{"id":53328,"date":"2019-04-07T17:27:36","date_gmt":"2019-04-07T14:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=53328"},"modified":"2022-10-30T09:57:26","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T07:57:26","slug":"remove-those-army-boots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/remove-those-army-boots\/","title":{"rendered":"Remove Those Army Boots!"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[452,480,806,434],"acf":{"old_id":"53328","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":53309,"related_cahpter":"192","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Canaan: flashpoint of conflict, yet hallowed ground","content":"

Having crossed the Jordan River, Israel now stands at the outskirts of Jericho, and their successful campaign against the city is introduced with the appearance of a mysterious, phantom-like figure. <\/span><\/p>\n

The dialogue between Joshua and the angel is obscure. In response to his query concerning the content of God\u2019s communication, the angel cryptically commands him to remove his footwear \u201cbecause the place upon which you stand is hallowed ground.\u201d This expression immediately calls to mind God\u2019s unexpected appearance to Moses at the episode of the burning bush (Ex. 3:1-10). <\/span><\/p>\n

But what is the hallowed earth that Joshua stands upon presently, if not the land of Canaan where he and the people have been carelessly treading for a number of days? Why does the angel appear to him only now, on the eve of Israel\u2019s first battle against the city-states of Canaan? How do the heartening words of the angel relate to his threatening posture?<\/span><\/p>\n

Joshua and the people are about to embark upon a new phase of their mission, namely, the conquest of Canaan. As we all realize, there may be such a thing as a justified war, but there is no such thing as a kind one. <\/span><\/p>\n

It may be that Joshua, who had prevailed against Amalek in his younger years and was therefore no stranger to bloodshed, had been pondering these same tragic truths when the angel appeared to him bearing assurances of God\u2019s intervention and assistance. Enter the emissary of God bearing a drawn sword and a profound message: The land of Canaan, from time immemorial a flashpoint of conflict, is yet hallowed ground. <\/span><\/p>\n

Joshua and Israel will prevail, the city of Jericho will fall, and the Canaanites will be defeated. But the people and their victorious armies must never lose sight of the land\u2019s sanctity, of a man\u2019s inherent worth, of the vision of a better world in which warfare is archaic and killing obsolete. <\/span><\/p>\n

God may countenance justified bloodshed, but He will not tolerate wanton cruelty. The concept of Canaan\u2019s hallowed earth implies an intimation of the divine, and a corresponding necessity to tread upon that land with greater care and heightened sensitivity. What is tolerable and considered natural in other lands, namely viciousness, violence, and cold-hearted cruelty, all committed in the name of victory, is wrong when perpetrated by God\u2019s nation, and out of place when committed in the land that is the focal point of God\u2019s concern.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: E. M. Lilian, \u201cJoshua\u201d 1908 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n

from: Joshua: The Challenge of the Promised Land (Jerusalem: Koren, 2015); chapter: \u201cThe Angel of the Lord.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":53340,"id":53340,"title":"jo5-joshua","filename":"jo5-joshua.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo5-joshua.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/remove-those-army-boots\/jo5-joshua\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jo5-joshua","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":53328,"date":"2019-04-07 14:27:15","modified":"2022-11-01 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