The fall of Jericho

Today's post doesn't have anything to do with today's readings, but it does relate to something else I read today.  I'm reading Paul Copan's book "When God Goes to Starbucks".  He was giving reasons for believing that God does indeed participate in this world, as opposed to the belief of Deists, who think that God set the world in motion and then basically forgot about it.  Anyway, God interacts with us through natural events and through miracles.  Natural events follow the laws of nature, but the timing of such events was directly affected by God, while miracles are events that cannot be explained through natural causes.  For example, an earthquake is a naturally occurring event, while someone coming back to life when they were physically dead is a miracle as that conflicts with natural laws.  All this is to say that perhaps the fall of Jericho wasn't a miracle, so to speak.  I always read this story and thought that the Israelites blew the trumpets and the city fell.  Copan mentioned in passing that God could have timed the two events - the blowing of the trumpets and the falling of the city - at the perfect moment so that when an earthquake hit Jericho and it collapsed, the Israelites just happened to be blowing the trumpets on their final round around the city.  Sort of like when the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry land due to an earthquake upstream.  It's amazing to see how God may have used such natural occurrences to achieve his goals.  What are your thoughts on this version of Josh and the Big Wall?

God in the Old Testament

I was listening to Greg Koukl's radio show (via podcast) from this past Sunday, February 13.  In the last hour, he interviewed Paul Copan, who wrote Is God a Moral Monster?  Basically, Copan talks about how God is still righteous, gracious, and loving even though a lot of people misread the Old Testament and think that God is a big bully.  For instance, we read today in Deuteronomy about how God will rid the promised land of foreigners and the Israelites will triumph over their enemies.  The Israelites didn't participate in divine ethnic cleansing, however.  Deuteronomy 7:5 specifically states that the Israelite were to destroy the religious aspects of the other nations.  God was setting Israel up to be an example, a light, for all others; they were going to reflect the Lord's glory, and so they had to destroy the pagan relics.
Another interesting point Copan makes is that the laws Israel had to follow were mainly another way to remind them that God was involved in every aspect of their life, and that in every way, they were to remain set apart from the rest of the world and be different.  For instance, they weren't supposed to mix two different kinds of fabric together, nor were they to plant more than one type of crop in any given area.  They were to keep things pure and set apart, just as they were to remain pure and set apart from the pagans.
These are only a few examples, partially gleaned from today's reading in Deuteronomy, explaining why God is not the maniac some people think he is.  He didn't change from one testament to the other.  He is the same God in both the Old and New covenants.

Read Paul Copan's book to find out more about this issue.