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¶ … God can be seen in the three battles mentioned. Most evident is the fact that, as the Israelites are fighting a Holy War, God is the most important part of each battle. God is also shown by the selected passages as both omnipotent and all-powerful, as the giver and taker of victory and of life.
When choosing victory for his people, God expects their loyalty in return. This loyalty is based upon display of God's power in Egypt (Deut. 6:24). This is used as a reminder to keep God's laws for the victories that he has and will provide for Israel. These are the conditions for God's continued support throughout the battles within the Holy War. A further element is the security that God provides in turn for following his conditions for fighting battles and living life. God provides security for his people while driving fear into the hearts of their enemies (Deut. 26:8).
The Holy War furthermore entails the requirement that God's people remain nationally and religiously pure. For this reason the element of complete destruction of all that is alien to Israel is one of the essential elements of engaging in God's battle. In order to curb the possibility of idolatry then, God commands that all human beings left alive in besieged towns should be killed so they cannot teach their idolatrous ways to God's people (Deut 20:18).
Another interesting element is that God also at times strikes fear into the hearts of his own people. His role as provider of security is thus coupled with his role as punisher in the case of disobedience. Thus, obedience is rewarded with upliftment, supremacy and security, while the reward of disobedience is fear. God does not hesitate to make an example of the disobedient, for whom the punishment is often death (Deut. 21:21). Joshua's warning to Israel suggests this fear (Josh 24:26). God and Israel thus has a rather ambivalent relationship, based upon a system of reward and punishment according to Israel's obedience level.
Bibliography
Coogan, Michael D. (ed.) The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
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