtering people simply for their beliefs is genocide. Yahweh certainly had plenty of time and opportunity to choose another path. Why didn’t Yahweh choose any of the options listed above? There is only one possible conclusion: Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is a God of genocide, not of love and mercy.
Well, if you go to verse one of Joshua chapter 11, it was these nations that were planning to wipe out Israel.
Jos 11:1
And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard
those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,
Jos 11:2
And to the kings that
were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west,
Jos 11:3
And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and
to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and
to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
Jos 11:4
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that
is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Jos 11:5
And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
This sounds a lot like Armeghedon to me. anywho..
So, God made a promise to Abraham:
Gen 12:1
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
There's these 5 kings that are out to get Joshua and not only Joshua but Gibeon as well because they had made peace with Joshua.
And it was these 5 kings that had planned on slaughtering Gibeon and Israel.
God simply took what they had planned to do and turned it on their own heads.
Literally, they drank their own poison.
And your blaming God?
Most times if not all, the reason why nations get slaughtered is because it was that very thing they had planned to do to Israel.
You reap what you sow.
Jos 10:5
Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.
Jos 10:6
And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.
Jos 10:7
So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.
Jos 10:8
And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.
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