{"id":53739,"date":"2019-04-15T20:44:44","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T17:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=53739"},"modified":"2022-11-07T14:06:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T12:06:40","slug":"the-growth-of-israelite-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-growth-of-israelite-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"The Growth Of Israelite Initiative"},"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":[370,384,412],"acf":{"old_id":"53739","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":53309,"related_cahpter":"198","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"As God\u2019s explicit role diminishes, the people assume greater responsibility","content":"

No overt expressions of divine involvement seem to accompany the battles against the northern kings, although the text does state that the victory was His: \u201cGod said to Joshua: \u2018Be not afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give all of them as corpses before Israel\u201d (11:6). <\/span><\/p>\n

At Jericho, in glaring contrast, the narrative emphasized the role of the Ark of the Covenant, the physical manifestation of God\u2019s presence. How different is the war against the northern kings! Here, it is Joshua who engages them in battle, and while the text mentions that \u201cGod gave them into Israel\u2019s hand\u201d (v. 8), it offers no further elaboration on the nature of His involvement. The recurring emphasis of the text is not on God\u2019s role but rather on Joshua\u2019s role.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two intermediate battles can now be more precisely located within the progression. At the battle of the Ai, it was God who provided both the battle plan as well as the pivotal signal. While it was Joshua and the people who physically engaged the enemy in battle and defeated them, it was God who brought them victory by providing the strategic plan and the critical timing. The victory may therefore be described as a dynamic combination of divine intervention and inspired human deed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Concerning the southern kings, God\u2019s intrusion into the human arena to ensure an Israelite victory was only after His people had engaged the enemy in battle and roundly defeated them. His intervention was limited to the aftermath of their victory. God provided Joshua with the opportunity to wipe out the enemy forces so that they could not regroup for another battle, but the initial triumph was entirely a function of human initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n

These \u201cchapters of conquest\u201d yield a remarkable evolution: As the narratives unfold, God\u2019s overt intervention declines, matched by a corresponding increase in the people of Israel\u2019s active participation in securing their own victory. However, the book is exceedingly careful to make clear that decreased overt divine intervention does not mean God\u2019s absence. <\/span><\/p>\n

God is just as aware, just as immediate, and just as instrumental in guiding events according to His will. The only thing that changes during the course of the chapters is the transparency and prominence of that involvement, in order to afford human beings the opportunity to take an active part in shaping their destiny, to choose the trajectory if not the outcome, and to spiritually grow and mature as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n

image:\u00a0Gustave Dor\u00e9, “Joshua Burns the Town of Ai” (1866);\u00a0La Grande Bible de Tours \/ cc.<\/i><\/p>\n

from: <\/span>Joshua: The Challenge of the Promised Land<\/em> <\/span>(Jerusalem: Koren, 2015); chapter: \u201cDivine Design and Human Initiative\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":53753,"id":53753,"title":"jo11-dore-ai","filename":"jo11-dore-ai.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-dore-ai.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-growth-of-israelite-initiative\/jo11-dore-ai\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jo11-dore-ai","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":53739,"date":"2019-04-15 17:42:09","modified":"2019-04-15 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