  Tim Challies  Challies on FacebookChallies on Twitter  How
Could God Command Holy War?   Thomas turned first to Joshua 6
(the story of Jericho) introducing it by saying this is a topic
you speak on only because you believe in the inerrancy of
Scripture; it is both solemn and heart-rending as we discuss the
killing, the slaughter, of men, women, children, babies. These
are the kinds of passages in Scripture that make some people
believe that the Bible cannot possibly be the inerrant Word of
God.  There are four aspects to this narrative: Joshua’s
encounter with the captain of the Lord’s army; the account of
the collapse of the walls of Jericho; the salvation of Rahab;
the destruction of the people. And this fourth part is the one
that concerns us as we ask how a good God could command such a
war. We have to be careful not to glamorize this story because
it is about brutal violence, about blood, about destruction by
instruments of war. How could God possibly command the killing
of babies?  The Pentateuch has