It can be hard to understand how God would order the killing of people, as it is recorded in the Bible. Certainly it seems inconsistent with the God who gave us the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13). Part of the inconsistency we encounter may arise from our tendency to analyze God's reaction to human conditions from the self-justification of our 21st-century perspective. Looking for lessons God is specifically teaching His children presents a very different picture than untenable ethnic cleansing or the showing off of power. In the case of warfare, the message is not about who should live or die; rather, God is preparing us to understand that the real warfare goes on within us.
After 40 years of preparation in isolation from society, the children of Israel were ready to claim their God-appointed home in Canaan. Joshua was appointed as Moses' successor, and his instructions from God to take over the land were clear and definite. The manna from the wilderness stopped appearing, and they were prepared to inhabit the promised land of milk and honey. "The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth" (Josh. 3:11) was to precede all the tribes of Israel crossing over the River Jordan. And as the priests who carried the ark touched the edge of the river, it dried up, just as the Red Sea had parted for their parents a generation before. The entire new generation was circumcised, and 40,000 men were prepared for war.
The siege of Jericho, one of the strangest battle plans ever recorded, was executed under God's direct order. After circling around the boarded up city for six days, the Israelites were to circle it seven times on the seventh day. Concluding their march, seven priests were to blast their rams' horns while everyone else shouted. They did so, and as predicted, the walls of Jericho fell. They easily took over the city, but there was more. They destroyed every living inhabitant—"both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys" (Josh. 6:21, New Revised Standard Version).
