Dr Paul Allen

“ Cursed be Canaan ; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.… Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem ; and let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth , and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant” ( Gen. 9:25–27 ).- Genesis 9:24–29 Exodus 20:12 teaches us necessarily to obey all authorities, for “it pleases God to govern us by their hand” (Heidleberg Catechism, 104). How we treat our leaders (family, church, or civil) reveals what we think of our Father, since He ordains them all ( Rom. 13:1–7 ). Having despised God by dishonoring his father, today’s passage records the curse Ham earned for his seed. These verses illustrate the maladies that can result if we do not obey our authorities faithfully. Let us first note this text has a sordid history of being used to justify ethnic slavery and racism. However, this use is manifestly unjustifiable. The malediction says nothing about race; it is based on faith, and in any case is pronounced on...

T he book of Joshua presents most readers with a troubling question: how can a God of love command his followers to destroy an entire nation of people? The Canaanites had lived in their land for centuries before Joshua and his people came to claim it for themselves. While some in Canaan fought against God’s people and were destroyed as a result (cf. the battle of Ai , 8:14ff), others did not attempt armed aggression against Israel . The people of Jericho, for instance, retreated inside their city walls and mounted no attack against the Jews. Nonetheless, following divine orders, the Israeli soldiers “destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys” (6:21). The God of Joshua also required a similar kind of wrathful judgment against his own people when they sinned. Following the battle of Jericho , a soldier named Achan took in plunder “a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold...

Beersheba on the map of Israel (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) But . . . pass not to Beersheba .” ( Amos 5:5 ) Beersheba (well of the “sevens”) became a location of some importance in Israel ’s early history. Hagar (the Egyptian bondwoman who bore Ishmael ) was rescued by God at Beersheba ( Genesis 21:14-19 ). Abraham improved the well at Beersheba and settled there, built a grove and “called there on the name of the Lord , the everlasting God” ( Genesis21:33 ). It was at Beersheba that Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac ( Genesis 22:1-4 ). Beersheba figured prominently in the life of Israel. Isaac made a covenant with the Philistines there, repaired the well, and lived at Beersheba for many years ( Genesis 26:17-33 ). Historically, Beersheba is best known for the political oaths ceremoniously confirmed there with the secular nations around Israel. At Beersheba, truth later became equated with tradition. Substituting the wisdom and traditions of man ( Mark 7:3-13 ) or the world’...