Kill Everything that Breathes

Joshua’s Army of Israel killed tens of thousands during the invasion and conquest of ancient Canaan — no one was spared, not even suckling babies. God’s plan for executing the war in Canaan is spelled out in Deuteronomy 20. In verse 16, God commanded: “in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes… Completely destroy them.”

In the Battle of Jericho, the Israelites “destroyed with the sword every living thing — men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys… Then they burned the city.” Next came the invasion of a smaller city named Ai. Joshua 8:24-26 reads: When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were there…Twelve thousand men and women (and children) fell that day—all the people of Ai… Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins; he impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening.”

Joshua then directed Israel’s attack on southern Canaan and the Amorites living there. After capturing five Amorite kings hiding in a cave, Joshua hung them for public spectacle. Advancing northward, Joshua attacked and defeated seven cities: Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron, and Debir. Each city was burned and their kings hung. The scripture states: “Every person was put to death. No one was left alive.” Afterwards, Joshua turned his forces northward toward the cities of Hazor, Madon, Shimron, and Achshaph. God instructed Joshua to hamstring their horses (cut large tendon in back of horse’s leg) and destroy their chariots. After the conquest of Canaan, the captured territories were divided among the tribes of Israel.

The Christian mentality intuitively balks at accepting the destruction of every man, woman, and child as the holy Word of God. The wholesale slaughter of human beings conflicts with the God of Love in the New Testament and the teaching of Jesus, who taught us to love our enemies and turn the other check. However, Deuteronomy 20:18 provides God’s reasoning: “Kill them,” God said, “so there won’t be any of them left to teach you to practice the abominations that they engage in with their gods and you end up sinning against the Lord your God.” Since the people of Canaan worshipped other gods, practiced temple prostitution, and engaged in child sacrifice, God eliminated any possibility of intermarriage with the Israelites. There is no compromise to the First Commandment: “Thou shall have no other gods before Me.”

Joshua was the successor to Moses. He lived to the age of 110 and was possibly the greatest military strategist the world has ever known. His leadership led to the conquest of Canaan, a land God had given the Israelites as a lasting possession. More specifically, Genesis 13:15 states that God gave the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants. The Book of Joshua details the Israelite invasion of Canaan. In his closing speech to the people of Israel, urging his people to renew their covenant with God, Joshua uttered this famous saying: “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

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