Dear RTB’ers,
The Lord speaking, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.” (v. 11) Then the outcome: And He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil… (v. 44). I am not one to question the Lord; He is God, I am not. But I’ve long wondered about the “ethics” of the Israelites taking the Promised Land, in the book of Joshua. There were people living there; the Israelites did battle and conquered them and gained their houses, their livestock, their produce, and subjected the people as servants. It’s how it was back then, and in Joshua we simply read of the battles. But today’s one verse says more than I typically consider: they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil…
I typically don’t spend much time thinking about the subjection of these peoples and of all that they have lived for. But today’s verse stuck out for me. How about you?
Blessings.
Fred