Israelites had to 'earn their inheritance'
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The Israelites, upon their arrival in Canaan, were commanded by the Lord to utterly destroy that land's idolatrous cities.
"Idolatry in the land would be a constant, sore temptation to Israel," states a commentary in John A. Dickson's edition of the King James Bible. "How essential then that at the beginning it be swept from the land. There could be no half-measures in dealing with this evil. . . ."When the people crossed the Jordan the die was cast; they must go forward. Before them lay battle and bloodshed. They embarked upon a line of action of the most strenuous nature. Every resistance to their occupation would be offered. They must earn their inheritance."
The important fact was that the Israelites were under divine orders to fight those battles. "The implicit faith in their Divine Sovereign was the great essential, and to give this its true grounding, the first great achievement was by Divine action and of a miraculous nature," the Dickson commentary continues.
"The fall of Jericho could have been brought about in another way, but at the outset it was designed that the people should realize in the most convincing manner that Jehovah was with them, which should stimulate an abiding faith."
In Articles of Faith, Elder James E. Talmage wrote of the falling of Jericho's walls:
"May we not believe that when Israel encompassed Jericho, the captain of the Lord's host and his heavenly train were there, and that before their super-mortal agency, sustained by the faith and obedience of the human army, the walls were leveled?"
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(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)
Articles on this page may be used in conjunction with the Gospel Doctrine course of study.
Information compiled by Gerry Avant
Sources: Articles of Faith, by Elder James E. Talmage; Joshua, Man of Faith, by Elder Mark E. Petersen; John A. Dickson's Bible Commentary and Dictionary; and October 1982 general conference report.
